Seniors feel better following tune up during music lessons

Judy Cone is not a doctor, but she's doing quite a bit to help senior citizens feel better.

The 63-year-old West Ashley resident is a class leader providing music therapy through the Lowrey recreational wellness music program for senior adults.

Housed under Fox Music House at 3005 W. Montague Ave. in North Charleston, the Lowrey program teaches senior citizens how to play the organ.

"I teach senior adults who always wanted to be able to play and either never had the opportunity or didn't take advantage of the opportunity. And now that they're older, there are no other senior adult programs in the area," Cone said.

"Here, they're with folks their own age; it's a nonthreatening environment. They're not asked to play in front of the class. They're in here because it's safe and they're learning. They learn to read the notes, to count the rhythms, and they have fun doing it. It's fun and it's easy."

She said she believes that playing a musical instrument has medical benefits, too. Participants may experience a reduction in stress, anxiety, depression, blood pressure and feelings of loneliness. Improved physical coordination, mental concentration and memory and elevated mood also may occur.

Playing the organ is physically easy, too, she said. The instrument does not take as much strength to press its keys as a piano does. Plus, Cone pointed out, the position of the music rack on an organ is just right for people who wear bifocals.

Cone said the benefits of her classes are far more than just physical.

"This is more about taking care of people and helping senior adults through some hard times in their lives," she said. "Many are lonely and need friends and a hobby, something they can do to fill voids of having kids far away, lost spouses or filling time. A lot of things people don't think about ... (what) seniors have to deal with.

"A lot of people are just looking for something to do, to look forward to," she said. "They're retired, or it's a social event."

Cone's students come from as far away as Beaufort, Santee, Walterboro and Moncks Corner as well as the Charleston metro area. She is a Charleston native who retired in 2006 as Stratford High School's choral director.

The lifelong organist, pianist and vocalist was the first music education graduate at Charleston Southern University and has been teaching with the Lowrey program for the past two years.

"Music is such a powerful force in our lives, and it affects every facet of who we are. It's a whole-body experience," she said. "When it's all said and done, it's just fun and uplifting. For me to see the smiles on their faces, that gives me so much satisfaction."