27 January 2025 · 2 min read
Rediscovering Joy: The role of Music Therapy in Alzheimer’s Care.
How music therapy can help with Alzheimer's and dementia care. Simple ways to try it with your parent at home.
Music reaches people in a way that's hard to explain, and for someone living with Alzheimer's or dementia, it can open a door back to memories and feelings that seemed out of reach. Research backs this up: music engages the parts of the brain tied to memory, emotion, and communication, which is why it can support both thinking and mood.
A familiar song, a childhood lullaby, the tune from a wedding dance, can bring back a memory that seemed gone, and with it a real moment of connection. Singing or listening to music tends to ease agitation and anxiety, for the person living with dementia and for the caregiver both. For your parent, a song can bring back a sense of who they are, and ease some of the isolation that comes with memory loss. For you, it can be a break from the stress, and a good memory of your own.
Recommendations for caregivers and families:
- Put together a playlist of favorite songs, or music from that person's younger years
- Use headphones or a speaker, somewhere quiet and comfortable
- Encourage simple participation: clapping, humming, swaying
- Look into local music therapy programs or group singing sessions
- Try different genres to see what gets a reaction
- Use music as a calming tool during a rough moment or restlessness
- Share a musical activity together, playing an instrument or dancing, to strengthen the bond between you
Special event: the Connect2Music choir experience
Stamford, CT: Endurance Home Care (Google Map) took part in the Connect2Music event, an eight-week choir experience built for people living with dementia and their care partners. It started Tuesday, January 21, 2025, built around connection, creativity, and joy through music.
It was hosted at the Grammy Award Winning Carriage House Studios (119 Westhill Road, Stamford, CT 06902, Google Map), and ran every Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, through March 11, 2025. It was open to any skill level, with a supportive setting where participants could share the experience and connect with each other.
Registration for that group ran through CaringKind, at (646) 744-2900 or helpline@caringkindnyc.org. Space was limited, given how small and personal the program was, so early sign-up mattered.
Alzheimer's care comes with a lot to figure out, and music is one of the simpler things that helps, whether that's a session with a music therapist or just playing a favorite song together at home. If your family is looking at memory support in Stamford or nearby, call us at (203) 936-6847, and we'll talk through what that could look like for your parent.
Published 27 January 2025, last updated 28 September 2026. Written by Endurance Home Care. What we offer, and where, is on the services page.
