If surgery is in your future, you will want to get this special music, chosen especially for surgery after 20 years research into the negative effects of anesthesia.
Good evening! Just wanted to be sure that you know that in addition to this blog, I have a free monthly ezine that I publish at the end of each month. In the little publication I try to cover the big stories of that month’s music and medicine research, case histories, or inspirational stories of music and healing. You can subscribe to this blog, to the ezine or both! If you’re really interested in learning how to maximize the healing benefits of music in your life, please check out the newest issue of the ezine, and get your own free subscription going!
It seems that lots of people want to know what I think and thought about Michael Jackson. I step into the fray with not a little trepidation.
Needless to say, Michael Jackson was long after my “day.” However, the first record album that my oldest daughter ever asked for was “Thriller” and she later told me that she really had no idea what it was about but that all her fellow 1st graders, or 3rd graders, were saying that they were getting it for Christmas so she want it too! I also thought that many of his songs were kind of “sweet” and his voice was definitely “sweet.”
Since his untimely death last Thursday, I’ve learned so much more about him. As a psychotherapist I have great compassion for anyone that suffered child abuse and neglect. I’ve shuddered to hear about all the things that his father beat him with and I do deeply regret he had to endure such a childhood.
The actions he was accused of as an adult will go unproven and basically unprovable. I do not judge anyone, that’s not my job.
What I do know now is that he was truly a child prodigy and sang and danced in a way that few people before or after were able to do. He created a whole new style of dancing that has been copied by many, many others. Like it or not, Michael jackson was probably a genius who never grew out of a child’s mindset and perspective. One of the wonderful things he did that I loved was the “We Are the World” get-together of so many stars of the 80’s. I leave you with that.
Music affects many areas of brain function
by Marjorie H. Weil
Recently the Albion School District announced that, beginning this fall, all fifth- through 12th-graders would be required to take band or choir. Why? Because statistics show that students who do so perform better academically, have higher SAT scores, are more self-confident and are better adjusted socially.
This is not news. Many studies over the years have confirmed these findings. Unfortunately, most of these past studies have been anecdotal in nature or are the result of extensive surveys, and there was little that could address the cause-effect relationship - or why and how music affects the learning process.
But that is beginning to change. And Albion may be on to more than they realize. Researchers in neuroscience, utilizing recent advances in MRI technology, are actually studying the human brain in the act of creating, or listening to, music. And what they are finding is remarkable.
One of the leaders in this field is Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, author of “This Is Your Brain On Music.” Published in 2006, the book remained on the New York Times best-seller list for over a year and has been translated into 11 languages. I felt fortunate to hear Dr. Levitin speak last fall at the 75th anniversary celebration of Western Michigan University’s School of Music Therapy. His work and that of other neuroscientists in “brain-mapping” is challenging several previously held beliefs.
Where it was once thought, for example, that a particular region of the brain was dedicated to music, it has now been shown that music actually affects many areas of brain function. Combined with the fact that music is a basic part of every human culture around the globe has led Levitin to conclude that the human brain is actually “hard-wired” for music, and music may be even more fundamental to our species than language.
Understanding the strong connection between the auditory and motor regions of the brain has made it possible for people with motor disorders such as Parkinson’s disease to improve their ability to walk while listening to a rhythm track, and stroke patients have been able to improve their speech through music therapy.
Perhaps the most exciting news, however, is that there is new evidence that music can actually change the physical structure of the brain - a fact that has critical implications for both education and medicine. Music may even be a major key to unlocking the mystery of how the brain actually learns.
Music was provided from the beginning of anesthesia to the end of surgery.
The women’s heart rates were reduced by about 7 beats/minute.
Birth satisfaction scores increased by 3.4 points on a 35-point scale when women listened to music.
Respiration rates and anxiety were not affected.
The study didn’t report infant outcomes.
The bottom line?
The authors concluded, “The findings indicate that music during planned caesarean section under regional anesthesia may improve pulse rate and birth satisfaction score. However, the magnitude of these benefits is small.
This blog is a serious blog. My intent is to impart as much scientifically grounded information to you as possible regarding the use of music with surgery and other medical situations. But every now and then something really funny comes along:
“LOS ANGELES—Leave it to Robin Williams, who is recovering from his heart surgery last March, to liven up the proceedings at the recent premiere of “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” in Washington, DC.”
Hope you’re staying cool and comfortable wherever you are!
Are you a fan of the harpsichord? If you are then you probably have heard of Wanda Landowska, famous Polish harpsichordist who almost single-handedly revived the harpsichord after it had fallen into oblivion after the piano was invented in 1710. I’ve been a fan of the harpsichord since I first heard one back in the 60’s. In the 1980’s when I was working on my Ph.D., I decided to do my dissertation on “Wanda Landowska and the Revival of the Harpsichord.” I was fortunate enough to get a grant from Sallie Bingham’s Kentucky Foundation for women that allowed me to go to Paris for 6 weeks and do research at the Bibliotheque Nationale! There I found almost everything I needed for my
……………………………………………………… MP3 - Music for Surgery
dissertation. The rest of the information was in the hands of Landowska’s lifelong student and companion, Denise Restout.
For 20 years I’ve been waiting to see Landowska’s annotated scores to the Well-Tempered Klavier and to the Goldberg Variations, as well as her teen-age diaries and photographs from her more private life!
Last week I finally got a chance to view these documents at the Library of Congress where they now reside. Soon I will publish my own biography of Landowska from a view-point never before known or seen. I’ll also be speaking in several locations on this topic. If you’re interested either in having a copy of my dissertation or in having me speak for YOUR association or organization, please contact me at chantdoc@healingmusicenterprises.com.
There is an interesting article by Avis O. Gachet, “A Walk with the Master” (Charlotte Observer, August 8, 2007), which carries the subtitle “In times of trouble, teens turn to music. Let’s hope it’s Bach.” Gachet, a personal friend from far back in Hickory, relates how the music of Bach — especially his Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra (BWV 1043) — sustained her during her dark night of the soul many years ago. She says that Bachs music had a healing and regenerative effect on her, not only elevating her spirits, but sorting out her priorities and consoling her soul. “I am talking about something alsmost mystical,” she says. She then contrasts the music of Bach with the genres popular with the younger generation today, worrying that they lack the guiding capacities of the old Master, of whom she says: “He did not lead me astray.” In light of Plato’s reflections on the power of music in the Republic, I cannot help wondering whether Gachet has hit upon something profound. One thing is certain to me, and that is the truth that good music is more than what one happens to like. What makes music good or bad lies significantly in the objective properties of the music itself.
Musicians on CallMusicians On Call: “Help us raise $10,000 dollars in 10 weeks”Posted by Music Ninja in Uncategorized on 06 18th, 2009 | no responses Musicians On Call, a nonprofit organization formed in 1999, brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities. Musicians On Call uses music to promote and complement the healing process for patients, families and caregivers. In celebration of their 10th Anniversary they are trying to raise $10,000 dollars in 10 weeks. For more information you can check out their website or play the video to the right
