When an accident, injury orillness turns someone into a screamer, a pacer or a stone, such moments are precious. Fruth's daughter, Lois Gale, cuts the pain of nursing home visits by attending the home's sing-alongs. Such feelings reflect the power of music, says Tomaino. A song travels down the auditory nerve into the limbic system, the part of the brain that involveslong-term memories and the feelings associated with those memories, says Tomaino. If you sing something they enjoy, they become comfortable and relaxed, and the task turns from a frustration into fun.
Studies show that people respond best to songs from childhood and courting days.
Songs must bematched to a person's taste. Folk songs work for some, jazz for others, the big band sound for many. Tomaino cautions that music also has the power to resurrect painful feelings. No had one told Tomaino that a Jewish woman in the group had survived a concentration camp. After a few notes, the Jewish woman began screaming.