About Me
About Brandon Kwon
Hello, my name is Brandon Kwon. I have been playing the clarinet for almost eight years now, and it has become something I am incredibly passionate about. Playing the clarinet allowed me to find ways to express emotions that I used to have trouble communicating. My overall journey to clarinet has really made me mature as a person. Besides, it has allowed me to find a hobby that I will continue with for the rest of my life.
I first became interested in playing the clarinet after listening to the movie "Howl's Moving Castle.” I found the clarinet solo to be simply superb, and it gave me chills the first time I heard it. It really inspired me to one day be able to play at that level of expressiveness and impact other people like that with my playing.
Throughout my musical journey, I have found several pieces which have influenced my playing and made me the musician I am today.
When I was young, I thought of music as an outlet for my creativity and love of clarinet. Three years ago, I discovered the importance of neuroscience after stumbling on an article about how mental disabilities affect lives and their causes. After reading the article, I became interested in the brain structure and what causes specific disabilities. This and the extreme sympathy I felt every time I saw someone with a mental disability led to my interests in neuroscience and the advanced research of the brain.
Thus, my love of music and interest in neuroscience led me to create “Music for Elderly” to benefit the elderly with music. Many research studies have shown the benefit of music for individuals with neurodegenerative conditions like Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. But I believe ANY older adult can benefit from music, its neurological and psychological benefit.
I dedicate this work to my grandmother, Hannah Kim, who has dementia and has been an inspiration for this work. It has been a pleasure to pursue the endeavors to help elderly, like my grandmother.
Neuroscience and Research:
My interest in Neuroscience first started when I took my biology class in my sophomore year of high school. I had never been exposed to Neuroscience before then, and I basically only knew that the word meant the study of the brain. Biology opened my eyes to the field which is neuroscience. I became so intrigued that this one organ can be composed of various microscopic components that each have its own use and function. It was amazing. I had never thought that so many processes occur in my brain just for me to even lift my arm. Of course, biology barely taught about the topic and left me unsatisfied. From there, I took a UCLA Intro to Neuroscience class throughout my junior year and attended the Georgia State University Neuroscience Summer Camp the summer before my senior year.
University of California, Los Angeles Division. Extension.Spring of 2021 “Neurophysiology: How the Brain Thinks PHYSCI x 435” (March 2021 to June 2021)
Georgia State University: “Introduction to Neuroscience Bootcamp”. Summer of 2021
Music and Dementia
Degenerative Neurological and Neuromuscular Disease
There are increasing incidences of dementia in our aging community. As a result, there’s an urgent need to develop treatments or ideas to alleviate the symptoms of dementia, including memory loss, hallucinations, confusion, and disorientation.
Exclusive research carried out by Degenerative Neurological and Neuromuscular Disease suggests that listening to music or singing songs can provide behavioral benefit to people who have dementia.
This study involved 14 patients in a ward suffering from dementia. The individuals were exposed to Baroque music by Musicians such as Handel, Bach, and Corelli.
During this 6 weeks study, the researchers identified various challenging behaviors, which they measured in frequency and how severe they were and rated them.
The study produced massive results and found the use of music to reduce challenging behaviors by 40%. Additionally, it had a profound tremendous positive effect on one particular patient who would strip herself and agitate other patients. During the 6 weeks music intervention, her behavior changed drastically.
This comprehensive study by Degenerative Neurological and Neuromuscular Disease published at NCBI (The National Center for Biotechnology Information) concludes that a music type preferred by the patient is of greater benefit than a generic form of music.
