06/20/2026
Another Benefit of Music 6-20-26
We have an accordion museum and sales and service shop here in North Canaan, Ct. USA. It has been in operation for the last 15 years. As founder and curator, I have had many conversations with people who have visited concerning the special and unusual properties of not only the accordion, but of music itself.
A week ago, we were visited by a lady who brought her mother’s old accordion to us and asked to have it checked out to see if it was playable or if it needed repair. The accordion was in pristine condition which pleased this lady greatly. She told me that she worked in a hospice center here in Connecticut. Her job was to help “usher” folks into the next life when the one we live in now is over. I asked what she meant in using the word usher. She explained that when people are imminently close to passing out of this life, she would help facilitate the transfer by singing softly and quietly to that person as they rest and wait.
The singing was always a ca****la and it did not usually involve any musical instruments. She would often sing with a small group of singers, perhaps 3 or 4 at most. They claim that the softly sung music calms the patient and helps remove any fear of what is happening to them. The process can sometimes take months or it could be a lot shorter depending on the medical condition of the patient.
There are apparently quite a few of these “threshold choirs” located in many communities. Science has proven that our sense of hearing is the last one of our physical senses that we lose when we are leaving this life. As such, it gives us the opportunity to help the person receive soothing sounds and vibrations while beginning the process of making the journey. Dying is a process of letting go, and music and song can make the experience easier. This particular lady told me that she has personally ushered over 60 people through the process.
And so, I thought about this. We have plenty of music everywhere we go these days. Our world is filled with music of all kinds of genres and sounds, so much so that we often take it for granted. But suppose there is music in the next life? Could the transfer process taking us from here to there, really be facilitated by and with music? After all, what do we really know about music. We can hear it, enjoy it, compose and play it, but where does it actually come from? Could it come from the very place we will go when our time to pass arrives? I believe it is not only possible but very probable. For example, there are numerous references in the Bible to music such as in the Psalms of David and in the concept of the heavenly host singing alleluia.
My point is simple but powerful. When we learn how to make music with whatever instrument we choose, the sound of our songs and singing can rise to the heavenly realms. In this case, our singing can make all the difference to a dying person as they prepare to rise to the heavenly realms. I’m bringing this up because I keep finding new uses for music and new ways, insights and benefits coming from the creation and enjoyment of music. I believe what our world needs most now is more music because it calms and soothes and most of all, it can bring peace.
As we all know, peace is desperately needed these days.
Thank you
Paul Ramunni
860-833-1374
New England Accordion Connection & Museum Co.
75 Main Street, PO Box 943
North Canaan, Ct … 06018
NEACMC.com
