
As a musician's memory faded, his family saved the music still in his head - wallflower
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/page/family_struggles_to_save_music.html
======
camtarn
TL;DR: an amateur composer who never learned to write down his music is
developing Alzheimer's, and slowly forgetting how to play the songs he wrote.
His daughter recruits her friend, a musician who can learn by ear, to record
him playing the fragments he still has left and to work with him to fill in
the gaps. In the end, she produces a CD of his work and plays his songs at a
concert, so that the songs he wrote will live on even as they disappear from
his head.

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psyc
I understand that at this stage he needed another musician to pull the music
out of him interactively. But before it got that bad, a simple analog
recording would have done. A MIDI recording even better.

I've been composing all my life. I know how to write music notation, but
absolutely can't stand the tedium. I don't write code in calligraphy, and for
the same reason, I play my music into a MIDI keyboard. From there, I can fuss
with either the raw data, or actual music notation if I like, in software.

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gosheroo
Btw, Lionel Bart, composer and lyricist of the musical _Oliver!_ , also did
not do musical notation. He hummed the tunes to a fellow musician who
transcribed them. I've no idea how much 'filling in' the other musician did in
terms of harmony, arrangement and so on. But here's another question: if Bart
had formally learnt to read music, or Goodwin had written his songs down,
would they still have been able to compose them?

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tribe
If you liked this, you might also be interested in this project by The
Caretaker. He has been diagnosed with dementia, and is producing music over
several months to try to capture the progression of the disease. I recommend
giving it a listen:

[https://thecaretaker.bandcamp.com/album/everywhere-at-the-
en...](https://thecaretaker.bandcamp.com/album/everywhere-at-the-end-of-time)

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dghughes
Before reading it I assumed it was about John Mann from 'Spirit of the West' a
Canadian band from BC he has early onset alzheimer's.

[http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/intimate-documentary-
explores-s...](http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/intimate-documentary-explores-
spirit-of-the-west-singer-s-journey-with-alzheimer-s-1.2966002)

------
rhcom2
I highly recommend the documentary "Alive Inside" which deals with giving
dementia and Alzheimer's patients the music they loved all their life and the
profound effects it can have on quality of life.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaB5Egej0TQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaB5Egej0TQ)

------
everybodyknows
Glen Campbell, American country singer, was diagnosed a few years back, after
having trouble remembering the lyrics during performances.

    
    
      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2049586

