Jazz Musicians vs Dementia

[princeplanet]

It's long been my suspicion that people over 65 who are active musicians succumb to dementia or alzheimers less than the average mean.

But the research is thin on the ground, so, as we have many senior members here, I was wondering if your own experience of people you have known seems to suggest that Jazz (or classical) musicians are less likely to be affected by dementia.

FWIW, it seems to me there aren't too many well known Jazz musicians that suffered from this debilitating disease. At least when compared with the average population.

Dunno, am I wrong?

[Mick-7]

It's long been my suspicion that people over 65 who are active musicians succumb to dementia or alzheimers less than the average mean.

But the research is thin on the ground, so, as we have many senior members here, I was wondering if your own experience of people you have known seems to suggest that Jazz (or classical) musicians are less likely to be affected by dementia.

FWIW, it seems to me there aren't too many well known Jazz musicians that suffered from this debilitating disease. At least when compared with the average population.

Dunno, am I wrong?

Many studies have shown that creative pursuits are good for one's mental health:
Cognitive aging: why we need creativity to increase cognitive preservation - PMC

Creative pursuits for mental health and well-being

[RLetson]

Agree that really good research on distribution of dementia across various populations is thin. But one problem is that "dementia" covers a range of conditions, some with pretty well-established relationships to other conditions and pathogies (Parkinson's, stroke and vascular problems) and others not so much. My father, for example, suffered what looked like non-Alzheimer's dementia, while his older brother's case sounded like classic Alzheimer's. Neither was identified by post-mortem examination, so I'm guessing based on observation and descriptions of various kinds of dementia.

What is pretty well established is that music gets through to dementia patients who don't respond to language--ask anybody who plays nursing home gigs. And it's also well established that music gets processed by parts of the brain not associated with language. So while it's not clear that playing music is a defense against dementia, it's possible that musical activity is less affected by the processes we call "dementia." So maybe at least one of the last things to go when dementia comes a-calling is the music. That's not nothing.

[nyc chaz]

Doing something creative will help stave off dementia.That being said,many jazz musicians die before getting to the age where dementia is most likely to occur.

[Sigmund451]

Jazz musicians historically didnt live long enough to get dementia.

That said its got to be good for your brain...making any kind of music.

[Stevebol]

Mom had dementia and passed away at age 89 in 2019. Like my father she was a fine musician. She was a nut but these days I think not as nuts as I thought.
I don't like thinking about this.
When my father died of a heart attack in 2013 the cops went to the house because mom was wandering around the neighborhood.
About half a dozen cops were there.
She said, OK I'm going to play the piano for you now.

It's the first time I heard her play and it wasn't good. She played some Mozart but had been working on stride for about half a year.
I sat in the back yard with her and one of the cops for about an hour and half. She was chattering away not making any sense.
After a while the cop said, this is surreal. I'm going through the same thing with a family member.
After about a week I hadn't slept a wink and drove her to the hospital. That was that.

She got her mojo back at the memory care facility. She was knocking out Mozart, stride and biting the shit out of everyone.
Meet my mom. We love show business.
The show must go on.

Dementia is a bitch. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. A guy I was tight with in Japan 40 years ago stayed there all this time. He's gone.
He stayed and worked as a solo act all this time. His wife said he showed signs of dementia around 2010 when he opened his own club. I couldn't tell when we talked in 2014. We last talked around 2016.

Fundraiser by Darrell Gartrell : Battling Dementia Requires Our Best Effort

It's like the world stops. I feel like a cheapskate. I'm going to make another donation. I think he's back in the US now. He was tight with his mother.
I doubt it will register with him that she passed away a couple years ago. He said he was planning to move to the US to look after her.
he loved performing. I don't think he ever had any other job.

[starjasmine]

I've heard that continuing to learn staves off mental decline. Playing jazz requires you to learn; you're always learning new tunes, new approches to old ones, new techniques. Perhaps more importantly, you are recalling information and applying it in real time. IDK whether any of this helps, but it seems like it should. I can't think of a single musician I know that has significant cognitive decline.

Update: the above was not meant to contradict Stevebol. I'm really sorry to hear about your friend.

[AllanAllen]

Jazz musicians historically didnt live long enough to get dementia.

That said its got to be good for your brain...making any kind of music.

That’s not statistically true.

[Stevebol]

I've heard that continuing to learn staves off mental decline. Playing jazz requires you to learn; you're always learning new tunes, new approches to old ones, new techniques. Perhaps more importantly, you are recalling information and applying it in real time. IDK whether any of this helps, but it seems like it should. I can't think of a single musician I know that has significant cognitive decline.

Update: the above was not meant to contradict Stevebol. I'm really sorry to hear about your friend.

You never know. Improvisation might help. I should play guitar more. Lol. I keep it simple these days. It can be relaxing.
I'm all Jung's Chaos Storm. My mind is overstimulated with crazy news. They say adaptation is a key to dealing with old age.

[Stevebol]

I've heard that continuing to learn staves off mental decline. Playing jazz requires you to learn; you're always learning new tunes, new approches to old ones, new techniques. Perhaps more importantly, you are recalling information and applying it in real time. IDK whether any of this helps, but it seems like it should. I can't think of a single musician I know that has significant cognitive decline.

Update: the above was not meant to contradict Stevebol. I'm really sorry to hear about your friend.

The love of money ruins everything. Lol. I only cared about playing commercial music in a non-commercial setting in the 1980's. I always got paid.
Now I listen to a lot of the music that I was listening to in the early 70's when I started playing guitar. It makes me feel better and it's relaxing.
Even if you're bop challenged, bop till you drop.

I'm in a techno duo with another guitar player. We do all kinds of music but we got into middle eastern techno. Love it.
I don't care if we gig. I'm not going out of way to.
I miss the abuse.

Win the crowd.

[AllanAllen]

Even if you're bop challenged, bop till you drop.

Win the crowd.

[lammie200]

Playing an instrument is certainly good for the brain. But I caution to think that that one ability can ward off any mental ailments if other good habits are not also in place. Someone can yuck it up on Keith Richards now.

[GNAPPI]

I read of a study where they suggested that folks who liked coffee were less inclined to Alzheimer's.

What they could NOT explain is if the people who LOVED coffee and for some reason did NOT drink it were not likely to get Alzheimer's.

I love coffee, so did all of my family non got Alzheimer's... They all died of a new disease "I" named pissedoffidness. Gads they were all so angry all the time.

[Rob MacKillop]

As we get older, we are often encouraged to play word and number games, Sudoku and the like. I imagine learning new tunes and new ways to navigate them has similar benefits.

When I left hospital last November after a six-month stay, we noticed that there were many words I couldn’t remember. I was encouraged to try word games, but they did nothing for me. I also forgot who I was, why I was in a room, etc. My playing had deteriorated badly, so I started doing the basics again, scales and arpeggios, and doing simple improvisations again. That got me grounded. Now only a few words refuse to emerge from my brain, and they are directly related to my stay in hospital. I’m getting better, but remain scarred. I can cope with that, but there were times we all worried that I was suffering from dementia. I think music helped me through the worst of it.

Sometimes a simple C Major scale seems like a lifeline, its structure, the rise and fall, the predictability, can stop the noise and chaos that constantly surrounds us.

[Eugle]

Interesting point. From what I’ve seen, a lot of older jazz musicians do seem to stay mentally sharp, and improvising, memorizing tunes, and constant learning probably gives the brain a serious workout. That could build some kind of cognitive reserve.


But it’s hard to rely on famous examples. Dementia often goes unreported, and there’s definitely some survivorship bias. I’ve also seen in Mobe reviews that ongoing learning and social engagement help brain health, which musicians naturally get a lot of.


So maybe you’re onto something, but it feels more like a solid hypothesis than proven fact.

[ruger9]

You never know. Improvisation might help. I should play guitar more. Lol. I keep it simple these days. It can be relaxing.
I'm all Jung's Chaos Storm. My mind is overstimulated with crazy news. They say adaptation is a key to dealing with old age.

In my experience, it's acceptance that's the key to dealing with old age...and everything else in life.

[darkwaters]

I’m not sure about dementia, but music certainly staves off boredom.