A music therapy program in Norfolk, Virginia is using the power of rhythm to help improve the lives of seniors living with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by utilizing a new drum technology designed to be accessible for individuals with disabilities, Comfort Sound Technology.

Released earlier this year by the Santa Clarita-based drum manufacturer  Remo Inc., Comfort Sound Technology is a drumhead composite material that delivers a unique quality of sound by suppressing high-frequency overtones.

“I’m always adding more (Comfort Sound Technology) drums to my collection because they’re just so accessible and my older adult population just loves them,” said Becky Watson, a board-certified music therapist and owner of Music for Wellness in Norfolk. “If you play a really loud drum, it can really agitate their hearing, but the Comfort Sound Technology is not very loud… It’s not overbearing. It feels good.”

Music for Wellness provides evidence-based music therapy and wellness programs for seniors affected by dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, with a goal of using music to reach non-musical goals.

“The real key for music therapy, and a music therapist, is the relationship that the music therapist has intentionally using the music to reach non-musical goals,” Watson explained. “Physical goals, process skills, language, expressive communication– those kinds of things.”

Drumming can be a powerful tool for music therapists like Watson, who compared the “primitive” sound of the drum to the sound of a mother’s heartbeat for a baby in the womb.

Related: New Drum Technology Challenges Assumptions About Autism

A retired Navy captain, Watson realized her passion for music therapy during the final days she spent with her own mother in hospice, which were filled with comforting songs Watson played on her guitar.

“The guitar was so soothing for my mother, but especially for me, and that’s when I knew this is what my calling was,” Watson recalled. “It helped me personally, and I had this drive and passion to help others experience joy, because that’s one thing my mother always had. Even though she lived only 60 years, she lived every minute to the fullest, and that’s why I encourage my clients who are living with dementia and Alzheimer’s (to) live in the moment.”

Seniors participating in the Music for Wellness program not only enjoy the comfortable sound produced by Comfort Sound Technology drums, but the tactile stimulation of touching the drums as well.

“They love the sound and the texture,” Watson said. “It’s a thicker drumhead, but it feels good. A lot of my clients don’t see very well, but they love to feel it.”

Though Watson has only been using Comfort Sound Technology for about a year, time and time again she has witnessed the astounding physical and emotional benefits of rhythm in people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

“I am just so honored and passionate about how music, specifically drumming, energizes, empowers, engages and just brings pure joy to those individuals who may not have a lot of joy in their life, especially as they have cognitive decline,” she said. “It’s just so fascinating to see how drumming and rhythm really brings them out of their shell.”

Santa Clarita hometown manufacturer Remo Inc. has partnered with leading neurologists and drum education experts to develop evidence-based wellness programs that use rhythm as a tool to support better living.  Music therapists often use these tools for their music therapy work. Sometimes people refer to this as drum therapy. One such program, called HealthRHYTHMS, utilizes drumming as a tool for communication and personal expression by guiding participants through a 10-step process. Other Remo wellness programs consider the needs of people with autism who drum, and people with Alzheimer’s and PTSD who also use the drum to improve the quality of their lives. Remo, Inc. is one of the leading drum manufacturers, making drums with recycled material.