In his 70s, my dad underwent surgery meant to correct worsening issues from a World War II brain injury. Instead of helping prevent dementia, as the surgery was meant to do, it sent him into a severe form of the disease from which he never recovered. There was little left in Dad’s post-surgery life that could bring him real joy. But music could.

Recently, an online article at the Huffington Post confirmed what I saw with my dad and what has also been frequently documented in other reports....