Encore How ‘Beloved Music’ Can Benefit Individuals with Dementia Monday, September 9, 2024

If you’ve ever seen the documentary, “Alive Inside,” a documentary that shows people with Alzheimer’s responding to personalized music—music that has been deeply meaningful to their lives—you’ve surely been amazed to witness what happens to individuals who are virtually unable to communicate verbally suddenly become animated, able to sing and dance with joy. In today’s episode, you’ll meet Dan Cohen, who was the driving force behind the documentary as the visionary Founder of Music & Memory, a nonprofit that began by providing personalized music to dementia patients in nursing homes via iPods and MP3 players. Since that time, Dan has drawn on a decade of field experience to found Right to Music, broadening his advocacy for “beloved music” as our best non-pharmacological tool to benefit individuals with dementia, Parkinson’s and those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as help alleviate loneliness and despair. He’ll describe how his mission has grown to promote the widespread adoption of music-based interventions globally, educating healthcare professionals about the benefits of music; changing government policies to incentivize the use of beneficial music; and shifting the focus of music research to more practical initiatives. When he sees nursing home residents “light up” with their favorite music, Dan questions why can’t everyone, especially our most vulnerable fellow citizens, benefit from music that the rest of us are able to play whenever we want? By spreading access to personal music—a human right—we can make a meaningful change in the status quo, Dan says. There’s nothing to lose, and so much potential for good.