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Carole Mikita ReportingMusic, the so-called 'universal language', also crosses barriers of the mind. A Utah musician helps people remember.
Robyn Simper, Musician: "There's something about music; I think it goes into another part of the brain that we remember songs."
Robyn Simper helps people remember. She sings to Alzheimer's patients, music that is decades old, their music.
Many Alzheimer's patients are able to maintain their long-term memories. So this music from the past can bring them joy, hours of joy in the present.
Robyn Simper, Musician: "A familiar song is like an old friend when you're dealing with things that don't seem as familiar as they did."
This music therapy idea came from her mother, Mary, a social gerontologist or expert on aging. The two believe these songs go from the head to the heart and touch the emotions.
Robyn Simper: "There is a wonderful quote by Gregory Colbert and he said, 'The whale does not sing because he has the answer. The whale sings because he has a song.' And I think that's what we can do and what I like to do."
For an afternoon, together they drift, allowing the music to take them back where memories exist.
Robyn and Mary Simper do their mother-daughter act at a number of care centers throughout the valley.
