MUSIC THERAPY &
SENIORS
Life On Music offers both group and individual music therapy sessions tailored to support seniors. Each session is thoughtfully designed to meet participants where they are, with activities adapted to different levels of support. Our programs are fully customizable, ensuring that every senior receives meaningful, personalized care through the power of music.
For each level of care, the session is led by a board-certified music therapist who facilitates live, age-appropriate, familiar singing with guitar accompaniment. The participants have the opportunity to sing along, play instruments, move to the music, listen, write songs, and play music games like "Name That Tune" and "Music Bingo."
For adults with with Alzheimer's or a related disease, music therapy gives participants the opportunity to engage in familiar singing, listening, and movement activities while working on motor strength, vocal maintenance, speech intelligibility, autonomy, and mood.
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Music therapy sessions designed for memory care give participants the opportunity to increase skills required for daily living, and add a special emphasis on increasing reality orientation, memory recall, executive functioning, mood, and reminiscence.
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Across multiple studies and reviews, music-based interventions for older adults—including group music therapy, instrument training, and neurologic music therapy—are consistently associated with improvements in emotional wellbeing, cognitive and motor functioning, and social engagement. Group-based and interactive music experiences are especially beneficial, supporting mood regulation, motivation for rehabilitation, preserved autobiographical memory in dementia, and meaningful social connection. This research shows measurable gains in:
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Reduced depression and anxiety
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Improved social engagement and connection
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Preserved and enhanced autobiographical memory in Alzheimer’s disease
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Improved mood and emotional regulation
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Decreased caregiver distress
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Improved verbal fluency and communication
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Enhanced motivation for rehabilitation and treatment engagement
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Improved visuomotor and motor skills
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Reduced apathy and agitation in dementia
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Improved sleep quality and increased physical activity
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MacRitchie, J., Breaden, M., Milne, A. J., & McIntyre, S. (2020). Cognitive, motor and social factors of music instrument training programs for older adults’ improved wellbeing. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2868. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02868
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Yu, A. L., Lo, S. F., Chen, P. Y., & Lu, S. F. (2022). Effects of group music intervention on depression for elderly people in nursing homes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9291. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159291
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Matziorinis, A. M., & Koelsch, S. (2022). The promise of music therapy for Alzheimer’s disease: A review. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1516(1), 11–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14864
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Ma, G., & Ma, X. (2023). Music intervention for older adults: Evidence map of systematic reviews. Medicine, 102(48), e36016. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000036016
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Street, A., Zhang, J., Pethers, S., Wiffen, L., Bond, K., & Palmer, H. (2020). Neurologic music therapy in multidisciplinary acute stroke rehabilitation: Could it be feasible and helpful? Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 27(7), 541–552. https://doi.org/10.1080/10749357.2020.172985