It All Comes Flooding Back When Former Music Teacher with Dementia Is Asked to Play Piano
It’s like she didn’t even skip a beat.
For many people it’s normal to change your hobbies as you age. Some people gain new skills in retirement, while others find it hard to maintain their activities due to physical and mental ailments like arthritis or Alzheimer’s. Even minor memory loss can dramatically affect a person’s life. But, for others their true passions ring true for them even in the midst of mental decline.
92-year-old mother, Elaine Lebar, taught piano for decades, but has been suffering from dementia in her golden years. However, despite claiming to not even know certain pieces of music she can still play them by heart at the drop of hat!
Elaine’s daughter, Randi, began recording video of her mother playing as keepsakes to have in the future. She then uploaded some of the videos to TikTok to raise awareness about dementia and thousands of people watched her mother play beautifully after all these years. Some of Elaine’s previous piano students even got in touch after seeing the videos to show their support.
As a child Randi rarely heard her mother playing whole pieces of music. Instead she heard the practicing of music, a story re re-told while giving an interview. When her mother heard the word “practice” she clamored to the piano and began playing again right in the middle of the interview! Some habits really don’t fade even with age or illness and this is what a lifetime of playing piano has left Elaine with.
See this wonderful woman play like she’s in her prime in the video below.
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