Musical and entertainment groups for metro Atlanta senior citizens
The Entertainers
Rehearsals: Mondays at 12:30 p.m.
Where: VFW, 140 Powers Ferry Road, Marietta.
Director: Harold Smith.
More information: Harold Smith at smitharold@aol.com, or imharoldsmith@gmail.com, or 770-435-7549.
Guys and Dolls
Rehearsals: Mondays at 1:15 p.m.
Where: East Cobb Senior Center, 3332 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta.
Director: Barbara Bond.
More information: East Cobb Senior Center at 770-509-4900.
Powder Springs Young at Heart Musicians
(Drumming and recorder band)
Rehearsals: Tuesdays at 11 a.m.; Drumming circle meets monthly on second Wednesday from 11 a.m. until noon.
Where: Powder Springs Senior Citizens Center, 4181 Atlanta St., Powder Springs.
Director: Edie Smith.
More information: Powder Springs Senior Center at 770-943-1555, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
It has long been known that singing can chase away the blues, but could it also be a deterrent to memory loss?
Ongoing research into the complex nature of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia suggests that singing may play a role in elevating mood, self-esteem and, possibly, memory.
A New York University study documented these improvements in participants of a pilot choral program, all of whom were in early stages of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Research is continuing with a similar choral program in Milwaukee.
Harold Smith of Smyrna doesn’t need to understand the science behind it all to know there’s something more to singing than just making beautiful music.
The 83-year-old is director and charter member of the Entertainers, Cobb County’s oldest volunteer senior singing group, which started in 1988 at the old Windy Hill Senior Center in Smyrna.
Current members — none of whom have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia — range in age from 60 to 84.
For 10 months out of the year, the Entertainers rehearse weekly, then perform at various assisted living and nursing home facilities, churches and senior citizen clubs. They’ll do a mix of music, from golden oldies to rock ’n’ roll, and involve audiences with sing-a-longs and movement.
“We go to a lot of Alzheimer’s facilities, and as we perform you can see some of those people, all slumped over, start to pat their foot and begin to sing along or mouth the words,” Smith said. “It’s a real ministry, to tell you the truth.”
Music touches the senses, and research has shown that people who have dementia can be reached through their senses, explains Jessica Gill, director of Cobb Senior Services.
“Singing reaches them in a way that regular talking doesn’t. It brings them back in time, to how they grew up,” she said.
In the NYU study, participants had no prior musical training, but after rehearsing with professional musicians, they learned more than a dozen songs and performed in public. Some even sang solos.
Singing can also aid in the well-being of seniors who do not have neurodegenerative disease. Smith still gets enjoyment from music, and has been singing and playing the piano, organ and drums since he was a boy.
Any senior can join the Entertainers, and requirements are minimal: be at least 55 years old and enjoy singing. There are no auditions. While most in the group have had past participation in a church choir, none have had professional musical training, Smith said.
They sing four-part harmony, and perform solos and in small groups for specialty numbers. They’re even taught a few dance steps.
“I try to get them to memorize the words so they have to look up at the director,” Smith said. “It makes you work. You have to think, you have to watch.”
“It’s also good exercise, especially for me because I’m up here waving my arms so much,” he quips.
In the NYU research, it’s unclear how much of the benefits come from social stimulation and increased activity, as opposed to neural changes from brain stimulation, said Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, a clinical neuropsychologist and assistant professor of neurology at Emory University.
She said even passively listening to music can stimulate the brain, but more research is needed to see how the nervous system changes from singing and how much is needed for sustained change.
“In patients with AD (Alzheimer’s disease), they may respond to music in a unique fashion even in the later stages,” she said. “There is ongoing research exploring the emotional response to music, and the neurotransmitter systems involved.”
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