Music and the Mind-Body Connection

Music, the Mind-Body Connection, and The Relaxation Response!

2010-03-14T23:34:00.000-04:00

Music can be used as a valuable stress management and relaxation tool. Relaxation music creates an ambient oasis of peace and tranquility enhancing vital relaxation.

Music is a great accompaniment for holistic therapies and very powerful tool for relieving stress. It also enhances the production of guided meditation or hypnotherapy. Soothing music helps a person calm down, lower the heart rate and by design create additional alpha brainwaves with its special rhythms.

Music with a magical tempo of 60 beats per minute enhance a restful sleep, speed up learning, improve immune response, decrease the need for anesthesia during surgery and has even been known to reduce blood pressure.

The experience of most people and science points out the significance of baroque music in offering relaxation. Studies indicate that baroque music played at 60 beats per minute enables the brain to generate increased alpha brainwaves offering a relaxation effect.

To choose the relaxation music, which works best for you, start by testing the various types of soothing music available. It is likely that what one considers relaxing may be irritating to another. Choosing appropriate calming music is a matter of personal preferences, but though one’s personal preferences go into the equation, some kind of music is more relaxing than other music.

The brain primarily produces brainwaves at 14 to 30 cycles per second (hertz) known as beta waves when in normal consciousness. Brainwaves with frequencies of 8 to 14 cycles per second are alpha waves that are present when one is more relaxed. Around 4 to 8 cycles per second is the theta waves that present a deeper drowsy and meditative state. Finally, when one is asleep, delta waves of fewer than 5 hertz are produced.

Normally, alpha brainwaves stimulate a relaxing state, but meditation encourages a more relaxing consciousness state especially if practiced regularly. For those who have no time or inclinations to meditate, music embedded with particular beats works in a similar way. This is the source for brainwave entertainment technology, which alter one’s brainwaves giving a rapid relaxation response. Relaxation music affects the soul. People don’t just merely hear it, they also feel it.

When trying to use relaxation music to calm the body and spirit it is most important to choose music that is relaxing to you. There are various styles and genres of music and the style that is comfortable for one person may be completely different from the style that relaxes another. Trial and error will help to gauge which style is best for your mind.

found on http://www.blueorbitmusic.com/?p=430

How does music affect YOUR mind and body?

2010-02-02T16:48:00.000-05:00

It's no secret, music affects us all differently. Even the same piece of music affects different people in vastly different ways. Let's take,for example, Michael Jackson. Like many pop musician, whether you like him or don't is oftentimes a matter of what generation you're a part of? Are you now a senior citizen? Chances are you're NOT a fan. Are you in your 30's or 40's? I'll be you probably do like a lot of his music.

How we react to this piece of music probably will even be different in the future because it is currently being re-recorded by newer world-famous musicians as a fund-raiser for the children of Haiti! For me, hearing this piece again brings to my mind all the images of abandoned children wandering the streets of Haiti and makes me want to help them.

Music can affect people by calming them, energizing them, reminding them of their spiritual connection or inciting them to fight and riot in the streets! How will music affect YOU today?

Holy Angels Gift of Music

2010-01-18T21:40:00.000-05:00

Gift of music thrills Holy Angels

New program enables people with disabilities to perform with even the slightest motion.

The musical instrument is invisible - played by hand movements or nods of the head.

Sounds showering the air may be like the sweet purr of a harp or a full orchestra's blast.

The players are residents of Belmont-based Holy Angels, a center for children and adults with severe disabilities that is run by the Sisters of Mercy.

They're taking part in a new program that allows them to create musical sounds by interrupting an invisible beam that sends out ultra-sonic pulses. The sounds - anything from a guitar to a piano - are programmed into a computer/synthesizer connected to microphones that emit the ultrasonic waves. When the waves are broken, sounds come out in long or short bursts against background music created by the synthesizer.

Introduced in Germany in the late 1980s, the sound beams open up a world of possibilities for people who are extremely limited in what they can do.

"They can really enjoy music in a way in which they can actually participate," said Gaye Dimmick, director of creative arts at Holy Angels. "They're independent in a way they've never been before. It's a big step for them."

The sound beam is an addition to the recently announced Don & Lynn Leonard Music Program, named after two longtime volunteers at Holy Angels.

Don Leonard, who died of cancer in 2008, ran a Charlotte heating and air-conditioning business, but he made music on the side at Holy Angels.

Before he died in 2008 at 61, he asked that donations in his memory be made to Holy Angels, where he was considered the "resident musician." Nearly $12,000 came in.

"Don wanted to do something that would last," said Lynn Leonard of Gastonia. "I think he would be thrilled over this program. He knew the power of music."

Faces light up

Lexington native Don Leonard got his first guitar in junior high. His passion for music took off, even though he couldn't read a note and played by ear.

In the mid-1960s, as a student at Salisbury's Catawba College, he traveled with a band called The Jokers Six & the Marlboros, playing beach, rock and soul.

Don and Lynn Leonard married in 1971 and moved from Salisbury to Gastonia in 1981.

Lynn Leonard connected with Holy Angels 10 years later when she helped build an endowment fund there and became a volunteer.

"I saw the care the kids were getting," Leonard said. "The situations were sad, but their lives were so enriched."

Her three children also became volunteers. So did her husband, who put his musical talent to use.

He and a friend, vocalist Johnny Brincefield of Salisbury, performed at Holy Angels' special events - everything from groundbreakings to holiday parties.

"This was another way Don had of sharing his music," Lynn Leonard said. "He said it just warmed his heart to see these children love music as much as he did."

Don Leonard was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000. Following surgery, he had 35 radiation treatments and experimental treatment in the Dominican Republic.

In the long fight for his life, music helped.

He liked all kinds: Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana; Chet Atkins and Jim Croce; Spyro Gyra and the Rippingtons.

"Music was his obsession," Lynn Leonard said. "Don would go down to his little music room and spent time there. He said it put him in another place."

Leonard stayed involved with Holy Angels, music and his job - right until the end.

Donations in his memory are also paying for another part of the music program: the Rhythmic Arts Project. Hand-held drums are used as a simple method of teaching residents such things as numbers, concentration and focus.

Lynn Leonard has watched the children's reaction.

"Their faces light up," she said. "They're very moved by music. It calms them, inspires them and excites them."

Beat goes on

Sister Nancy Nance, Holy Angels' vice president of community relations, has also seen the power of music at work.

For a few minutes, the children's limitations are loosened. The slightest body movement unlocks a flood of wonder.

"They're delighted," Nance said.

In the future, more sounds can be added to the program that's a continuing legacy for the man who couldn't read music, but loved sharing it.

"Don's up in heaven smiling," Lynn Leonard said. "The beat goes on."

By Joe DePriest
jdepriest@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010

Characteristics of Healing Music: Maximizing the Mind-Body Connection

2009-12-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

Christmas Music and the Mind-Body Connection

2009-12-19T13:20:00.000-05:00

Have you noticed a visceral reaction to certain familiar music? An emotion that is so deeply felt that within seconds you are moved to tears? This particular Christmas piece by John Rutter does that to me! Is it because the first time I heard it, it just struck me as a beautiful, spiritual piece that spoke to me to the tips of my toes and the to the bottom of my heart. To this day, when I hear this beautiful song, I am again quickly overcome with emotion. It always surprises me and catches me off guard.

When I ask myself what emotion it is coming up in me, I believe that it would have to be gratitude! I just feel overcome with gratitude for the world, for love, and for forgiveness. I hope that you enjoy this too!

How does the mind respond to familiar music?

2009-10-21T13:41:00.003-04:00

This is one of the things I've wondered for decades. When we listen to familiar music our brains "light up" differently from when we listen to unfamiliar music. But what about familiar music played on a very different instrument? Listen to this very unusual version of Bach's familiar Prelude and Fugues in D minor and tell me how it strikes YOU! I'd really love to know!

How many ways can music be used to improve your life?

2009-09-16T23:43:00.004-04:00

One of the things I try to do each day is to write at least one article and one or two blog posts. Educating people about the benefits of music and how to put this music to work for you, is my mission and goal in life.

Recently I've updated one of the articles I wrote several years ago. The article is on my website, which you may have never visited, but I do hope you will!

Here's the link: http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/articles/music_wellness_top_10.html

How does pain affect the Mind and the Body?

2009-08-09T22:51:00.003-04:00

Many people have chronic pain. Understanding the origins of it won't make it go away but this is an excellent article that might give you some new options. Of course music can always be an effective soother and comforter for pain of any kind.

Pain can be described as an annoying sensation that can range from slight, localized aching to agony. This sensation can impair professional, private, and social relationships. Numerous therapies
can be used, such as narcotic and non-narcotic pain medications, guided visualization and diversion techniques, NLP, and hypnotherapy.

Pain can be described as an annoying sensation that can range from slight, localized aching to misery. This sensation includes both physiological and emotional components. This experience often results in a lack of zest and energy. Such persons report feeling exhausted and psychologically miserable. The pain response can impair professional, private, and social ties.

When a person is injured, his or her body discharges hormones that tell the brain that something is wrong. The brain understands this alarm as injury, and advises the person of the injury. The person then responds to this message, and attempts to resolve it. Sometimes, however, the body sends a warning of pain when no injury has occurred. This can occur when the signal has a psychological, rather than a physical, cause.

One method of relieving painful feelings is by using medications. Non-narcotic medicines, such as Tylenol or Aspirin, prevent body tissues from releasing chemicals used to notify the brain of injury. Narcotic drugs, however, signal neurons in the brain and advise them that the issue has been completely resolved. Narcotics, like Demerol and Dilaudid, may often be very addictive and cause dependency in those persons who rely on them for long periods as pain management strategies.

The body also releases chemicals called endorphins. These are Nature’s painkillers, released by the brain's cells to make the body believe that it does not hurt. Athletes, for instance, release endorphins after strenuous exercise; this is where the “runner’s high” sometimes referred to originates. Individuals who enjoy taking part in strenuous sports report a similar endorphin release. Often, sports enthusiasts are able to run or play in spite of pain as a result of the presence of these endorphins in their bodies.

People sometimes experience a reprieve by using hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic programming approaches. These natural pain relief techniques can allow people to receive relief from many long-term problems, including migraines and other chronic, debilitating headaches or throbbing neck pain. Most people can significantly decrease, or totally end their use of drugs as a result of these strategies.

Traditional hypnotherapy pain relief methods work best for those who respond to post-hypnotic suggestions. A skilled hypnotist helps the individual to go into a very relaxed state. During this time, the client is very aware of the suggestions being offered by the professional.

The hypnotherapist may suggest that the client concentrate on other activities or tasks, and that distraction will diminish any sense of discomfort. Actually, just the use of the word discomfort in the middle of a hypnotic session rather than the use of the word pain can greatly reduce any feeling of pain. The majority of clients have astonishing results, and they can be helped to practice self-hypnosis for pain relief to gain personal control of their situations.

More analytical persons generally require either Erickson-based hypnosis or NLP to overcome their conscious resistance to suggestion.

The hypnosis strategy for pain treatment can also be employed to teach the brain to give off endorphins that can induce a state of light anesthesia, also referred to as analgesia. This state is sometimes used to assist ladies to give birth without using drugs that may endanger the baby. It also helps to offer natural arthritis pain relief in long-term sufferers.

Hypnosis can also be used to induce total anesthesia in some people. Medical researchers call this hypnoanesthesia. Long before general anesthesia became popularly available to patients, many doctors performed major surgery under hypnoanesthesia.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) can be used to assist people who tend to think critically or analytically. Professionals assist clients to master a very beneficial technique employed by NLP, called the 'Flash'. This technique assists people to train their unconscious minds to automatically avoid a painful sensation, and to concentrate on thoughts that will offer relaxation and comfort. People who have learned this approach find that they are no longer capable of focusing on their pain, because their thoughts instantly substitute it for thoughts that produce comfort.

Both NLP and hypnotherapy are new strategies that teach totally natural strategies for relieving pain. They allow people to avoid using pain medication or limit their need to use these medicines. Both those who are very open to suggestion and clients who are analytical thinkers can benefit from these program formats. Additionally, both have demonstrated high levels of effectiveness in assisting people to get a reprieve from their pain.

Music, Anesthesia and the Mind-Body Connection

2009-07-07T15:59:00.002-04:00

\"Heal the World\" by Michael JacksonWhen I started blogging a few years ago, I certainly never thought there would be a connection between Michael Jackson, music and anesthesia. And yet, in the final hours of his life, it was quite possibly a dose (or overdose) of one of the most potent anesthetics available; the drug is Propofol, known by its commercial name of Diprovan.
I never met Michael Jackson or heard him perform live, but my daughters were fans and his music was heard in our home and in our car. The price of fame, infamy, success and accusations, was that he came to have chronic insomnia. You can imagine that someone who expends so much energy on stage and in life, sleep, quality sleep, is critically important.
When the usual sleep-aids quit working for him, he looked around to see what else was available. My understanding is that since he had had so many surgeries that he was well-acquainted with the drugs that anesthesiologists use to put people to sleep before surgery. Unfortunately, the choice of propofol was a deadly one. One anesthesiologist said that with this powerful drug, the difference of 1cc is the difference between sleep and death.
If only music could have put him to sleep. I know that we musicians have music playing in their heads all the time anyway, but when you add the voices of such severe critics, from his father to youngs boys he entertained at Neverland to the media and the press around the world! May he rest in peace now and may more people realize that anesthesia is powerful medication that must only be used in a hospital setting by trained professionals!

Susan Boyle and the Mind-Body Connection

2009-05-30T23:12:00.003-04:00

What does Susan Boyle have to do with the mind-body connection? Well, I think that ever since she made headlines, her name and her whole persona have an effect on people around the world. I've talked with friends who don't even have a computer but who know who Susan is and what she accomplished. Her story is the classic, favorite, beloved tale of the underdog who rises to the top to win. She became an instantaneous internet super-star and the YouTube video on her "Britain's Got Talent" has been downloaded over 20,000,000 times! I know that for me, the mere mention of her name makes me feel excited, proud, and hopeful for humanity at large.
Tonight, enjoy this final performance of her's on Britain's Got Talent and be looking for her to become a media name for years to come!

Announcing a new course on" Music as Therapy"

2009-04-29T22:54:00.004-04:00

I want to tell you about a wonderful new course that will be offered online this summer by my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Arthur Harvey. The course will be quite comprehensive and cover many aspects of healing with music, how music affects the mind-body, the brain and lots, lots more. The course is being offered through the University of Hawaii where Arthur taught for many years, but you can take it from the comfort of your own living room!

To learn more about it, go to www.musicforhealthservices.com.

The photo above is of Dr. Harvey playing the piano in an operating room! Sign up for this course if you want to study with an international leader in the field of music and medicine!

Do you know about "Second Life"?

2009-04-01T08:38:00.002-04:00

Two days ago I was interviewed by Dave Schwartz of Music Academy Online. The hour-long interview was done in Second Life, a technology that gives humans animated avatars on-screen. If you'd like to watch/listen to this and learn about how I went from being a musicologist to being a clinical musicologist, click http://www.slcn.tv/music-academy-onlive-dr-alice-cash-ph-d. I really think you'll enjoy this one!

Music and Emotions--the mind-body connection

2009-03-09T21:38:00.004-04:00

Music is powerful...that is a given. We need no scientific proof for this, all we have to do turn on a radio, or a TV or an iPod or even start humming or whistling or even THINK about humming or singing or listening to a favorite song! Floods of memories and events and feelings will wash over you and you are transported to a farway time and place! The reason for this flood of pleasure or sadness, or even anger is because music elicits powerful memories and because the mind and body are inseparably connected, we feel like dancing or smiling or laughing or crying!

Now, can this power be harnessed? You know it can be! When we're tired or lethargic but there are still hours in the day and work to do, we know just what to reach for that will energize and motivate. For me it's usually the oldies, pop music of the 60's. When we're exhausted and need to relax, unwind, and get ready for sleep, something slow and serene is in order. For me, that might be some Celtic melody or Enya. Slow jazz or moody blues can also be good. If you're sad and grieving or mourning the loss of a friend, a relationship, a job or a pet, you know the music that will help you through it. For me it might be a minor key violin or cello concerto...Dvorak comes to mind, or Bruch or Mendelssohn. But guess what? These awarenesses that we have have are not widely stood. Many people don't realize how powerful music is and it is valued primarily as entertainment. What will YOU do to spread the word? I have a full line of healing music products at www.HealingMusicEnterprises.com/products.html. Please check them out, buy a few for yourself and your family and share them with the world! Thanks!

The Sound of Love?

2009-01-31T16:24:00.001-05:00

“We are marrying human hearts to the “Universal Solvent” with the “Universal Language” - Music, to produce the “Universal Healer” - LOVEDr. Leonard G. Horowitz
528HZ Cymoglype by John Stuart Reid
Synthesizer Re-tuning to the Perfect Circle of Sound:Researching the Sound of LOVE - 528HZ Cymoglype by John Stuart ReidA Preliminary Study with Implications for BioEnergetic Healing
Here are two tutorials for professional keyboard players to re-tune from the standard A=440Hz tuning, to 528Hz–LOVE tuning. You will be amazed, possibly even shocked, to learn how A=440 was precisely selected to spiritually suppress you to the max; and why retuning now to LOVE, shall deliver you and civilization from chaotic degeneration to lasting harmony in our hearts; thus, yielding lasting peace on earth.
For conscious keyboard professionals features Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz, Executive Producer of LIVE H2O, interviewing sound engineering specialist, Michael Walton of SomaMagic Studio. In Part 1, Michael explains how to re-tune the Korg Oasys synthesizer using the Perfect Circle of Sound tuning fork set and a Korg chromatic tuner. Creating a new scale by tuning the Oasys to the Solfeggio frequency-equivalents required exclusion of dissonant tones 417Hz and 714Hz. Walton discovered that the standard tuning A note is the precise frequency equivalent to the 741Hz F# frequency in the Solfeggio. The chance this precise association between the ancient and modern scales might have happened by chance, versus by sinister imposition, is discussed in greater detail at http://www.hydrosonics.org.
The team discovers that scale-building from C equal to 528Hz frequency demonstrates 417Hz and 741Hz are disharmonious and potentially bioenergetically degrading to humans. This tutorial, developed with funding from LIVE H2O co-sponsor, OxySilver.com, is contributed to assist advanced keyboard players in retuning synthesizer software and band performances in 528Hz LOVE…
Part 1 of 2

Part 2 of 2

Another example of music that goes straight to the heart

2009-01-07T23:51:00.003-05:00

Tonight I went to the Kentucky Center for the Arts to hear opening night of "Wicked." I felt like it got off to a little bit of a slow start...the first half was 90 minutes long, but the final song made it all worth the wait!! If you have a chance to go, I recommend it!

Listen to Dr. Cash perform Bach

2008-12-09T18:30:00.004-05:00

You're watching a snippet of a lecture/recital that I did last Fall at Clemson University in S.C. The piece that I'm playing is Bach's Prelude in C major from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Bk.1. If you close your eyes and listen to this piece, you will begin to feel calmer and more peaceful. Give it try. Music affects the mind and body simultaneously. While you listen, your breathing will begin to slow down and your heart rate will also slow down. This is a wonderful piece to listen to when you're feeling stressed!

Particpate in my Music with Surgery research!

2008-12-02T14:56:00.002-05:00

Imagine that you have just been told that you must have surgery. What are your feelings? Fear, apprehension, anxiety, even terror?? Everyday around the world, people are told that they must have surgery for cancer, joint replacement, heart problems, organ transplants. And then there are those who sign up for elective surgery, people who want to look younger and more beautiful!
You probably know that recently I received a U.S. Patent on my special unique headphones created for before, during and after surgery. For a very limited time, I am offering a free download of the music for anyone who is having surgery in return for answersing some questions before and after surgery. I will even call you before and after to ask you these questions myself! This offer will be good until I have received 100 sets of data which could take as little as a week, but no more than a month, hopefully. If you (or friend or family member) are interested in participating in this, contact me immediately through the blog or the website or at chantdoc@gmail.com.
Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!

Music Healing Goes Mainstream!

2008-10-07T22:00:00.001-04:00

Beth Israel Medical Center in New York uses music therapy to sooth their premature babies and trauma patients. The hospital finds that music eases patients' pain, lowers blood pressure, reduces anxiety and depression and allows patients to get well, faster and is less expensive than medication. Beth Israel is not alone. In 2007, nearly 600 facilities offered music therapy to their patientsMusic therapy is not a new idea. Aristotle and Plato wrote about it. Primitive healers and witch doctors employed drums and rattles in their healing work. Ancient Egyptian doctors used incantation and sound healing. The Bible records the influence of David’s singing on King Saul. “And it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand and all shalt be well. “(1 Samuel 16:14-16) In the twentieth century, musicians visited veterans hospitals after both World War I and II. Entertainers continue to bring healing to troops on the ground and in hospital settings to this day. Patients on breathing machines in intensive care units listened to Mozart sonatas in a study at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Those listening to music had reduced stress hormones and more growth hormones, better metabolic regulation and better sleep. The group had lower blood pressure, lowered heat rate and needed less medication.Mozart’s music is also played to premature babies at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The infants display lowered heart rates and better sleep. All it takes was two hours a week of Mozart to obtain these healing benefits.Is it the music or is it the listening that makes the difference? Severe stroke patients listened to either music or audio books in a study in Finland. A recent issue of the journal Brain reported that the patients who listened to music for at least one hour were less depressed and had faster memory restoration and recovery from stroke symptoms.Music therapy has been used with terminally ill patients to ease their anxiety and drowsiness, and has even been used to reduce pain perception. Music play lists are common now, in maternity wards, as mothers-to-be know all too well the soothing sounds that music brings to the delivery room. Music has been used to treat addictions, and even cancer.A type of group drum playing, called composite drumming, has been shown to increase Natural Killer (NK) cell activity, the cells that fight cancer and viral infections.

Alternative Medicine By: Melanie Grimes Published: Friday, 3 October 2008

Music Training 'Tunes' Human Auditory System

2008-09-03T22:34:00.001-04:00

A newly published study by Northwestern University researchers suggests that Mom was right when she insisted that you continue music lessons -- even after it was clear that a professional music career was not in your future.
The study, which will appear in the April issue of Nature Neuroscience, is the first to provide concrete evidence that playing a musical instrument significantly enhances the brainstem's sensitivity to speech sounds. This finding has broad implications because it applies to sound encoding skills involved not only in music but also in language.
The findings indicate that experience with music at a young age in effect can "fine-tune" the brain's auditory system. "Increasing music experience appears to benefit all children -- whether musically exceptional or not -- in a wide range of learning activities," says Nina Kraus, director of Northwestern's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory and senior author of the study.
"Our findings underscore the pervasive impact of musical training on neurological development. Yet music classes are often among the first to be cut when school budgets get tight. That's a mistake," says Kraus, Hugh Knowles Professor of Neurobiology and Physiology and professor of communication sciences and disorders.
"Our study is the first to ask whether enhancing the sound environment -- in this case with musical training -- will positively affect the way an individual encodes sound even at a level as basic as the brainstem," says Patrick Wong, primary author of "Musical Experience Shapes Human Brainstem Encoding of Linguistic Pitch Patterns." An old structure from an evolutionary standpoint, the brainstem once was thought to only play a passive role in auditory processing.
Using a novel experimental design, the researchers presented the Mandarin word "mi" to 20 adults as they watched a movie. Half had at least six years of musical instrument training starting before the age of 12. The other half had minimal (less than 2 years) or no musical training. All were native English speakers with no knowledge of Mandarin, a tone language.
In tone languages, a single word can differ in meaning depending on pitch patterns called "tones." For example, the Mandarin word "mi" delivered in a level tone means "to squint," in a rising tone means "to bewilder," and in a dipping (falling then rising) tone means "rice." English, on the other hand, only uses pitch to reflect intonation (as when rising pitch is used in questions).
As the subjects watched the movie, the researchers used electrophysiological methods to measure and graph the accuracy of their brainstem ability to track the three differently pitched "mi" sounds.
"Even with their attention focused on the movie and though the sounds had no linguistic or musical meaning for them, we found our musically trained subjects were far better at tracking the three different tones than the non-musicians," says Wong, director of Northwestern's Speech Research Laboratory and assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders.
The research by co-authors Wong, Kraus, Erika Skoe, Nicole Russo and Tasha Dees represents a new way of defining the relationship between the brainstem -- a lower order brain structure thought to be unchangeable and uninvolved in complex processing -- and the neocortex, a higher order brain structure associated with music, language and other complex processing.
These findings are in line with previous studies by Wong and his group suggesting that musical experience can improve one's ability to learn tone languages in adulthood and level of musical experience plays a role in the degree of activation in the auditory cortex. Wong also is a faculty member in Northwestern's Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program.
The findings also are consistent with studies by Kraus and her research team that have revealed anomalies in brainstem sound encoding in some children with learning disabilities which can be improved by auditory training.
"We've found that by playing music -- an action thought of as a function of the neocortex -- a person may actually be tuning the brainstem," says Kraus. "This suggests that the relationship between the brainstem and neocortex is a dynamic and reciprocal one and tells us that our basic sensory circuitry is more malleable than we previously thought."
Overall, the findings assist in unfolding new lines of inquiry. The researchers now are looking to find ways to "train" the brain to better encode sound -- work that potentially has far-reaching educational and clinical implications. The study was supported by Northwestern University, grants from the National Institutes of Health and a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Adapted from materials provided by Northwestern University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

The Power of Music with Parkinson's Disease

2008-07-21T21:02:00.000-04:00

Rande Davis Gedaliah's 2003 diagnosis of Parkinson's was followed by leg spasms, balance problems, difficulty walking, and ultimately a serious fall in the shower. But something remarkable happened when the 60-year-old public speaking coach turned to an oldies station on her shower radio: She could move her leg with ease, her balance improved, and, she couldn't stop dancing. Now, she puts on her iPod and pumps in Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." when she wants to walk quickly; for a slower pace, Queen's "We Are the Champions" does the trick.
Music therapy has been practiced for decades as a way to treat neurological conditions from Parkinson's to Alzheimer's to anxiety and depression. Now, advances in neuroscience and brain imaging are revealing what's actually happening in the brain as patients listen to music or play instruments and why the therapy works. "It's been substantiated only in the last year or two that music therapy can help restore the loss of expressive language in patients with aphasia" following brain injury from stroke, says Oliver Sacks, the noted neurologist and professor at Columbia University, who explored the link between music and the brain in his recent book Musicophilia. Beyond improving movement and speech, he says, music can trigger the release of mood-altering brain chemicals and once-lost memories and emotions.
Parkinson's and stroke patients benefit, neurologists believe, because the human brain is innately attuned to respond to highly rhythmic music; in fact, says Sacks, our nervous system is unique among mammals in its automatic tendency to go into foot-tapping mode. In Parkinson's patients with bradykinesia, or difficulty initiating movement, it's thought that the music triggers networks of neurons to translate the cadence into organized movement. "We see patients develop something like an auditory timing mechanism," says Concetta Tomaino, cofounder of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function in New York City. "Someone who is frozen can immediately release and begin walking. Or if they have balance problems, they can coordinate their steps to synchronize with the music," improving their gait and stride. Slow rhythms can ease the muscle bursts and jerky motions of Parkinson's patients with involuntary tremors.
Actually playing music, which requires coordinating muscle movements and developing an ear for timing, can also bring dramatic results, says Rick Bausman, a musician and the founder and director of the Martha's Vineyard-based Drum Workshop. The workshop uses traditional drum ensembles, in which groups of participants play percussion pieces, as one form of therapy for patients with a variety of cognitive and physical disabilities, including Parkinson's disease. Bausman teaches participants to play along with traditional Afro-Caribbean beats like the Haitian kongo and Cuban bembe using congas, bongos, and djun-djun drums. "Participants report that their control of physical movement improves after playing the drums, their motion becomes more fluid, they don't shake quite as much, and their tremors seem to calm down," says Bausman.

Can Music Vibrations Affect Water

2008-06-15T23:37:00.003-04:00

Have you seen the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know Anyway?" I thought it was fantastic and was especially fascinated by the work of Dr. Masuru Emoto. Please enjoy this blog post from someone else who also impressed by this amazing body of work.

The movie, “What the Bleep Do We Know,” set all-time attendance records at the local Sedona movie house. Even the afternoon shows were filled to capacity. People were going back to see the movie two or three times! It’s a movie about Quantum Physics and the principle that many possibilities exist at the same time. If you have seen it, you will remember the photos of giant water crystals. These pictures are from a best-selling book called Hidden Messages in Water by Masuru Emoto. In short, he exposed water to different words or music and then froze it and took a picture of the crystal. The results are amazing. The essence of this discovery is that when water is exposed to words like “love & gratitude” or “hate” it can change the molecular structure. This is the principle of hado, a subtle form of energy that exists in all things. The hado or energy of the words and music affected the shape of the water crystals!
Sedona residents are into water! The local favorite is Fuji. At the local health market, you will also see people filling up water bottles with words written on them, like “love” or “happiness”! I will do this once in a while with the bottles of water I give clients on Sedona Vortex Experiences. The water does taste better!
Three days ago I began to read Masuru Emoto’s new book, The True Power of Water, about his work with water and healing. What I read blew my mind and I had an amazing breakthrough in my healing work with clients on Sedona Retreats. I saw that how he is using hado and water to heal people is very similar to my long-distance healing work! But it never occurred to me to use water to heal people in the specific manner that he is doing.
He sites this phenomena: If you measure the sound wavelength of a phone ringing in a room and then introduce the directly opposing wavelength into the room-the ringing disappears! Wow! Bose, the stereo company, is doing something very similar with their new headphones in making surrounding sound disappear.
Emoto has found a way to measure the vibration or wavelength of the origin of disease or stress in a person. Then he exposes a bottle of water to the directly opposing wavelength, which the patient will drink and thus cancel the vibration, healing the disease or any imbalance! The water is penetrating at a sub-atomic level-we are 70% water.
Part of my long-distance healing is to clairvoyantly discover the exact emotion or issue that is blocking a client’s life force or creating illness. Then I de-energize that negative emotion to initiate a healing or unblock the flow energy. Then I energize the opposing positive emotion. But it didn’t occur to me to have my client write the positive emotion that I clairvoyantly get on a bottle of water and drink it!! Ahhaaaa!!! In addition, I could also use my clairvoyance to estimate how many millions of vibrations per second of positive universal counterclockwise energy (p.u.c.e) to energize the “word” with. Also writing this on the bottle. Then each week, do another reading and make adjustments to the word/phrase and amount of p.u.c.e.

A birthday mind-body experience

2008-05-23T21:47:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my 60th birthday and I had a fabulous day! The day began with phone calls from my children, mother, and sister. During the day, I went to jury duty but was released early and spent the afternoon preparing for a little party that my friend Crystal put on for me. We invited lots of friends and a wonderful variety of my friends showed up! This video is of my dear friend Barbara playing a birthday song for me on the piano. It was a beautiful rendition of "Morning Has Broken" and it was a pure expression of love that brought me great pleasure and an immense sense of gratitude for my dear friend! Hope you enjoy it too!

Music vs Valium: Are they evenly matched?

2008-04-30T23:41:00.001-04:00

Well, check this research:
Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim. 2007 Jun-Jul;54(6):355-8.

[Music versus diazepam to reduce preoperative anxiety: a randomized controlled clinical trial]
[Article in Spanish]
Berbel P, Moix J, Quintana S.
Departamento de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Clínica del Dolor del Hospital Mutua de Terrassa, Barcelona.
OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness of music to that of diazepam in reducing preoperative anxiety. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were randomized to 2 groups to receive diazepam or listen to music on the day of surgery and the previous day. Just before the operation, anxiety was assessed with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Cortisol levels, heart rate, and blood pressure were also recorded. RESULTS: Two hundred seven patients were enrolled. No significant differences in any of the outcome measures (anxiety, cortisol level, heart rate, or blood pressure) were found between the 2 groups (music vs sedative). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that music is as effective as sedatives for reducing preoperative anxiety.

The Music of Celtic Woman!

2008-04-03T13:01:00.001-04:00

I am basking in the beauty of the concert I went to over 48 hours ago and I still cannot get enough of their music. Have you seen "Celtic Woman?" They are a fantastic group of beautiful Irish women that sing from th heart in a way I have never heard before. I've been told that we humans tend to respond to the music of the country from which our ancestors came. That ancient music is literally remembered in our DNA. If that's true, I must have lots of ancestors from Ireland because this music moves me in a way that I cannot ever remember feeling. I want to laugh, cry, dance and sing and I noticed that everyone around me at the Palace Theater in Louisville seem to be feeling the same! If you have a chance to hear "Celtic Woman" do NOT miss it!!

Music and the Mind-Body Connection

2008-02-18T13:12:00.002-05:00

Do you believe that music can connect the mind and body? I sure do because it happens to me every day. When I was in college I discovered at one point that when I was studying for a music history exam I could remember a specific piece by always sitting in the same place when I listened to it. At exam time, I could hear Prokofiev's 5th symphony, opus 100 (for example) and know immediately that that was my kitchen table piece or my den rocking chair piece or my bedroom piece. My ear/brain/mind was inseparately connected to my memory of my body and there was no question about which piece I was listening to. To this day, I can listen to the Dvorak cello concerto and remember exactly how my dorm room at Florida State looked. That was the first place I heard that gorgeous piece and I listened to it over and over there. Same with Kodaly's "Hary Janos Suite," and William Walton's "Belshazzar's Feast." Music is powerful for me and for you. How can you harness that power to make your life better??

The Music of a Child

2008-01-27T18:33:00.001-05:00

This afternoon I had a powerful musical experience. What is it about the profound innocence of a child that moves us to tears? A friend sent me this youtube video of little 6 y.o. Scottish girl, trying out for the "Britian's Got Talent" show. Her voice is pure as an angel when she sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." As you listen to this, notice within yourself what feelings and memories and thoughts sweep over you. And enjoy!

Christmas Eve in Our Nation's Capitol

2007-12-24T10:23:00.000-05:00

Greetings from our nation's capitol!! I've had a wonderful holiday visiting my daughter Allison and her husband in Washington, D.C. The music has been awesome during the two times I went to the National Cathedral. The first time was the Lessons and Carols on Friday night and then yesterday morning's 11:15 service. The choir there is simply heavenly and I heard many beautiful anthems, carols and solos that I had only heard on CD's before! For me, it's the music that makes the season come to life for me and I have had a musical feast this year. One piece that stands out for me was an organ fantasia on "Bring a Torch, Jeannette Isabella" at the national cathedral on Friday night. Please enjoy the fantastic music this holiday season!!

What does Christmas Music do to us?

2007-12-12T23:35:00.000-05:00

For me, there is something magical about certain holiday music. Last week-end, when I was in S.C. visiting my mother for her 82nd birthday. At her retirement center, I had occasion to hear several different music boxes playing Christmas music. The one in this little video clip was particularly charming and brough back memories of childhood Christmases and dreams of Santa bringing all the toys I ever wanted.

Music does that! It literally transports you to another time and place and for a moment you are time traveling. You will notice at the end of this video that I was brought back into the present suddenly by "someone" asking me if I'm ready to go! Enjoy! BTW, in this little video you'll see the decorations that won my mother first place in the center's holiday decorating contest!

Final Luvisi-Bach Recital Tonight

2007-11-15T19:11:00.000-05:00

Tonight was the final concert by Lee Luvisi, my piano professor of 35 years ago! He has been performing all 48 preludes and fugues from Bach's "Well-Tempered Klavier." The series took four weeks with one concert each week. These preludes and fugues are masterpieces of contrapuntal music and he played them all masterfully. The most amazing piece to me was the double fugues in G# minor that he played tonight. It was as complex as a fugue can get and has not only 5#'s but also F double #!!
Everytime I go to hear Lee play it brings back floods of memories from when he was my piano professor and all the pearls of wisdom that he taught me and that I pass along to others on a daily basis.
He's retired from U of L now but he obviously will be playing for decades to come! If you ever have a chance to hear him,don't miss it!

Lee Luvisi, my former teacher, will play tonight!

2007-10-25T17:46:00.000-04:00

Tonight I will go to the University of Louisville School of Music to hear my former piano professor play a recital of J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. I have been looking forward to this for a long time because not only is Luvisi a superb pianist, but Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier is one of the great masterpieces of the keyboard literature.
Well, I'm back now and it was simply gorgeous. Words simply cannot describe the beauty of this music and the sheer genius it represents. Luvisi is going through all 48 preludes and fugues in chromatic order over a four-week period. Tonight he played the first 8 preludes and fugues from Bk. I. The D Major Prelude and the final G Major prelude were my favorites but really each one is just gorgeous. These pieces were written for the harpsichord but many modern pianists play them on the piano and I believe that Bach would have approved! Stay tuned for next week's report!

Take Note...The Music Cure

2007-10-11T16:19:00.000-04:00

Everybody know music makes them feel better, right? Is there anyone out there who doesn't know that? Lest there be any questions, there are more and more people publishing studies every day saying that music can heal, music can cure, music can just make you feel better and forget your troubles for a little while, right?
Well now, a new article by Barbara Reuer has come out and was published recently in "Bottom Line Secret." I thought you might enjoy seeing a little of it:
Music has been used for healing for thousands of years -- and numerous recent studies confirm its healing powers. It can reduce pain and anxiety and improve blood pressure and breathing. It even can help infants in neonatal intensive care units gain weight faster. Here’s how you can use music to improve your mental and physical health...
PAIN RELIEF
Music therapy can relieve pain and decrease the need for painkilling drugs. It seems to be most effective for short-term pain, such as during dental procedures, after surgery, etc. A study published in European Journal of Anesthesiology reported that postsurgical patients who listened to music required less morphine.
It also helps some types of chronic pain. A study published in Journal of Advanced Nursing found that listening to music for an hour a day reduced chronic pain by up to 21% and depression by up to 25%.
How it helps: People in pain can’t focus on opposing sensations simultaneously. Listening to music helps block the perception of pain signals and reduces anxiety, which can heighten pain.
Recommended: When you’re in pain, practice deep breathing while listening to a favorite piece of relaxing music. Ask your doctor to play calming background music during painful procedures. If a music therapist is available during the procedure, he/she might play music while guiding you through a visualization exercise (such as imagining a peaceful scene) or encouraging you to breathe more deeply.
HEART HELP
Music therapy is used in some coronary care units to lower blood pressure and heart rate. Music also lowers levels of stress chemicals (such as cortisol) that increase the risk for a heart attack.
Recommended: At least once a day, listen to music that you find relaxing. Pay attention to the melodies, rhythms and words... think about what the music means to you... and notice the physical signs of relaxation.
There's more but this gives you a good idea of the work that has been done in this field to document how music affects the mind and the body. Enjoy!!

The Joy of Hearing a Former Student Play

2007-09-27T00:36:00.000-04:00

Tonight I had the distinct pleasure of hearing my former student sing and play at a venue in St. Petersburg, Florida! Lisa sang and played guitar beautifully and energetically and soulfully and I was filled with pride and admiration for all the hard work she has done and how it is now paying off for her. Lisa studied with me several decades ago at University of Kentucky, Jefferson Community College and also for a few summers at Indiana University Southeast. Soooooooooo, practice those instruments and train your voice if you want to be in a really cool band like Lisa!

Music Therapy in the Hospital

2007-09-02T22:44:00.000-04:00

At Princess Margaret Hospital in Ontario, Canada, a program of alternative and complimentary therapies is being start. Pet therapy, massage, art therapy and movement therapy are quite popular in hospitals around the world. Considerable research has been done on these modalities, all with excellent results. The therapeutic benefits of music are also well noted. According to the Canadian Association for Music Therapy, music's nonverbal, creative and emotional qualities can facilitate a therapeutic relationship between patient and caretaker. Discussion of selected lyrics or rhythms that represent a patient's experience promotes wellness and improves communication. Certain techniques including song-writing, improvisation and song selection mirror patient thought-processes and solidify feelings about their illness. While music therapy is available in the atrium each Wednesday, the palliative care program at Princess Margaret Hospital hopes to launch music therapy this fall for individual patients on the inpatient unit.
A debilitative state of fatigue is among the most common side effects experienced by upwards of 72 per cent of all cancer patients undergoing treatment. To help patients reap the benefits of recreational activities, Princess Margaret Hospital will be meeting with recreational therapy practitioners to establish a recreational therapy program that will engage patients and compliment cancer treatment.
Therapies that address all issues felt by palliative patients along their journey are an integral part of the next generation in cancer treatment. Complementary therapy is gaining power alongside medical advancements thanks to Princess Margaret Hospital's leading example of research translating into clinical settings.

Does Bach's Music have a Regenerative Effect?

2007-08-26T22:57:00.000-04:00

I found this posting today on another blog, "Musings of a Pertinacious Papist," and thought you might enjoy it!

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.

What about "Good Vibrations"?

2007-08-10T18:22:00.000-04:00

from http://www.thatsfit.com/2007/08/10/the-daily-turn-on-good-vibrations/
Did you know ... We are emotionally, physically and spiritually impacted by what we hear? Every molecule in the universe (ourselves included) is in a constant state of vibration. Every single organ, tissue and bone in our body is constantly communicating through vibration. When our bodies are vibrating harmoniously with one another, we are in a state of health. A disconnect within our vibrations is indicative of disease. We can actually utilize our sense of sound to create harmonious vibrations within the body by projecting the correct resonant frequency of the particular body part that is out of balance. Music can play a key factor in healing through sound, as it has a direct influence on the limbic system, which is the area of the brain that governs emotions.

Meditations that incorporate mantras and specific sounds, such as om or aum, utilize self-created sounds to enhance spiritual and emotional well being. Vowel sounds and harmonics seem to be especially effective on the limbic system for healing. Next time your friend says she will send you some good vibes -- listen up! You just may feel better.

Try it out ... Next time you feel stressed out (even if you are at work) go to a quiet place, close your eyes and listen to soothing music -- I recommend Mozart. Or, even better, close your eyes and softly hum the om mantra. As awkward as you may feel at first, you will almost instantly feel better!How did it work? Tell us about your experience. What music or sounds help you to relax. What are your favorite meditations? Is there advice you can offer based on your own experience with sound therapy?

How strong is YOUR mind-body connection?

2007-07-19T16:00:00.000-04:00

Do you know how powerfully your mind and body is connected? And it's not as though you can do anything about it. Our minds and our bodies are inseparably connected and the more we recognize that fact and acknowledge it's truth the more we can begin to be healthier!
One aspect of this is that the music we listen to affects how we react to life. This can be good and bad. If a young person listens to violent "gangsta Rap" that talks about "killing a cop" and if he has a violent home life with little if any supportive parenting, there is a good chance that he will respond to this music by committing a violent act. Studies have been done documenting this.
On the other hand, if we listen to melodious, uplifting music, whether it has lyrics or not, our bodies release serotonin and endorphins and we are flooded with feelings of peacefulness and well-being. Which will you choose?

Another visit with a former professor!

2007-06-19T21:02:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure what's going on, but recently I've had the pleasure of spending some time with several different former professors from the University of Louisville School of Music. Today I had Richard and Cecile Spalding in my home for lunch and it was so good to see them again! Professor Spalding directed the U of L chorus when I was there in the late 60's, early 70's and I distinctly remember performing Poulenc's Gloria for Chorus and Two Pianos my senior year in college. Of course I was playing one of those two pianos! It was so much fun and such a beautiful piece of music!

While he was here, we also watched the video documentary that was created from my Ph.D. dissertation about "Wanda Landowska and the Revival of the Harpsichord: A Reassessment." The name of the documentary is "Uncommon Visionary" and won awards at the Boston Early Music Festival when it first came out. You can buy it on my website if you're interested! Enjoy!

Hey, hey, hey...it's my birthday!

2007-05-22T22:25:00.000-04:00

Hey, hey, hey! It's my birthday! I've had an awesome day with cake, ice cream, phone calls, cards and ecards from all over the planet. I've had a fabulous breakfast, lunch and dinner and had loads of people buy my birthday special. What more could a girl want? Well, assuming that a complete face lift is not an option, I would love to introduce 10 new people each day to the concepts of healing music. If people would just take a moment to read all of the research and documentation not to mention examine their own reactions to music, they would know that music is powerful and can quickly change mood and emotions. When mood and emotion and changed from negative to positive, amazing things happen: the immune system improves, the biorhythms stabilize and people begin to see and feel a ray of hope.

If you don't have this basic information, you music order this special deal from me to you...immediately! You won't regret it!

Keep your brain singing!

Alice

Please check out my Birthday Package for you!

Are the mind and body connected?

2007-04-13T16:43:00.000-04:00

For hundreds of years people thought that the mind was above the neck and the body was below the neck. Today, thanks to the exciting field of quantum physics and other writers with great insights into whole mind-body healing field, we know that the mind and the body are actually in every cell of the body. Our cells store memories of every event, thought and feeling that we have had since birth. Exciting? I think so.

How does music fit into this picture? Music affects the memories and thoughts in our minds and affects neurohormone release in our brains and adrenaline from our pancreas. Our muscles relax when we hear soothing music and our heart-beat and breathing begin to get regular and steady when we listen to music with a regular and steady beat.

Amazing? I think so. If you want to know more, check out my website, my other blogs, and my products. Better yet, invite me to speak in your city to your conference, convention, or favorite organization!

The Power of Music and the Mind-Body

2007-03-28T10:05:00.000-04:00

Why is music so powerful for healing? Well, there are lots of reasons. One of the biggies is the power of memories that music can instantaneously recall. How many times have you been riding in your car or just listening to the radio "mindlessly" and suddenly a song from the past or a piece of music of any kind fro the past comes on? You are flooded with images, thoughts and yes, feelings that were long ago associated with this piece of music. Now because I am a professional musician I have a pretty big reservoir of past music to associate. There are pop tunes from my "courting years" as well as symphonies, operas, piano sonatas and lots more that just send me, like a time machine, to different periods of my life. Do I like this??? Yes! I love it. It's a way to have an ongoing photo album/movie/soundtrack from my entire life and I enjoy it a lot! How about you??

St. Patrick's Day Super Special

2007-03-16T23:24:00.000-04:00

Top o' the mornin' to ya! Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and I'm thinking green today. I don't know about you, but I love my Irish name of "Cash" and even though it is my married name, I gladly claim a strong Irish/English/Scottish heritage. The folk music of these countries melts my heart and alternately makes my spirits dance in an almost magical way! There is quite a bit of research suggesting that the part of the world our ancestor's are from, has some powerful influence on the type of music we respond to.

To celebrate St. Paddys Day, I want to offer all of my readers, clients and patients a super special St. Paddy's Sale. Follow this link for a special offer:

http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/listmailings/StPatricksDay.htm

What does Irish Music do for you?

2007-03-15T22:53:00.000-04:00

When I used to play the piano on an Alzheimer's unit, as part of my research study on "The Therapeutic Effects of Music on Alzheimer's Patients," one thing I vividly remember is that all the patients seemed to love the old Irish songs, "Too-ra loo-ra loo-ra," "When Irish Eyes are Smiling," "I'll Take Yo Home Again Kathleen" and "It's a long, long way to Tipperrary." Somehow they all seemed to know these songs and sang them with great verve and gusto. Why is this? No one knows for sure, but it would seem that when music is associated with a positive life experience or time period in one's life, certain pairings happen in the brain so that whenever that music played, memories of great pleasure or just the release of pleasure hormones, like endorphins or dopamine surge through the brain. It's a pretty wonderful phenomenon and Irish music in our society does it for a lot of people.

What happens when you hear a love song?

2007-02-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

I used to have an old boyfriend who would sing me the song "I'm in the Mood for Love" but he would change he words to "I'm in the Nude for Love." I was about 18 and I always thought it was hilarious. Little did I know that, especially at that age, just hearing the word "nude" combined with that melody and a funny little expression, affected my body and my feelings powerfully! Why? Because music, words, facial expressions and the vibrations of intent translate immediately to the body. Neuro-hormones are realized and it all happens in a split-second. That's why people write long songs and love poems. There are funny love songs like "Love Potion Number Nine" and "Witch Doctor." There are poignant love songs like "Somewhere My Love" (from Dr. Zhivago) and "Some Enchanted Evening" (from South Pacific). There are tantalizingly sensuous pieces of music such as "Bolero" by Ravel or "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy. And then there are pieces of music that have nothing intrinsically sensual about them, but perhaps we first heard these pieces while getting to know someone we later fell in love with. That piece is forever imprinted with feelings of love and physicality. The mind and the body are fascinating entities and I suppose we'll never understand them fully, but they are definitely intertwined in a most inseparable way. Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

The More the Merrier

2007-01-28T21:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I spoke to huge room-full of people at a beautiful location here in Louisville, KY. The topic was "Music and Stress-Management: Tools You Can Use." I only had about 25 minutes so I was trying to cover quite a bit of material, but as always, hands in the audience started shooting up with people wanting to share their own personal stories of music and healing. I must have had a dozen fabulous stories from men and women about how music had gotten them through hard times, and had entertained them as children when the family couldn't afford a radio or a TV. That's the wonderful things about music...it's free!! All you have to do it open your mouth and sing the first thing that pops into your head or make yourself a little drum with an upside-down trashcan or an oatmeal box. You can even jangle your car keys as you do a tango in your living room or bedroom! Having all those people there yesterday was a real stress-reliever for me because I had been up pretty much all night the night before with a stomach bug. When I left there, I felt great!! Try it!

What does movie music do for you??

2007-01-15T22:03:00.000-05:00

As I sit here watching the Golden Globe Awards, I can't help but think of all the fabulous music that I have heard when at the movies. You've heard me say before that the Hollywood composers are masters of touching emotions with music (and the silent movie pianists before them) and whenever emotions are powerfully touched, the memory is etched and inseparably connected to the music and the emotion. Some of my favorites from childhood (I'm not ashamed to admit) are the Disney tunes like "When You Wish Upon a Star" or "Chim-Chiminee." In my teen years I loved "April Love" and "Lara's Theme" from Dr. Zhivago. I'll always love the theme from "Exodus" and "Bridge on the River Kwai." You get the point, I'm sure. Music affects the mind and the body in as powerful a way as anything I can imagine. I'd love to know your thoughts on this?

Music's Effect on Mind and Body

2007-01-02T20:31:00.000-05:00

What does music do to the body and mind? What happens in your body when you hear music that you love? Do you feel energy, calm, great joy and happiness, sadness and grief, anger, love? Well, of course, it depends upon the music you're hearing but all of the feelings can easily be elicited by music. How does this happen? It's all about brain chemistry and the process of entrainment. The brain responds instantaneously to pain, pleasure and emotion of all kind. Different neurochemicals are released into the brain and the body responds. Most of us know exactly what music to reach for to get the response we're looking for.
Putting drugs into your system can do many of the same things but why risk addiction, dependence, and even prison! Reach for your favorite music instead! Questions? Drop me a line!

Did you experience mind-body healing today?

2006-12-25T23:37:00.000-05:00

I hope that today you experienced some of the healing that comes at this time of year from the beautiful music of the season. Yesterday, Christmas Eve, my oldest daughter and I played at the Christmas Eve service at our church. The music was sublime and I enjoyed many of my favorites. A particular favorite was the spiritual "Mary Had a Baby." My daughter and I played "Maria Wiegenlied" by Max Reger and "Il est ne," a French Folk Carol. It was definitely an uplifting and healing experience for me. Please let me know what musical experiences you had!

Movie Music in "Blood Diamond"

2006-12-18T00:05:00.000-05:00

Today I went to see the new movie "Blood Diamond." It is a disturbing but riveting movie about the diamond business in Sierra Leone in the 1990's. The movie depicts tremendous civil warring and violence among the peoples who live there. Three or four times we see pick-up trucks full of young African militiamen, tearing into a village, guns blazing and American gangsta rap blaring. Is this really the way it happened?? There is much native African music in the more peaceful parts of the movie, but when extreme violence is portrayed, it's the American gangsta rap screaming in the background. I just thought this was interesting. What do you think??

What Does Holiday Music do for YOU?

2006-12-14T21:45:00.000-05:00

This seems to be a controverial topic. Personally, I love Christmas music and I love holiday music in general. It just reminds me of happy childhood times and happy young adult and young parents times. Every decade brings with it new holiday compositions and even though I don't care for all of them ("Grandma got run over by a reindeer"?) I really enjoy many of them and have spent quite a bit of time over the last few years creating my own arrangements of them.

However, I knowquite a few people that seem a bit Grinch-like when it comes to holiday music. I've been told it's "cheesy," "hokey," and too commercial. I guess like all music, it's a very personal thing but I love to play it all year long. To me, it's magical!

Choosing music for the Mind-Body

2006-12-01T09:16:00.000-05:00

Choosing music for the mind-body involves first choosing music that you specifically would like for either the mind or the body. Confusing? OK, for example let's say that you are driving in your car and you decide to find a radio station that will be relaxing but not put you to sleep. You end up with an NPR station that is playing some classic jazz. Within 60 seconds probably your muscles are relaxing and your no longer gripping the wheel nor driving 10 miles per hour above the speed limit. You're also having thoughts nad memories of more pleasant times that are associated, perhaps subconsciously with this music. What I'm trying to say is, the music we choose everyday affects both mind and body all the time because the mind and the body are inseparably connected! Choose carefully! By the way, this diagram of the brain's response to music is courtesy of Dr. Arthur Harvey of Music for Health Services. Google his name and learn more about his important work!

What about the mind-body?

2006-11-16T21:45:00.000-05:00

I'm sure that most of my readers know that once upon a time people thought that the mind was a separate entity from the mind. If someone had a mental illness, it was all in their mind. If they had a physical illness, it couldn't be blamed for depression or anxiety or addiction,could it? As of the 70's and 80's we began to realize with the help of quantum physics and other Eastern philosophies and that not only are the mind and body inseparable, every cell in our bodies contains both mind and body. Does music affect both? Of course! Absolutely! When you listen to your favorite upbeat dance music what happens...you jump up, start dancing around, get a smile on your face and your brain starts pumping adrenaline. Mind and body are both extremely happy!

Music as Transporter

2006-10-26T23:06:00.001-04:00

Are you a Trekkie? I remember years ago when Star Trek first came out. I didn't really "get it" too much, but my husband loved it. One of the few things I really like the idea of was the "transporter room." I thought that was pretty cool.

Yesterday I was driving my car and listening to a CD of old favorites that I put together recently. I love burning my own CDs and this one was quite a mix! The 5th of 6th song was one I used to really love...it's from the musical "Camelot" and is called "I Loved You Once in Silence." It is so beautiful and it had been quite a while since I heard it. I was transported back in time to my teens and all the feelings and images from the place where I went to music camp in the summers. There was a person that I did love in silence. It was very bittersweet, but I loved listening to this song and played in several times in succession until I was finally ready to move on. I'm sure my brain and body were flooded with all kinds of neurotransmitters and hormones. I was transported to another time and place!

Can music help you lose weight or stop smoking?

2006-10-11T15:32:00.000-04:00

I know a lot about this one! Because I am short female, because I love chocolate and because I love to indulge myself, I have struggled with weight issues for much of my adult life. The consequences of carrying around too much weight are definitely as negative as the joys of "giving in" to food are positive. I wish I could tell you that I have an easy solution. I don't, but I do have some suggestions.

As a therapist how treats addictions (among other things) I know that sometimes just postponing a sweet or naughty snack can really help to cut down on the amount consumed or possibly allow you to skip it entirely.

Why not try a delicious musical snack of some high energy music through headphones? When the music gets into the brain directly, through the eighth cranial nerve, it can re-direct your brain a lot faster and more efficiently. There is much high energy classical music such as the "William Tell Overture" by Rossini or the "Ride of the Valkyries" by Wagner. In the pop/rock realm I like "Milkshake" by Kellis or "Let the River Run." There are thousands maybe millions of upbeat, energetic songs that can put you in a very different place emotionally and help you to forget that fattening snack or ciagarette. You just have to be willing to give it a try for 5-10 minutes instead of giving in to something that you know will ultimately harm you.

Give it a try and let me know what happens!

Alice

P.S. The lower brain's hypothalamus is both your hunger center and the main spot for processing music's mood. Fill it with happy sounds and watch false hunger disappear.

What is Rhythmic Entrainment?

2006-09-25T21:55:00.000-04:00

If you're really interested in knowing about how music affects the mind and the body, then you must understand the principle of rhythmic entrainment. This is simply a documented phenomenon discovered several hundred years ago by physicists. Basically it says that when two bodies in motion are in close proximity, they will soon synchronize with each other. Put it in plain English you say? OK. Imagine that the stereo suddenly starts playing a march by John Philip Sousa. Would you sit motionless while this stirring music plays? Absolutely not! Your toe would tap, your head would nod, you might even feel compelled to get up and march around the room! It's that powerful. I usually explain it to people as the process of the human body's heart rate and breathing synchronizing to the pulse of strong rhythmic music.

Stay tuned for more postings that will explain this further. As always, feel free to send in your questions! Until then, Alice

Is there any music that can actually cool you down?

2006-07-22T23:30:00.002-04:00

Yes, the nation if not the world is in the midst of a heat wave. I was at an outdoor wedding today and with a tent, fans, bottles of water and a swimming pool nearby, we were all still roasting, sweating, panting, and red-faced...until the music started! At that moment, I totally forgot about the temperature or the weather. I heard the sounds of a beautiful string orchestra playing just a few feed away and it simply transported me to another place where cool breezes were blowing and waves were lapping the shore. Amazing!

I became so inspired by this phenomemon this afternoon that I decided to offer all my readers a fantastic deal on some cooool summer music and a coool ebook I've written for you. If you're interested in getting over $55.00 in CD's and my ebook, all for only $14.97, click here:

http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/listmailings/Christmas%20in%20July2.htm

This offer includes a download of my complete Lullaby CD, the complete Healing Music Sampler CD. and my ebook "Notes on Tuning Your Life with Music." It is a time-limited offer so grab it today and stay cool!

Alice

How does patriotic music affect you?

2006-06-30T00:02:00.000-04:00

We're in that period between Memorial Day and the 4th of July and there's quite a lot of patriotic music in the air. I think it evokes mixed feelings in lots of people. I personally have lots of happy memories from childhood of singing"You're a Grand Old Flag" and "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy." Since my childhood in the 50's have come several very controversial wars, including the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and the current Iraqi Conflict. I can't think of many memorable songs associated with these wars but I'm sure some must exist. I have peers who were furiously against the Vietnam war and when I hear some of the 60's songs about peace and freedom it's hard not to think of them and their outrage.

I'm trying to make a conscious effect to look deeper into my feelings when I hear "patriotic music." I don't want to just sing these songs out of rote memory. I want to really think about them and decide if this is what I believe today. Somehow I think that the songs my father taught me from World War II were probably more honorable and noble. I'm not so sure about the wars since then. What do you think?

Olympic Music: Did you like it?

2006-05-08T01:13:00.000-04:00

Olympic Music: Did you like it?

Of all the music played during the
Olympics, what stands out in your mind?

Do you remember some of the music that
people skated and ice danced to?
One of the things that really bothered me was that
when they were playing a beautiful piece of music,
like Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, they
rarely identified the music. Then there were some
really nice popular pieces that I wanted to
know the name of, but alas the name wasn't announced
and I could not find it online anywhere! Very
frustrating. Nevertheless, I thought it was quite in-
teresting to see what the skaters chose to skate to
in the Olympics. I was so happy the the Japanese girl
who won the gold, skated to a beautiful violin conerto.

I also enjoyed hearing the nine-year-old girl sing
the Italian national anthem at the very beginning and
again at the end. There were also several fantastic
performances that first night with Italian musicians
performing famous symphonic and operatic excerpts. I
never get tired of hearing Andrea Bocelli and he's
singing again at the final concert and processional of
athletes and the Torino chorus singers in their
beautiful costumes.

Now the games are ending and I'm watching the closing
ceremony and wondering what Vancouver will bring
us, musically, in four years. I believe that the music
chosen by the athletes that use it has a powerful
effect on their ultimate success. I'd love to hear
YOUR opinion on this. What do you think? If you'll
send me your thoughts or two cents worth, I'll
send you a free article that will soon be for sale on
my website.

Hope you enjoyed the Olympics!

Alice

ever wonder where Alice gets her music, instruments, CD's, etc?
http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/healing_music_partners.html

ever wonder what programs and software
Alice uses for her online work?
http://www.drcashprefers.com/

The Kentucky Derby...and Music??

2006-05-08T01:02:00.000-04:00

What does music have to do with the Kentucky Derby? Tomorrow about 6:20 PM will be the 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby. In case you don't know about this world-famous event, it is said to be the most exciting two minutes in sports. Thousands of people try year after year to get a Derby box but end up in the stands of this historic track or even in the infield. Right before the horses begin their jaunt into the gate, one carefully chosen trumpeter plays the famous long trumpet. The tune is known world-wide as the "call to the post." Like most fanfares it is intended to get your attention and it does just that. It is no more than 8 bars of music but it is so well-known even among non-afficionados of racing, that the tune immediately stirs up images of the Churchill Downs and its famous twin spires. It is a classic example of music's conditioning effect. There are a handful of tunes that are so familiar and linked to specific events that they could be recognized by most anyone in the street. (Another that comes to mind is "Pomp and Circumstance" by Edward Elgar, played at most graduation ceremonies around the world.)
The second musical event at the Derby is the playing of "My Old Kentucky Home," which is sung by the entire crowd right before the horses run. I found a description of this event from many years ago, that I thought you might enjoy:
"At 4:20 there is the blare of a trumpeter playing the call to race on the track public-address system.
Led by one of three mounted outriders attired in white pants and bright red polo shirts, the horses emerge from the tunnel. The lead outrider raises his hand. Across the rail in the infield the University of Louisville band, dressed in crisply pressed red-and-black uniforms with red berets, strikes up Stephen Foster's mournful "My Old Kentucky Home." As the Derby field jogs slowly onto the track in front of the clubhouse, 100,000 voices join in singing what has become the Kentucky anthem. It is perhaps the most emotional moment in all of American sports, a moment that brings tears to thousands as they sing the words:

The sun shines bright in the Old Kentucky home,
'Tis summer, the [people] are gay;
The corn-top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom
While the birds make music all the day.
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor
All merry, all happy and bright;
By'n by hard times come a-knocking at the door
Then my old Kentucky home, Good-night.
Weep no more my lady, Oh! weep no more today!
We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home
For the old Kentucky home, far away."
So what's the point here? To remind you dear readers, students, colleagues and friends that music of significance is everywhere. Though often taken for granted, it has a powerful effect in our every day lives. Tune into it a little more intentionally and begin to reap the emotional and healing benefits.
Want to know more about how YOU can use the powerful effects of music in your everyday life? Dr. Cash has a book and CD "Notes on Tuning Your Life with Music" that you can purchase online and download immediately. Go to http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/products/tune_your_life/tuning_your_life.html

Want to understand more about how music affects the mind and body? Dr. Cash now has a 5-lesson online course that you can sign up for and receive by email. Go to
http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=70325&ProductID=2734998
Do you need a personal online consultation? This can be done by telephone, email, or "chat" online. Go to
http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/healing_music_consulting.html
Don't forget to tune into the Derby tomorrow, May 6 at 5:00 PM on NBC. Hope your horse wins!!
Alice

Can music put you into a trance?

2006-03-24T20:25:00.000-05:00

A client asked me this today, "can music put you into a trance?" She sounded quite skeptical and I just wonder how many people doubt this capability. I guess technically, it's rhythm that puts you into a trance. That's what shamanic drumming is all about. The persistant, repetitve beat of a hand-held drum or most any kind of drum, will eventually put you into an altered state. Once there (in an altered state) all kinds of things can happen.

Anyone ever been in an altered state induced by shamanic drumming?

Music and the Mind-Body Connection

2006-03-10T18:31:00.000-05:00

Hi class! This is Dr. Alice Cash, ad I thought I'd create a spot where you can ask questions, make comments and asnwer questions that I have posed to you.

Any comment that you might have, especially if you think that others might have it too, just post it here! I'm really looking forward to getting started with you all!

Alice