Cellist provides music therapy

FALLBROOK — Barbara Martin, a Certified Music Practitioner, entertained the Fallbrook Village Rotary during one of their meetings last month.

An outstanding cellist playing with the Redlands Symphony Orchestra, Martin has a bachelor’s degree in music and teaches music at the Hillcrest Academy. She also volunteers her skills in healing patients and helping those in a transition period.

Martin has broken her music down into four categories.

For the chronically ill, she plays familiar music. Rhythmic and folk songs are played for those affected with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

For the critically ill, Martin plays unfamiliar music, such as Celtic tunes, with 60 to 80 beats per minute to match the rhythm of machines in the hospital room.

And for terminal patients, she performs music with no steady rhythm, which she says helps patients “let go.”