Alexis Topete - Oratory

Hey Dad, its me. Do you remember who I am? (pause)

Nothing. Nothing but a confused look from her father then he slowly
shakes his head no, frightened and frustrated that he is somehow supposed to
know the answer and totally mystified why he doesnt.
So she tries desperately to help him remember who she is, once again, for
the umpteenth time, knowing that everything she reminds him of today will be
gone the next time she comes to visit. He wont even remember she was the
sunshine in his life from the day she was born. This is the heartbreaking result of
Alzheimers and other forms of dementia for the many people affected by it.
Alzheimers is the most common form of dementia, and according to the
Alzheimers Foundation of America, over 5.1 million Americans suffer from it. And
not only do they suffer, but so do their families who love and care for them... and
watch them slowly lose their memories of the ones that they love. This
progressive disease continues to get worse over time, until those affected can
even lose the capability to carry on a normal conversation and respond to the
environment.
With Alzheimers, the brain literally shrinks, causing permanent damage
and devastating changes in a patients lifestyle. But what would those millions of
people and all of the millions of their family members give for just one day, just
one hour, just one minute when they could get back to their memories, connect
to their loved ones, recall who they themselves once were? It would be priceless,
right?
It turns out that, for a very small price actually, it may be possible indeed to
give them those few moments of connection to the reality that once was theirs. In
2006, Dan Cohen, a music lover himself and a social worker, had a simple thought:
if he ever ended up in a nursing home, he would want to bring along his own
favorite music and his new ipod was such a convenient way to record his very
own favorite playlist. Then he started to wonder if very many older people in
nursing homes liked to listen to their favorite music on ipods and MP3 players. His
research found that not one of the 16,000 nursing homes in America used
personalized music for their patients with dementia.
Dan decided to start making personalized music available to a nursing
home near his home in New York. He began with the simple hope that he could
share the same joy he found in music to those who were being warehoused in
care facilities, lonely and isolated inside their own minds. What he found instead
was an almost mystical connection between music and long ago memories.
Apparently, the music we love as young people has very special significance and it
ties itself indelibly to our most precious memories of those we have loved
throughout our lives.
But what is it about music that makes such an impact on us? First, lets look
back to our own beginnings. Would you even imagine that a rhythmic beat would
be the first things that we would ever listen to for comfort? According to a book
called Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perceptions, Attitudes, and Values by
Yi Fu Tuan, one of the most important sensations to a human fetus is the beating
of the mothers heart, which could also explain why a mother will instinctively
hold an infant to the left side of her chest when she tries to soothe her crying
child. Heart beats were the first thing we ever connected to for comfort; experts
think this could explain why music and rhythm is so influential to us throughout
our lives. When were sad, the mournful music we may choose to listen to can
amplify that mood or when we choose to listen to upbeat music it can cheer us up
and change our mood entirely. In love? We use music to help us celebrate that
feeling. (Sing Im A Believer by Smash Mouth- Im in love- Im a believer I
couldnt leave her if I tried). Just ended a romance? Music can connect us with
that painfulness too. (Sing We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor
Swift- We are never ever ever ever getting back together). Rejoicing in victory
and achievement? Once again there is stirring music that can make us stand up
tall and feel our pride in our accomplishments. (Sing Celebration by Kool & the
Gang- Celebrate good times come on!). Its all tied together for humans and can
have an enormous positive impact.
On the other hand, music can be used to manipulate us in a negative way.
A good example of this is something that impacts teenagers today, and that is
video games. Call of Duty, Super Smash Brothers, Legend of Zelda, you name it, it
has a theme song, and also has some addicting background music to it. According
to an article called The Psychological Effects of Music in Video Games, music
physiologically affects us because the different types of music we listen to can
affect how we feel physically. In killing games, if you were to turn off the music,
you would feel differently than if you were to listen to the music that was
strategically placed into the video game. Youd get bored more quickly and spend
far less time playing the video games if you put them on mute than if you were to
keep the music turned up. Knowing that, marketers and creators use music very
strategically to get us hooked and keep us hooked on video games. But marketers
dont limit themselves to video games. Every year thousands of commercials are
produced to sell us products we probably dont need. An important part of that
sales message is the music in the background. Millions of dollars are spent on
licensing just the right music to intensify our desire for a product. And that music
makes even an ordinary item feel irresistible, in the most shameless manipulation
of the power that music has for us all.
Another great exploiter of the power of sound is Casinos. Have you ever
noticed how casinos always have some form of sound for their gambling
machines? According to List Verse, one of the top 10 tricks casinos use to keep
you playing is the sounds that give the illusion that gamblers are winning, so
people are more likely to stay longer without getting too frustrated than they
would if there was no sound playing. So yes, music can manipulate us in ways that
are not beneficial to us, but it can also undeniably affect us for the better. For
instance, music is a great stress reliever. Jane Collingwood reported on Psych
Central that singing can release tensions and stress. Even just listening to music in
a car for a little while can relax a person immeasurably.
But perhaps the greatest example of musics benefit is found in the
Alzheimers patients I talked about at the beginning. When Dan Cohen took
personal music into hundreds of nursing homes, both he and the families of
Alzheimers victims consistently found the same thing over and over: that music
triggered something in the patients mind that brought them back to their old self
temporarily. For just that few magic moments that the families have been praying
for, its like dementia doesnt exist and their loved one can remember who they
are and how important love is in their life.
So the next time you plan to throw out your old IPOD or MP3 player to buy
the latest and greatest new version, consider recycling it to a nursing home. Go
right inside and connect with someone that is lonely and isolated and take them a
music playlist that suits their generation and see if you cant put your old IPOD to
better use.
. As recently deceased musician Pete Seeger once said, My job is to show
folks theres a lot of good music in the world, and if used right it may help to save
the planet. I am not asking you to save the world, just to perhaps save a young
woman and her father by helping them to connect just one more time, to allow
him to answer YES - he does remember both her and the music they loved, and to
let them relive, for a moment, the treasured time they once spent together.
























Sources:
http://aliveinside.us/
Alzheimers Foundation of America. About Alzheimers. Statistics. 2013.
http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp
http://www.ukessays.com/essays/media/effects-of-audio-technology-on-video-
game-music-media-essay.php
Tuan, Yi-fu. Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perception, Attitudes, and
Values. 22. Print. <http://books.google.com/books?
http://tmcelvany.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/the-psychological-effects-of-music-
in-video-games/
http://listverse.com/2010/02/09/10-tricks-casinos-use-on-you/
http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/348.php
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100512112314.htm
http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/c/62/154316/stimulates-memory
http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-power-of-music-to-reduce-stress/000930
http://www.musiccog.ohio-
state.edu/Huron/Publications/huron.advertising.text.html