Blog #2

By the second week of our performances, Jamie and I began to get the hang of playing together. For the past couple of days, we began printing new pieces to work on for our duets. These pieces include “One Summer Day” as well as Disney duet pieces like “A Tale as Old as Time.” We had also prepared our own solo pieces. We have continued to adjust the pieces in order for the songs to accommodate for cello and bass. In the last couple of days, we also changed project mentors from Ms. Zabrosky to Brandy Turner because Brandy oversees the music therapy coordination across assisted living facilities. It was incredibly fun visiting new facilities that we have never been to.

We visited the Avenue at Lyndhurst Care and Rehabilitation Center where we were able to visit one of the patients and also play a couple pieces. The patient talked to us about her favorite TV show, Friends, and Brandy guided us throughout the experience. It was shocking for me to see Brandy talk with patients because it was very different from the interactions I was used to. During the first interactions, it was actually very difficult for me to get more comfortable talking with patients experiencing dementia and other kinds of mental illnesses. I learned that waking up patients for mental stimulation and conversation can be very beneficial. Although it felt uncomfortable at first, this experience taught me a lot about how to engage with patients experiencing dementia. As I reflect on the week, I believe I have learned to be more outgoing in my conversations with patients. In addition, I’m a lot more comfortable in the hospice setting and I’m able to be more independent when interacting with patients. I am really excited to meet more people and hear their stories in the next couple of weeks of my senior project.