Does Bach's Music have a Regenerative Effect?

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"?

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?

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!

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!

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?

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

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

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?

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?

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

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??

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

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?

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"

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?

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

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?

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

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?

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.