Music Therapy for the Elderly

Drum in hand and focus directed towards the circle of 20 students each equipped with drum and large drumstick, Professor Diego Cueto dictates to the class a basic and moderately manageable rhythm. Tapping the wooden block against a cylindrical painted bin drum, Cueto pounds out a recognizable Argentine drum line. After a few repetitions he counts down the beats until a rattling chorus of percussion adds to his banging reverberation.

Smiles grow on the faces of the students as they sit and pound with fluid motion the dictated rhythm. A couple of students excitedly stand up and gently throw around their legs and arms as if possessed by the infectious South American Batucada. The echoing reverberations sound like the same marching political battle cries which frequent the Plaza de Mayo, or the festive strikes heard during neighbourhood murgas. In fact, the energetic vibrations send the dancers into a Murga-esque trance.

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