SMM symposium on making music in old age

For a long time, it was believed that musical skills are rarely acquired and used to advantage in old age if they were not acquired in childhood or at least as a young adult. However, as the Zurich neuropsychologist Lutz Jäncke will show at the 12th Symposium of the Swiss Society for Music Medicine (SMM), work on the special expertise of professional musicians has led to the realization that the human brain is much more plastic than previously assumed, even into old age. According to Jäncke, the plasticity of the brain also means that the non-use of mental functions can lead to neuroanatomical and neurophysiological degradation. Against this background, a new and different picture of ageing is emerging, which is much more strongly influenced by self-initiated and self-controlled cognitive functions than previously assumed.

Music journalist Corinne Holtz, who heads the CAS "Musical Learning in Old Age" at Bern University of the Arts, will report that older people at music schools represent a growing target group with diverse potential. Singing in a choir is an obvious choice. Karl Scheuber, choirmaster and former head of the ZhdK study area, will also show how a colorful repertoire of songs, movements and sounds can be built up and expanded with conscious seriousness, mutual empathy, breathing techniques and the joy of the versatile treasure of our vocal memory, which is appropriate for old age. Even a significant loss of natural hearing ability need not be an obstacle. Zurich master acoustician Michael Stückelberger will explain how hearing aids can be adapted with the help of competent acousticians so that they are also suitable for the enjoyment of music and not just for speech comprehension.

Hans Hermann Wickel from the Department of Social Work at the German University of Applied Sciences in Münster will present music geragogy, the discipline of musical learning and musical education in old age. It aims to enable people of all ages to participate actively and receptively in music. The spectrum ranges from instrumental and vocal lessons to making music in choirs or senior ensembles, as well as participation in intergenerational groups and music programs for the very old, or even multimorbid and dementia patients.

Singing is also the focus of the presentation by Eberhard Seifert, Head of Phoniatrics at the University ENT Clinic of the Inselspital in Bern. He explains the physiological basis of sound production and how it changes over the course of a person's life and how this can be dealt with with regard to the ageing process.

Maria Schuppert, who works as a professor at the Center for Musicians' Health at the Detmold University of Music, explains that excellent musical performance on instruments can be maintained into old age, provided there are no limiting underlying illnesses, and Hans Martin Ulbrich, former oboist of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, points out that former professional musicians need to be able to let go. This - and the former professional will not conceal this - can be difficult if, among other things, poverty prevails in old age and there is no money to live carefree, or if an illness forces you to give up your career prematurely.