The evidence firmly exists that music plays an important role in almost everyone’s life, and for older adults, it can help support healthy brain aging and build cognitive reserve. We also have evidence of the therapeutic value of music in helping patients to recover from illness or to endure difficult medical procedures. Whether helping to reduce stress or anxiety, soothing pain, or distracting from difficulties, there’s nothing quite like music to help you through challenging times. As Martin Luther King once said, “My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary.”

And perhaps one of the interesting aspects of music is that it appears to remain with us through our memory in ways that other types of information do not. A recent study published in PLOS ONE found that the ability to recall music, even music that is not familiar, appears to remain intact regardless of age. According to this study, memory associated with music might be more resilient to brain aging than other types of memory. In fact, researchers will use this study to further understand the power of music in connection with cognitive functions, so that innovative strategies can be developed to use music as a “scaffold” to support other types of memories. For more on this study, turn up the volume and read here and here.

At the very end of life, many find music to be a calming and soothing presence. There is even a field of study called “music thanatology,” by which practitioners play music at the bedside of the dying. While harp music is often associated with this palliative use of music, many dying patients and their families find comfort and support in playing music specifically enjoyed by the patient or shared by the patient and family as a way of connecting during these final moments. Recently, the Marie Curie Institute, an organization devoted to cancer research and treatment, surveyed 1000 family members who were with their loved ones at the end of life and found that 84% of the respondents believed that music at the end of life was relaxing and calming. While that likely comes as no surprise, what is perhaps more interesting is the list of top 10 songs compiled as the most requested songs played at the end of life. With choices ranging from Frank Sinatra’s My Way to Queen’s These Are The Days Of Our Lives, the playlist is contemporary, diverse, and eclectic, unique to each individual. As musician Paul Simon said, “Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.” And as this survey has found, that appears to be the case.