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Super Bowl and Opera: What’s the Connection?

February 5th, 2014 · Announcements, Classical Music

For those of you who watched the Super Bowl this past Sunday evening, you probably know the answer to that.  For anyone who’s been living on another planet, here’s how it goes:  athletic events are always preceded by someone singing the National Anthem, also sometimes know as “Oh Say Can you See?”

Previous Super Bowls have seen/heard quite a variety of artists, singing this beautiful, but difficult to sing, song.  We have heard Faith Hill (2000), The Backstreet Boys (2001), Beyoncé (2004), Diana Ross (1982), and Barry Manilow (1984) and so many more.  This year, for the first time ever, the powers that be decided to choose an opera singer!  And this was none other than the famous soprano, Renee Fleming.

Also the Super Bowl was one of the less-exciting games ever played, with the Seattle Seahawks beating the Denver Broncos soundly (and unexpectedly!).  But Renee Fleming’s performance of our National Anthem was spectacular!  I think it could well be the most beautiful and moving performance of this song that I’ve ever heard.  Listen as Renee Fleming performs this difficult song and in a way that powerfully conveys the meaning of these words. You’ll also enjoy watching the faces of the athletes as she sings. They are also obviously moved by her performance!

 

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A small lesson on ancient music healing methods in Sumeria

January 15th, 2014 · Ancient beliefs about music

When did the culture of Sumeria thrive?  According to my sources, that would be 4th millennium B.C.

According to Wikipedia, instruments of Ancient Mesopotamia include harps, lyres, lutes, reed pipes, and drums. Many of these were shared with neighbouring cultures. Contemporary East African lyres and West African lutes preserve many features of Mesopotamian instruments (van der Merwe 1989, p. 10).

The vocal tone or timbre was probably similar to the pungently nasal sound of the narrow-bore reed pipes, and most likely shared the contemporary “typically” Asian vocal quality and techniques, including little dynamic changes and more graces, shakes, mordents, glides and microtonal inflections. Singers probably expressed intense and withdrawn emotion, as if listening to themselves, as shown by the practice of cupping a hand to the ear (as is still current in modern Assyrian music and many Arab and folk musics) (van der Merwe 1989, p. 11).

Two badly damaged silver pipes have been excavated from a grave at Ur and dated to c. 2500 BCE. The pipes were crafted with what appear to be finger holes, and it is believed that they formed a pair of tubes – “double-pipes” – that had reeds inserted. A number of reconstructions have been proposed, the most recent being a pair of thin tubes with three finger holes in one tube and four finger holes in the other.[1

So how were these instruments used for healing purposes?  Probably the Sumerians were well-aware of the connection between emotions and health as well as the ability of music to induce emotion of all kinds.

In ancient Rome, Minerva (Etruscan: Menrva) was the Roman goddess of wisdom and sponsor of arts, trade, and defense. … She was the virgin goddess of music, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, and magic.

Music has always been a huge part of civilization and many ethnomusicologists believe that the first music was an attempt to imitate nature:  the waves lapping the shore, the wind through the trees, chirping crickets and birdsongs.  Music is one of the greatest gifts God has given us and can calm the savage breast (yes, that’s the correct phrase) as well as stir us to be brave and do great things.  It can bring sadness and tears or inspire great joy and happiness.  We are just beginning to understand how all of this happens.  In the meantime, just enjoy all the beautiful music our world provides!

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Music as Medicine: Ted Talk

December 3rd, 2013 · Music and the Mind-Body, Music Medicine

By now, you have heard me say hundreds of times that music as medicine, is good, powerful, healing and non-addictive.  The awareness that music is a type, a form, of medicine is ancient.  The Greeks and Romans knew about the power of music; the Bible talks about the power of music over and over.  The story of little David, playing on his harp for the depressed and morose King Saul is one of the all-time favorite Bible stories for me.

Now you’ve probably also heard of the “Ted Talks.”  These are fascinating lectures, from every possible discipline, covering everything from practical advice about what to do if you are having a stroke, to the most visionary and imaginative concepts known to humans.   In this post, I want to share with you an excerpt from a “Ted Talk” by L.A. Philharmonic violinist, Robert Gupta.  Robert Gupta, violinist with the LA Philharmonic, talks about a violin lesson he once gave to a brilliant, schizophrenic musician — and what he learned. Called back onstage later, Gupta plays his own transcription of the prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1.

Violinist Robert Gupta joined the LA Philharmonic at the age of 19 — and maintains a passionate parallel interest in neurobiology and mental health issues. He’s a TED Senior Fellow.

 

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The Power of Using Music as Medicine

October 29th, 2013 · Music and Relaxation, music and the heart

As the days get shorter and the nights get longer, many people have to fight against depression.  At the same time, more and more of my psychotherapy clients prefer not to take medication, if at all possible.  Personally and professionally, I believe that antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications have really come a long way and are much more targeted and refined, with fewer side-effects and unwanted reactions.  But the power of using music as medicine, whether adjunctive or primary is not to be overlooked!

However, music is also a really good choice, when used in an intentional way.  Here is an article that I came across in a blog:

by guest blogger Isaac Eliaz, MD, MS, LAc, integrative medicine pioneer

 

These winter days are so magical. We bring light into the darkness and warmth and cheer to the cold stillness. We offer thanks and give gifts and rejoice with our loved ones. Within these time-honored traditions and rituals, music has always played an important role.

Music can evoke memories, connect us with our history and traditions, and bring us closer together. In fact, music, harmony, and rhythm have always played a central role in ritual celebrations, stirring the subconscious and, ultimately, promoting healing on all levels—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Music and sound are actually the world’s first medicines, used by shamanic healers to cure illness and regain one’s spirit. The effects are instant and tangible, with the power to reveal realms in our consciousness we may not have known existed. That’s because rhythm and harmony are more than musical elements—they are the energetic foundation of life, nature, our universe. Their vibrations can expand the heart, transform the mind, and heal.

Today, song-healings are practiced throughout the world as more health seekers learn that singing, playing an instrument, or listening to certain music can bring deep healing, peace of mind, spiritual growth, and a greater connection to nature. As an integrative physician and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, the healing power of music has always been an important part of my practice and family life.

Harmony and tempo help synchronize the rhythms of the natural world with the “music of the heart”—each person’s individual energetic pattern, expressed in his or her pulse. The heart pattern is best understood through the lens of traditional Chinese medicine, which teaches the diagnostic qualities of different pulse patterns in analyzing health and disease. And music may have the power to influence these biological rhythms more than any other factor.

Music in Medicine

What’s truly exciting is that science has begun to explore these ancient rhythmic connections that have stood at the heart of culture, spirituality, and healing for millennia. Today, the study of music in medicine is a rapidly expanding field, and it’s taking it beyond complementary, supportive therapy. A growing number of published studies show that music can play an active role in health and disease. An even larger number of books have been written for general readers, highlighting the numerous and remarkable benefits of music and sound. From increased healing, spirituality, and personal growth to improved cognitive ability and greater emotional stability, music and sound therapy can make a powerful difference in people’s lives.

An interesting review of recent clinical studies of music and physiology was published this year in the journal Nutrition. The article, titled “The Impact of Music on Metabolism,” explores the ways that music can affect various physiological and metabolic pathways to improve cardiovascular health, pain management, post-operative recovery, gastrointestinal health, metabolic health, vital energy, exercise recovery time, and more. Listening to music was shown to increase growth hormone levels, decrease the stress hormone cortisol and inflammation markers, and regulate adrenal pathways to improve responses to stress.

In one study reviewed, music therapy reduced the occurrence of acute and congestive heart failure events in cardiovascular disease patients. In another, pre-term infants exposed to music therapy showed numerous benefits, including improved respiration and oxygenation, increased weight gain, reduced pain, greater nutrition intake, and a shorter hospital stay. Other studies of music’s effects on gastrointestinal health and metabolism showed that music therapy improved digestive function and efficiency, increased metabolism, and may support healthy weight. Studies on music and athletic performance showed that listening to music while exercising may help to improve cholesterol and total lipid profiles, as well as total body fat ratio.

The Power of Music

Modern science has just begun to scratch the surface of music and sound’s healing potential. However, traditional medical systems from around the world have long revered the beneficial vibrations of music, harmony, and rhythm for health and vitality. While the effects are instant and tangible, they are also powerful and long lasting.

Last but not least, I want to share just how inspired I am by my daughter, Amity, who has been creating original music since she was young and just recently released a powerful, uplifting song titled “Me and My Guitar.” In it, Amity tells a story of the healing power of music to help express your inner nature and find your spirit’s truth beneath the layers of obstructions. Needless to say, as her father and as a healer, I am beyond proud of her.

So make a cup of tea, sit back and relax, and play some music you love. It may be one of the best things you can do for your health.

Excerpted from: MariasFarmCountryKitchen

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An orchestra conductor bids audience goodbye in a powerful way

October 7th, 2013 · Music and Dying, Music and Emotion

This afternoon, as I was driving home from the fitness center, I heard a very moving story about the Minnesota Orchestra.   The orchestra there in Minneapolis has been shut out for over a year now.  The conductor, Osmo Vanska, had said that unless the problems were resolved by October 1, he would have no choice but to resign on the morning of October 1st, he did just that.

At the same time, he was planning two concerts the following week-end with the musicians of the orchestra but these were played under a different name, for good reason.  The house was packed and, at the end, he made and very poignant musical good-bye.  The piece he chose was the beautifully wistful Valse Triste by Jan Sibelius.   Vanska told the story that inspired this piece, which is the story of a young ballerina who is dancing alone on a stage.  After a short time, she finds herself dancing faster and faster.  She is feeling very ecstatic as she dances and believes that she is nearing a climactic ending when suddenly, she realizes that she is actually dancing toward death and that this will be her final dance.

Vanska then told the audience that he felt that this was what had happened to his orchestra.  He asked the audience members to listen attentively to this, but at the end asked them not to applaud and to leave the orchestra hall in silence and in mourning.  Here is the beautiful, Valse Triste. 

 

 

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Healing Music Delivery: What’s Best?

October 1st, 2013 · Music and Dental Surgery, Music and Eye Surgery, Music and Pain, Music Healing, Music in the Hospital

Preparing for Surgery

Healing Music deliver through headphones

What is the best method for healing music delivery?  People want to know if live music, recorded music through headphones or speakers nearby is best?  Now we can even have Siri or Alexa to play our music!  The fact is, all of the above are viable and effective choices if you want to use the music you love for healing purposes.  As a general rule, live music is always the best, but it’s just not always practical to have a live musicians playing in your living room, hospital room, operating room or bedroom.  But there is no doubt that live music is the best way to deliver healing music!

To have music being specially chosen and played for you by a music therapist is ideal, but that is probably not available to you very often.  In New York City, Los Angeles and other large cities, live musicians and music therapists go to the operating room, the delivery room, the ICU, CCU, and individual patients rooms to provide patient-chosen music, but in the vast majority of hospitals, this is not available to patients.  And for those large hospitals that do offer live music therapy, the staff cannot possibly get to each patient each day!

This is the very reason that I created cordless headphones that can be loaded with YOUR own favorite healing/soothing/calming music.  With our Serenity Headphones, you can have your favorite comforting music with you every waking moment.  They are lightweight and fit behind the neck in the most unobstrusive way.  To see them and order them, click HERE.

So how can you benefit from the healing powers of music in the most effective way?  The next set of choices include recorded music through personal headphones, speakers in the wall of perhaps a boombox or CD player with speakers in the room.  Patients occasionally use their own iPods or Iphones with earbuds, which are far from ideal!  Not only do their iPods and iPhones bring lots of germs with them, they do have cords that can become entangled with other objects, and the ear-buds are notorious for falling out!

The operating rooms that have speakers in the wall are set up for playing music for the surgeon.  For several decades now, surgeons are choosing and playing music that they like and that they believe the patient will enjoy while going under sedation.  The problem there is that what the doctor likes and often chooses is high energy music that is good for him and his work, but the music the patient needs is slow, steady, soothing music that will allow the phenomenon of entrainment to kick in and relax the patient without as much medication.

Just being aware of these various pros and cons will give you a tremendous advantage when planning your surgery, chemo, cosmetic procedure or other medical procedure.  Questions?  Feel free to contact me at DrAlice@SurgicalHeadphones.com or DrAlice@SurgicalSerenity.com.

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A Beautiful Love Song: just written, after 73 years of love

August 30th, 2013 · Music Healing

Tonight on ABC News, Diane Sawyer presented us with a beautiful song, written by a 96 year old man for his wife, Lorraine. It has reached number 5 on iTunes this week and was after his wife died just recently.   Fred Stobaugh was chosen Person of the Week by ABC News and his song has been heard over 4,000,000 times now!

Fred was interviewed and shared that he met his wife back in 1930, where she was a car-hop at A and W Root beer drive-in.  She brought the food out on a tray to the cars and he says he fell in love with her the first time he saw her.  When she passed away a few months ago, he took out paper and pencil and wrote a love poem to her.  About the same time, he heard on the radio about a contest for love songs and decided to send his in, with a note saying that he was not a singer, but could give someone who is, a good idea of how it would go. 

Just watch this touching video to see exactly how this love story played out!  After Wife’s Death, Fred Stobaugh, 96, Writes Love Song 

 

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Songs of Summer: Favorites that Stir the Memory for Class of 1966

August 6th, 2013 · Music Healing

I remember being a teenager!  Do you?  The summer after I turned 13, my family went to the Bahamas for 3 weeks and lived in a local family’s home while they went to S.C. and lived in our home.  The year was 1961 and I remember listening to Sam Cooke sing “Cupid, Draw Back Your Bow, and let your arrow go,”  All I have to do is repeat that line and my mind fills with images of palm trees, tropical flowers, and the smell of limes and coconut.

The summer of 1962, we moved from one town to another and I had to leave my boyfriend.  The song of that summer was “Sealed with a Kiss” by Brian Hyland.  I almost feel tearful when I think about that summer and hugging my boyfriend for the last time before we left.  That song has been revived quite a few times, but it still has that power for me.

Summer of 1963, I vividly remember hearing “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to” on the city bus on the last day of school.  That song played all summer and I can feel the hot, sticky weather and the old bumpy bus ride through the streets from my house to the junior high.  I also remember lying out in my yard on a quilt listening to a new group called The Beatles, singing “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and thinking how nice the song was!  Little did I know how famous that song and that group would become.

Anyone who was born in 1948 and finished high school in 1966 can probably relate?  I’ll continue through the summers of my teen years in the next blog post!  Please leave a comment if you remember?

 

 

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