By Alex Taylor

Copyright bbc

Music can be equally helpful to loved ones after a person has passed away.

“I think it’s just another distraction for those people that are mourning a loved one,” Dr Murphy says. “But there’s that comfort in knowing that they’re listening to something that their loved one would have listened to over the years.”

This is true for Anna-Kay Brocklesby, whose husband Ian passed away from prostate cancer in 2023.

As Ian’s health deteriorated, sharing his favourite songs became a crucial part of their family’s coping mechanism.

It became a way to keep spirits up and stay positive, says his wife.

“Every morning he would go down and make the tea, he would play. Oh, What a Beautiful Morning from the musical Oklahoma,” she says.

“And he would belt it out. He used it as a sort of mindset of, this is how today’s going to be”.

They would play Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Elton John songs, which provided comfort and connection.

Two years after Ian died, Anna-Kay still finds comfort in the music they shared together.

“He lives on in us in many, many ways,” says Anna-Kay, “but music can take us to a place with Ian”.