THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 26, 1996 TAG: 9601250205
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
An elderly woman just couldn't help tapping her feet on the pads of her wheelchair.
She clapped her hands and dipped her torso in time to ``Too Fat Polka,'' and when the mournful strains of ``Tennessee Waltz'' began, she swayed in her seat.
Most of the 30 or so residents of the Lynn Shores Manor nursing home attending the music session did much the same as they listened to tunes performed on harmonica by members of the Cardinal State Harmonica Club Sunday at the home off Lynn Shores Drive. This session was just to entertain, something the dedicated group of mouth organ musicians does a lot of. But two members of the musical ensemble also work to improve life for hundreds of Parkinson disease patients by teaching them the breathing techniques used to play the harmonica.
Keith Potter of Virginia Beach and Buddy Wakefield of Newport News started teaching groups of Parkinson's sufferers around the country after Wakefield's brother was diagnosed with the disease. It was Fred Wakefield of Houston, Texas, who fostered the idea that the deep breaths - the blow and draw - needed to play harmonica tunes could be beneficial to Parkinson's sufferers.
One of the tests for diagnosing Parkinson's is blowing a candle, said Buddy Wakefield. It was his brother's idea that, because harmonica playing requires inhaling as well as exhaling through the instrument to make sound, it might help increase breathing ability.
``All the other instruments just require exhaling,'' Wakefield said.
Buddy Wakefield thought his brother had something there and went to Texas to teach him how to play. At the same time, he began coaching Parkinson's support groups in Houston. He discovered that playing the harmonica does indeed improve breathing for those afflicted. When he returned to Hampton Roads, he enlisted the support of the Hohner Company of Ashland, which manufactures the mouth organs, and began teaching a Parkinson's support group at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News.
Wakefield and Potter have traveled to 15 states, Mexico and Canada to meet with Parkinson disease support groups. They pass out books and harmonicas supplied by Hohner, then teach the blow and draw technique of making music. More than 800 harmonicas have been distributed since Wakefield and Potter began their project about two years ago.
``It helps them in two ways,'' explained Potter. ``It helps them breathe - they tend to forget how - and the music and the playing helps their mood. It's surprising how much brighter they seem'' after a session on the harmonica.
Potter and Wakefield believe that playing the mouth organ might be just as helpful with breathing problems caused by other conditions.
Statewide, there are 13,000 people who suffer from Parkinson's disease. Nationally, 1.5 million are afflicted.
Parkinson's disease victims experience difficulty in speaking and breathing because of the progressive rigidity of muscles. Learning to play helps strengthen muscles used to speak and breathe and can also alleviate the depression that frequently afflicts sufferers as control over muscles and movement deteriorates. The disease is a result of a chemical imbalance of the brain. Other symptoms include tremors, slow movement and loss of balance.
To encourage them in their work with Parkinson's victims, Potter and Wakefield have received grants from the Tidewater Chapter of the General Electric Elfun Society and the Amocare division of the Amoco Corporation. They also raise money from performances at local malls.
Other club members entertaining residents of Lynn Shores Manor Sunday were Frank Deans, Merryweather ``Ick'' Noble, George Eide, Charlie MacDonald and Charlie Peterson. Sometimes these and others among the 15 members of the Cardinal State Harmonica Club accompany Wakefield and Potter on their teaching missions.
Four of the group - Deans, Wakefield, Eide and Peterson - form a professional quartet called ``The Harmonicords.''
On Sunday, the applause grew louder after each rendition, and by the time the group played ``Blue Hawaii,'' the crowd was swaying in unison. MEMO: Membership in the Cardinal State Harmonica Club, begun in 1979, is open
to anyone who likes to play the harmonica. Meetings are held each second
and fourth Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Kingman Hall on Utah Street in
Portsmouth. Potter can be reached at 427-0725.
ILLUSTRATION: Photos by NANCY LEWIS
Using the harmonica, Keith Potter, above, and his partner Buddy
Wakefield have helped Parkinson's disease patients in 15 states,
Mexico and Canada with their breathing.
Members of the Cardinal State Harmonica Club perform for residents
of Lynn Shores Manor nursing home. The club has 15 members who
sometimes accompany Keith Potter and Buddy Wakefield on their
teaching missions.
by CNB