For as long as I’ve been able to know, I’ve played the piano. Year after year, I’ve practiced and performed, yet nothing would beat the feeling of warmth and satisfaction that I first felt two years ago today.
I was an up and coming freshman, wiling away hours playing and listening to music. That wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to share my music with people around me. I tried playing with my school’s music club, but that was limited to band and orchestra. Piano unfortunately didn’t fit in that mold.
Ironically, one of the most popular instruments in the world, didn’t have a place at my school. So I started to look for a different avenue.
In my search, I discovered a nearby elder care home. All I wanted to do was play, and all I had hoped was that maybe the senior citizens would listen.
So, I sent an email.
The response was, to put it simply, insane. They not only allowed me to play, but also directly interact with them! I was overjoyed. I filled out all the paperwork, updated my vaccines, and was up at ungodly hours practicing. Soon enough, I played for these beautiful men and women for the first time of many to come.
Many of the residents I performed for, had deteriorating memories, many already suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. On a general day, I wouldn’t expect many to remember where they were, but something shocked me.
Numerous times after my performances, I would have vivid, illustrative conversations with these residents (mind you, the same people who are experiencing memory loss), of incidents and events that happened 30, 40, even 50 years in the past. The common thread was that they had just listened to me playing the piano. Every single time, week after week, between different residents, I would only have these touching conversations after my performance.
That is the birth of this blog. The men and women I spoke to are often overlooked by society. But they have incredible stories. Incredible memories. And live incredible lives. I have been blessed to hear these in person, and they deserve to be shared.
I will be creating a series illustrating not only my experience with music and memory, but also theirs. I’ll attempt to analyze scientific literature on the correlation between music and memory. And finally, I aim to inspire others to bring this cause and their music to their communities.