Music Mends Minds

Music as Alternative Therapy

Meeting Carol Rosenstein is a joyful experience. Her welcoming embrace, colorful scarves and passion for her newfound work are magnetic.

She and her beloved Irwin, a lawyer, met after Carol placed an ad in a Los Angeles newspaper seeking a new mate.  Several years ago, Irwin developed Parkinson’s disease and then dementia, and the course of their lives together took an unexpected turn. When Carol noticed Irwin’s spirits and energy rising as he played familiar tunes on his piano, she knew she was on to something significant. In her own words, “music mends minds.”

So together, Carol and Irwin began MMM to promote music as an alternative therapy for neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to LA’s original intergenerational Fifth Dementia Band, new groups are forming across the country and overseas. The beautiful music and camaraderie engendered amongst all involved forestalls the progression of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and related dementias, inspiring the daughter of one participant to share that the ”music gave my mum hope, laughter, and joy when nothing else could.”

GPF funds help underwrite the costs of a music therapist to enhance MMM’s groundbreaking work.