The musical side of my dad's dementia

My grandfather started playing piano at the age of four. He taught music as an adult.

In the last years of his Alzheimer's, he didn't know who I was and could barely remember conversations we'd had 5 minutes prior.

But, if you put him in front of a piano, he could play songs for hours.

I've heard before of how people with dementia will sing the songs of their youth. And I have wondered, when I'm old, if my mind goes, will I too start singing the sweet notes of Blood, Fire, Death; Equimanthorn; Zombie Ritual; Mutilation; Hammer Smashed Face; Skullfull of Maggots; and the like? Will I walk around the corridors of whatever care home I end up in, belting out Tom Araya's blood-curdling screams at the beginning of Angel of Death, like I loved to do as a teenager?

Anyone interested in this should watch Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory.[1]

Here[2] is an astonishing excerpt from the film where an unresponsive old man is given a pair of earbuds playing music from his era. The effects are profound.

[1]http://www.aliveinside.us

[2]https://youtu.be/NKDXuCE7LeQ

This article is also reminiscent of the case of Clive Wearing [1], who lost his memory to disease. His short term memory was reduced to seconds, and yet he remembers music he once played and conducted.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymEn_YxZqZw&index=2&list=PLA...

This is really weird. My granny died several weeks ago from dementia and she somehow managed to memorize really old song from TV. Even just before death she tried to sing several notes... it was really amusing. Reading this article is exactly what was going on. So... weird timing for me I guess.