By Stacie Rose
MUSIC FOR THE MASSES
Music provides the soundtrack to our lives. It moves us emotionally, physically and spiritually. It has the inexplicable power to bring people from different cultures, communities, generations, and walks of life together. The gravity of music cannot be overstated. Music can be anything it wants to be. It can be profound sensible, mainstream, esoteric, simple, complicated or anything in between. It can help us tap into the most diverse range of emotions, make an experience unforgettable and leave us with elation and respect. Music is truly in the ear and heart of the beholder. Most of us know and love music of one genre or another. Some of us simply love it all, living it, breathing it and staying open to the many sonic delights, old and new, that exist and persist in our lives. Some search the world for that gem of a song, the perfect album, earworm melody, undeniable hook and those lyrics that feel like they were written especially for us. It feels good to hang your hat on something, like a hauntingly beautiful sound that you suddenly cannot do without.
People often talk about the metaphorical healing aspects of music. It's a revelation to approach music as a listener or creator in this way. But music truly has the power to heal and bring more balance and health to our daily lives. It's a balm of sorts, a soul-soother, and studies have proven this.
In the national bestseller Musicophilia Tales of Music and the Brain by Neurologist Oliver Sacks, he says, "Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does–humans are a musical species."
MUSIC THERAPY
Music therapy is research-based and evidence-supported. It can benefit all ages and stages, from the NICU to hospice and palliative care. The music therapy profession began in the 1940s when musicians provided music for soldiers experiencing emotional and physical traumas.
A study published by the National Library of Medicine tells us that Music Therapy treatment can improve mental health disorders, gait and related activities in Parkinson's disease, depressive symptoms, and sleep quality. No adverse effect or harmful phenomenon was found in any of the studies, and almost all patients tolerated music therapy well.
Another study, which was published recently in the National Library of Medicine explains that adult patients with moderate-to-severe symptoms receiving music therapy in community hospitals reported significant reductions in pain, anxiety, and stress.
-Where words fail, music speaks. Hans Christian Andersen
MUSIC FOR BALANCE
When creating a sense of life balance, it's helpful to tune into the things that are most meaningful to you. Perhaps you love music but aren't getting out enough to hear any. Sometimes, you must carve out time to listen to a new album or sit down at the piano and play. Music can be a beautiful way to create balance, reduce stress, and help you feel more fulfilled and alive. A day without music can mean a day without joy. So, take time to seek out a new song and sing in the shower like you used to before life was so complicated. Turn up the tunes while running on the treadmill or practicing yoga. Music sets the table, the mood and can be vital to reclaiming your mojo and getting your life back in balance.
-After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. Aldous Huxley
MUSIC FOR CONNECTION
Of course, music can be a solitary and sacred event. But it can also help you to deeply connect with others. It can be an exchange of experiences, a night out with friends, your kids, colleagues or your significant other. Taking your child to their first big concert is magic! Music plants the seed for conversations, lifelong bonds, deep connections and mutual respect. Music is, was and always will be the great connector. It forms a bridge, allowing us to meet in the middle, dance, sing, and collaborate. We can write together, perform together, or sip a glass of something delicious while enjoying sound and frequency. It keeps generations in sync but also helps people of all ages, experiences and preferences to find common ground. Experiencing music together in one form or another can remedy loneliness, helping people feel less isolated and more part of a community.
-I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music. Billy Joel
MUSIC FOR PAIN
-One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. Bob Marley
USC reported that research from Duke Cancer Institute found classical music can lessen anxiety. Researchers gave men undergoing a stressful biopsy headphones playing Bach concertos and discovered they had no spike in diastolic blood pressure during the procedure and reported significantly less pain. As noted in an article in Psychology Today by Shahram Heshmat, Ph.D., research shows that when we listen to music, our brains release dopamine, which, in turn, makes us happy. Dopamine is responsible for an individual being motivated to keep listening to a piece of music or seek out that sound in the future. With chronic pain, reduced dopamine has often been indicative of increased pain. Music may act to reduce pain through the release of dopamine. Studies about the pain-relieving power of music reveal that people's preferred tunes could have a more substantial painkilling effect than the relaxing music selected for them during a medical procedure. As noted in Everyday Health, Mathieu Roy, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at McGill University in Montreal, explains that the decreased sensitivity to pain (also known as hypoalgesia) can occur when the sensation of pain is disrupted between where it begins (the stimuli) and where it is recognized as pain by the conscious mind.
There is also the distraction factor. When visualizing more pleasant aspects of life, people often shift their focus away from the pain. Even a little less pain for people who suffer dramatically is a win. And singing—It’s a cathartic, therapeutic, physical, emotional and visceral experience that forces you to be in the moment and invites you to play and express your authenticity. The breathing alone that happens when you sing is uplifting and healthy!
MUSIC FOR ANXIETY
When an overwhelming situation arises, as they do at the most inconvenient times, music can be like air. It can help us to catch our breath. One cannot overlook the therapeutic nature of music for adults and kids. It's an outlet, a portal, an endless sea of possibilities and can help people, especially kids who are struggling personally and socially. Music is a way for us to come together and assert our interests and personalities, helping us stay buoyant in a world with many stressors. Putting on a favorite album or calling up a classical playlist or radio station can instantly change the mood. Classical music has a sensationally sneaky way of working its way into the moment and getting the parasympathetic nervous system working. This downregulates your body, slows a racing mind and can help create a peaceful, easy feeling.
-Music is the shorthand of emotion. Leo Tolstoy
MUSIC FOR FOCUS
According to USC, University research in France, published in Learning and Individual Differences, found that students who listened to a one-hour lecture while classical music played in the background scored significantly higher in a quiz on the lecture when compared to a similar group of students who heard the lecture with no music. For many, music can be an energizing force that assists in focus, which is something that can be particularly hard for people who are preoccupied or struggling with conditions like anxiety and ADHD. For some people having too much sound stimuli can be distracting but this is a case-by-case thing. Listen to your body and mind and provide yourself with the tools necessary for success. Music through headphones creates a uniquely personal experience and is an excellent way to respect the space of others. But music out loud, turned up or down, moving all around you can act as a gentle blanket, a warm cocoon provide an opportunity to bring your attention to something you enjoy most and even get you dancing!
MUSIC FOR MOTION SICKNESS
Ever feel carsick, seasick or find yourself in traffic with a nauseous child? Music is your friend and could get you back on the road while averting a disaster. No one loves to pull over and hand clean vomit off a stressed child while ridding the car of the smell with the remnants of a water bottle with barely enough water for a spontaneous interior car wash. Nobody wants to travel an hour on a highway, frantically trying to create calm while safely getting to the destination. One of the ways music helps is by providing distraction. The desired type of music for yourself or your travel partner can help create a more relaxed feeling, staving off more nausea and motion sickness. Music being a natural mood booster can create a calmer feeling in the body.
MUSIC FOR REFLECTION
-If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music. Gustav Mahler
We can learn so much about ourselves and others through music. Music is literally a cultural encyclopedia of sorts. Music can connect us with our most repressed feelings and help us handle the ones that feel too close to the surface. As a true form of expression and exploration nothing beats music. Self-expression can lead to self-acceptance, which can take us to self-love and joy. Can you remember a song or album that got you through a rough time? That music helped you heal. When you scan your mind for memories and snapshots many of them are likely tethered to music.
MUSIC FOR LIFE
-Music can change the world because it can change people. Bono
We can't always be happy, and sometimes it's important to feel your feelings and just be sad, mad, confused or unsure. We can however tap into music anytime, anywhere, and choose our experience. There's so much out there and always more in the pipeline. Keep searching, experiencing, learning, and allowing yourself to feel the energy of music. When you free yourself of expectations, choosing to be with the music, allowing it to lift you and pour into your soul, you can begin to understand how vastly music can enhance your sense of well-being each day.
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