There have been many studies that suggest music helps a patient’s recovery.
Now, one man has made it his life mission to put that theory to the test.
For 21 years, John Beltzer from New York has written personalized songs for sick kids in the U.S., and now, in Canada.
Through his non-profit Songs of Love, more than 27-thousand sick kids and teens have received their own songs.
READ MORE: Sound means of healing: Music therapy can soothe the sick, both body and soul
On Tuesday, Beltzer drove to Montreal to record a song for 13-year-old David Saracino.
Saracino has been in and out of hospitals since he was a newborn.
Beltzer is giving him a chance to replace medicine with the healing power of music.
“I felt surprised, because nobody wrote a song about me before,” Saracino said.
The song was recorded on donated studio time at Planet Studios in Rosemont, the very same studios where Rihanna recorded one of her albums.
It has references to Saracino’s friends and personal interests including his love for video games and hamburgers.
How it works
Parents or the hospital fill out a song request.
They send it to the foundation’s headquarters in New York.
Songs of Love finds a singer/songwriter to write and record the song.
A CD is later sent out to the sick kid or teen in the hospital.
Beltzer says the tunes are meant to empower kids.
READ MORE: Music for your health: The power of musical therapy
“It’s like a double dose of music therapy because we’re actually dispensing a personalized brand of it,” Beltzer said.
Beltzer has already helped about 600 children in Canada but would like to do more.
He says he’d like to set up a chapter of his foundation here, and is looking for funding so he can help more kids like Saracino.
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