Classical Guitar Alive

On this day, June 13th, way back in 2014, I personally witnessed something seemingly miraculous at the time: 

I was asked to play classical guitar music for some Alzheimer patients, as part of Classical Guitar Alive’s Music In Medicine program. I tried to engage the audience, but many of them couldn’t speak, or could barely speak. But when I started playing a solo guitar arrangement of Schubert’s “Ave Maria”  something sparked and they started singing along.

Both the medical staff and I were stunned. These same patients, who couldn’t remember the names of lifelong family members, yet they remembered the words to this song. I had heard of this phenomenon before, but I was stunned to witness it first hand. 

I now know the science behind this: Music and memory share key brain regions (hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, parietal cortex). Music’s ability to evoke memories stems from this integrated neural architecture, making it a unique tool for memory retrieval and emotional connection.

Although I can’t personally play music for patients in every hospice or hospital, the next best thing: I can reach as many listeners as possible through the national broadcasts of the Classical Guitar Alive! program.

So, here’s to good brain health, and here’s a CGA radio episode that I hope you’ll enjoy:

CGA Episode 25-23: “Scaramouch” by Milhaud, “Garden of the Crystal” by Jose Antonio Chic, “Suite Azanca” by Albert Hamann, Works by Weiss, Marcello, and more:

To listen online (without downloading): https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/571510?m=false

Thanks for your support of Classical Guitar Alive! We’re reaching 400,000 listeners each week on over 200 radio stations thanks to you!

Help support the program with your contribution here:

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Many thanks!

-Tony