People with Alzheimer’s who enjoy singing songs from their youth

Bobby Vee of the Shadows was still playing the guitar in 2013, less than three years before he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease on 24 October 2016. Photograph: Jeff Baenen/AP

I read the heartwarming letter (29 November) in which Dennis Ruston said that even when his late wife had advanced Alzheimer’s she loved to join in the hymns on TV’s Songs of Praise and was word-perfect. Singing for the Brain groups, organised by the Alzheimer’s Society, allow people with dementia to join in songs from their youth. They normally each have a carer with them to support and encourage them to sing. Researchers have found that the brain’s musical pathways remain relatively unscathed by the illnesses that affect normal speech, and people who have lost their speech because of dementia, stroke and other conditions can often still access the words of songs. In such cases, singing is one of the few remaining activities that a dementia patient and their spouse can enjoy equally together.
Ann Wills
Ruislip, Middlesex

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