Does Music really heal?

by Sashi Preetam

     The writer is an established Music Director in Indian Film Industry

Music is synchronized frequencies that appease to our hearing senses that can be used to soothe our nerves or rush our adrenalin.It is a well observed fact that our emotions are enhanced while watching a movie like fear, sorrow, love, excitement and so on.

So,when music can create a considerable change on our stress levels, it is bound to have a positive or negative impact on our thinking and emotions.

“Research has yet to fully explain the phenomena of musical performance. Perhaps part of the reason is because musical performance represents one of the most complex aspects of human behavior: simultaneous integration of the conscious and unconscious. While there are neural structures that correspond to the act of listening to music, any attempt to try to explain what happens at the neural level when a person performs music is just as complicated as any attempt to explain the biology of consciousness. “

Not being too technical about it in simple words music is essential as a daily dose even to the most serious human being. The two essential elements of music that is Rhythm and melody have existed all through in various forms of nature around us. The water flow of the rivers striking the jagged edges of rocks, the birds fluttering their wings

and tweeting, the breeze passing through the branches of trees and many more such sounds which inspired music to originate are healing sounds that induce peace and harmony into our life. But today’s science is more certain that music heals and that it has biological evidence to it.

“For reasons we do not yet understand, musical abilities often are among the last to be lost, even in cases of widespread brain damage. Thus, someone who is disabled by a stroke or by Alzheimer's or another form of dementia may still be able to respond to music in ways that can seem almost miraculous.

After a stroke, patients may suffer from aphasia, the inability to use or comprehend words. But the ability to sing words is rarely affected, even if an aphasic cannot speak them.” as quoted by Dr.Oliver Sacks in his book WHEN MUSIC HEALS.

In many Indian Films lost memory is sought back with an age old family reunion anthem being sung to the victims.This looks so impractical and illogical. But Music somehow has greater power than just appeasing to the ears and this has been proved by many researchers.

As mentioned by Dr.Oliver Sacks, “My patient Dr. P. had lost the ability to recognize or identify even common objects, though he could see perfectly well. He was unable to recognize a glove or a flower when I handed it to him, and he once mistook his own wife for a hat. This condition was almost totally disabling but he discovered that he could perform the needs and tasks of the day | if they were organized in song. And so he had songs for dressing, songs for eating, songs for bathing, songs for everything.”

In another instance the Doctor quotes in his writings, “As a result of a brain tumor, my patient Greg has not been able to retain any new memories since the 1970s. But if we talk about or play his favorite Grateful Dead songs, his amnesia is bypassed. He becomes vividly animated and can reminisce about their early concerts.”

Medical examinations on various patients have revealed stunning results to establish that music has mystic healing powers.

Recent research shows that listening to or playing cacophonous melodies can actually make one effectively deal with stresses of modern life. “A lot of young people who face stress in relationships and suffer from depression try to heal with music. Most of these youngsters are studying and at the same time are trying to be successful in their first job. They are prone to low spells,” says British Music therapist Eleanor Richards.

In the Indian alternative healing system, percussion beats are said to open the base ‘chakra’ (energy point) in the human body, creating fresh energy to counter wasting diseases.

In Africa, there is a widespread belief that African drums mend relationships, when played in unison and teach harmony and help one “attune to the invisible world of mutual energy”. The wooden African djembe drum, used by Western musicians like Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel, is said to have potent de-stressing powers because of its repetitive rhythm. Thus, group drumming is a common form of spiritual healing in Africa.

The Lahori percussionist band, Quadrum, which solely uses beats of diverse drums to create their sound, also concur with this belief.

Simple observation can help us derive the various effects of music on our psyche, like for example:

The subtle music of jazz played in the background of restaurants helps in elevating our mood to enjoy our dining experience. Imagine yourself in the mid of traffic cacophony and enjoying similar meal. The difference is obvious.

A choir or the tavil and shehnai have a distinct flavor of spirituality whereas a fast paced music beat tempts us to drive faster.

We have been rightly attuned to certain music scales and sounds that enhance our moods and at times compliment them. We can’t expect a marriage band performing a dance number at an obituary or let the death March drums play at a festive occasion.

Every raga or scale in music denotes a certain time and purpose of its listening and usage. They are sequence of notes which create certain energy in a structured manner called a composition.

Many researchers are using music for therapeutic and clinical treatments but Music has far more healing powers yet to be explored by us.

Some sources of information used for writing this post http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1667