“Music is not magic, but it feels like it, right?”
So says Meghan Ross, board-certified music therapist. Every day, she sees the power of music at work for residents of Oaknoll Retirement Residence in Iowa City. Through Caring Cadences, she’s inviting graduate students into the alchemy.
Music therapy uses music to address non-musical goals, Ross says. For example: instead of teaching someone to sing, a music therapist may use singing to strengthen their swallowing or speaking.
Ross specializes in working with older adults, particularly those living with dementia. Research has shown that music therapy addresses dementia by reducing anxiety and depression, even improving quality of life.
“Music can touch so many parts of our brains—emotions, rhythm, feeling, intonation—that may not be as affected by dementia,” says Ross. “You get to see that person light up again.”
As Oaknoll’s full-time music therapist, Ross learned that many residents loved attending live music earlier in life. So when she came across HeartStrings—a professional quartet that brings music therapy-informed concerts directly to care facilities in Wisconsin—she wanted to build something similar in Iowa.
“They make these accessible classical music performances for people who can’t sit in a formal rehearsal hall for two hours,” she says. In this setting, residents can “react, make noises, play instruments, sing along . . . it’s all acceptable.”
Drawing on HeartStrings’ advice, Ross set out to create Caring Cadences. She connected with Elizabeth Oakes, director of the University of Iowa’s String Quartet Residency Program, to team up with one of the university’s chamber ensembles, the Dunn Quartet. The musicians then joined music therapy students to develop 30-minute concerts of short, popular songs specifically chosen for older listeners.
“I’m hoping it’s a collaboration we can keep going for many years,” says Ross. “It benefits the chamber musicians, the music therapy students, and the residents.”
With free performances at three communities each semester, the musicians learn to build relationships with their audiences, asking questions and telling personal stories between pieces.
“Helping to teach professional musicians to interact with their community in this way . . . is really special to watch as a music therapist,” says Ross. “Seeing musicians engage with so much care and so much compassion is encouraging.”
Music therapy students support the performances by handing out instruments, singing along with residents, and encouraging them to move and respond in whatever way feels best. “[We’re] showing them it’s okay to sing along, it’s okay to be tapping your knee and enjoying yourself,” says Ross.
Music therapists are an excellent resource for structuring an event and supporting residents, but “finding musicians who will buy into this idea is the key,” she says.
“Maybe [there’s] an amazing folk music group, a brass quintet, or piano player with two wind instruments,” says Ross. “If there are musicians interested in this, I highly recommend they find a music therapist to collaborate with.”