The Music Medicine

“People don’t just want to sing Mary had a little lamb with a volunteer, sometimes they need a serious opera aria. – said Maartje de Lint, singer and trainer.

It is a miraculous phenomenon: patients with dementia, in whom memory (and sometimes speech) are severely impaired, can often sing along flawlessly with a song from the past. By singing along they regain their ability to speak, and not infrequently all kinds of memories.

Classical singer Maartje de Lint was so captivated by this phenomenon that she decided to make it her daily work. “I sing and dance with people affected by dementia. De Lint uses the BASE method she developed for her Singing Circles, among other things. During these meetings, people with dementia (as well as their caregivers) are trained to sing together. It is a source of comfort: their “sound memory” turns out to be a human capital. Eli, an elderly Moluccan man, experiences firsthand how much happier singing makes him. He shares this with his daughter Shirley, who is training to become a Care Singer with De Lint.

Theo with dementia and his wife Nelly also draw joy from music during this difficult stage of life. Theo is a big fan of Paling pop, and has “Mooi Volendam” as his favourite song. At least ten times a day he listens to the song, and every time tears run down his cheeks. Theo is taking part in a major medical study organized by the Alzheimer’s Center of the Amsterdam UMC. Scientists are looking for the answer to the question of what happens in the brain when people with different dementia variants listen to music that is dear to them. Based on the findings, the researchers hope to develop medication in the future.

Currently, dementia is considered the number one cause of death in the Netherlands.

Since his own mother developed Alzheimer’s and died from it, Frénk van der Linden has also been intensively engaged in the subject as a journalist. As a self-proclaimed music maniac, he was touched by the work of Maartje de Lint. For the documentary The Music Medicine, van der Linden immersed himself for three years in the wonderful world of the human brain. How do scientists view the healing power of music? How do people with dementia experience it themselves, and what does it mean for their loved ones? The Music Medicine not only shows how people with dementia derive support and hope from their favourite songs and compositions, the film also illustrates how necessary professionalization of singing within healthcare is.

Van der Linden follows De Lint on her international mission. Among other things, she manages to give Singing Circles in a German music temple: the Leipzig opera. She is also eventually welcomed at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

The Music Medicine, a co-production of Memphis Features and Omroep MAX, is the first documentary directed by Frénk van der Linden. In Memphis Features he found a fitting producer, which has distinguished itself for over thirty years with films of high social relevance.