Piano Man

4th September 2012 Tuesday

This afternoon I bought a piano for my husband.  Actually it’s a keyboard piano which also sounds like a harpsicord or an organ if you press one of the other buttons. We went to the piano shop with his old keyboard to buy a cable for it but discovered it was defunct.There was too much writing on it anyway - too complicated, too many buttons.  We are calling this one his early birthday present and I’m calling him Piano Man. I love the sound of this music in the house - even the sound of practising.

This morning at nearly the end of the session with our lovely clinical psychologist ( who told us scary stories about cuts in the NHS) we mentioned that my husband started to play the piano again last week while we were away. He said that musical ability is located on the right side of the brain and it remains unaffected by disease. Even people with severe Altzheimer’s respond to and recognise a tune. My husband’s disease affects the left side of the brain and as he has a musical talent it seems a good idea to encourage it. Better than trying to watch TV or read......

I was going to make jam this afternoon but it seemed more urgent to get my husband’s fingers on those keys... unlocking the music in him......music without words.