Hitting a high note: Seniors take up music in pandemic downtime

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SINGAPORE – For some seniors, the pandemic was a chance to find a new rhythm.

 

They took music lessons for the first time, making use of Covid-19 downtime to pursue a long-deferred dream of playing a musical instrument.

 

While some of these seniors view music-making as a form of active ageing, others interviewed by The Straits Times say their piano and guitar lessons are a way of picking up the threads of childhood yearnings.   

 

Mr Chow Kam Wing, 64, started taking weekly drum lessons at J Music drum school two years ago, a few months after Covid-19 took hold here. He is so enthusiastic about his pandemic hobby that he bought a $2,700 drum set and now practises at least an hour every day at home.

 

With people having to stay at home more and his frequent business trips put on hold, Mr Chow, executive director and chief financial officer of a company that makes parts for semiconductors, recalls: “Covid-19 gave me the chance to do something I had never done. I could spend time doing things I had missed out on.” 

 

He says: “Using the drum sticks and tapping the foot pedal is a different kind of movement from your daily life. Playing the drums involves coordination, memory exercises, discipline and hard work.

 

“It’s good for seniors like me. Hopefully, it can reduce the risk of dementia.”

 

The former Hong Kong resident, now a Singapore citizen, and his wife, a 62-year-old housewife, have an adult daughter. Mr Chow, who also jogs regularly, hopes to be able to play all the songs by iconic Hong Kong rock band Beyond one day.

 

While some studies suggest that learning to play music can help to slow cognitive decline, academics say dementia prevention has not been fully researched.

 

Nevertheless, taking music lessons for the first time as an older person has benefits.

 

Associate Professor Ivy Chia, head of the arts and music education programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, says: “We have not fully understood dementia at this stage, its risk factors, its causation and prevention. There are indeed research studies which suggest that learning music could help to delay or slow down age-related cognitive decline. However, more studies are needed to allow us to comprehend its impact further.”

 

She adds that “music learning and music making for leisure can benefit seniors in a number of ways”, citing studies which found that learning to play an instrument can enhance skills related to memory as well as mental control, self-regulation and goal achievement in older adults. Mood and quality of life may also improve.

 

In the Aging & Mental Health 2021 journal, British researchers reviewed data on how effective playing music is for the brain.

 

One study of twins noted that music-makers were 64 per cent less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

 

The study, like other research conducted on identical or fraternal twins, aimed to uncover how much influence genetic and environmental factors have.

 

In this same survey, two cohort studies – a type of research that follows participants over years – found that playing a musical instrument reduced the risk of dementia by 59 per cent.

 

The researchers noted, however, that the studies were limited by the small sample sizes.

 

Other ways of reducing the risk of dementia include leading a healthy lifestyle with good nutrition and regular exercise, as well as being socially active and engaging in activities that are mentally challenging, such as doing crosswords.

 

Some music schools here saw a boom in demand for music lessons during the pandemic.

 

J Music at Katong Shopping Centre, which provides drum lessons only for adults, saw a 30 per cent increase in individuals in their 50s and 60s signing up, compared with the enrolment before the pandemic, says owner Jason Ng, who declined to reveal the exact figures.

 

Mr Ng says: “Most of these older students had been too busy with work or they had just retired when the pandemic hit. I hear from a lot of them that they want to prevent dementia, slow down ageing and keep their mind active.”

 

Drum Tutor, which teaches children and adults the instrument, opened its third branch at Orchard Gateway at the end of 2021, despite student numbers falling 80 per cent during the stay-home circuit breaker which began in April 2020 and lasted nearly two months.

 

School founder and managing partner Er Chow Kiat says: “After the circuit breaker, we saw a steady stream of students coming in, and we eventually opened our third branch. People were getting Zoom-fatigued and wanted to find something to do, and playing the drums is tactile.”

 

The interest was not just limited to the elderly. While more seniors took drum lessons, far more children signed up, Mr Er adds.

 

Limousine cab driver Richard Goh says playing the drums is like a workout. “It gives me some exercise. I feel flexible and nimble, lively and relaxed,” adds the 68-year-old grandfather of three.

 

He enrolled in Drum Tutor music school in 2020 because there was little work for him then. In recent months, though, he has put the lessons on hold as work has become busy with the lifting of most of the Covid-19 restrictions. 

 

At Aureus Academy, which offers lessons for a range of musical instruments, the overall number of students increased by over 52 per cent in the period from January 2020 – before the pandemic – to December 2021, says Mr Julius Holmefjord-Sarabi, the school’s chief technical officer and chief financial officer.

 

Aureus Academy has 26 music schools in Singapore, and also outlets in Hong Kong.

 

Mr Holmefjord-Sarabi, 30, notes that there are fewer seniors enrolling in lessons, compared with children. But those who do sign up typically say that “they had always wanted to learn, but never had the opportunity”.

 

Learning to play songs they know is a primary goal for many students at Aureus Academy, he says. Most of these students do not take formal music examinations.

 

Among these students is retiree Linda Teo, 70, who began weekly guitar lessons at Aureus Academy in April.

 

As a child, Ms Teo used to listen to Chinese and English songs on the Rediffusion radio station, and envy her brother when he played the guitar with his friends.

 

“When I was young, taking music lessons was rare, especially when it came to girls learning the guitar,” says Ms Teo.

 

Marriage, family and work – she had a job at a computer chip manufacturer – soon occupied her days. She is now widowed with an adult son.

 

“I’m curious to learn new things and my teacher is teaching me a song I like, Tong Nian.”

 

The title of the song by Taiwanese singer-songwriter Luo Dayou – Childhood – seems apt.

 

The pursuit of a childhood dream resonates with Ms Betty Koh, 68, who started learning the piano at Aureus Academy in 2020, when she retired as an administrator at a company that makes X-ray machines.

 

“I used to beg my mother for piano lessons, but music lessons were seen as a luxury. My parents preferred to spend on something practical,” says Ms Koh, who has a younger sister and brother.

 

When Ms Koh had her own children – two daughters, now in their 30s – she signed them up for piano lessons when they were pre-schoolers.

 

She finds her lessons stimulating, although there is “a lot of frustration”. She is working on mastering the chords for a classic by Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng, Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xing (The Moon Represents My Heart), which her piano teacher has simplified for her.

 

“At this age, your memory is not your best asset and your hands are no longer as nimble. My grandson does better than me. But this is my big opportunity,” says Ms Koh, who is married to a businessman.

 

Associate Professor Carol Ma, head of gerontology programmes at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, says motivation is a key driver for older music learners.

 

“They may be more eager to learn and more inspired to keep going. Singapore also has a strong culture of lifelong learning,” says Dr Ma.

 

“Besides, learning music can promote inter-generational bonding. I’m not surprised that some elderly persons want to have more topics of conversation with their children.”

 

While Ms Koh is pleased that her nine-year-old grandson’s piano skills trump hers, she likes comparing notes with the boy.

 

“I want him to be competitive,” she says.

 

Music school’s $1.5m gamble on instrument loans pays off

 

The great shift online, which started during the early stages of the pandemic, was initially greeted with dismay by Aureus Academy.

 

“We had to do everything to stabilise the business. We were doing all in our power to keep students engaged. If people stopped their music lessons, chances were that they were not going to pick it up again,” says Mr Holmefjord-Sarabi.

 

Teachers at the school – which teaches children and adults vocal lessons, as well as the playing of instruments such as the violin, ukulele, piano and drums – started crafting instructional guides for online music lessons.

 

“Our teachers used cameras and phones to send recorded videos to their students and we saw them giving extremely clear instructions from various angles while teaching different musical concepts. That’s when we realised there was an opportunity to create an educational music product.”

 

The company launched its Koko e-learning app in June. The platform offers courses on how to play instruments such as the piano and guitar at various levels. Users can access a library of songs ranging from Disney hits to rock and classical pieces, or even a mash-up like Beethoven’s Fur Elise with hip-hop beats.

 

Koko is available online at www.kokomusic.com, and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store.

 

The school took another pandemic gamble. It spent $1.5 million to buy 1,500 musical instruments – mostly pianos and keyboards – which their students could use for free during the circuit breaker that lasted almost two months in 2020. This allowed them to continue practising at home even if they did not own a musical instrument.

 

Transportation fees would have cost up to $100 for one-way delivery or pick-up then, says Mr Holmefjord-Sarabi. But Aureus’ instrument loan scheme more than recouped its costs, he adds, as stay-home measures led to many scrambling to keep themselves occupied, and demand for music lessons soared.

 

The company’s student base increased by more than 52 per cent from January 2020 to December 2021. Aureus now has about 15,000 students.

 

 

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.

 

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