Understanding
The Science Behind
The healing power of music is well-accepted since time immemorial. However, the impact of music on the brain and well-being is a fairly new and exciting field of research made possible by the recent advent of technology that can detect and measure brain activity in real time. Here are some books, research and articles about the power of music on our brains and well-being, and why we should make music to enjoy its magnified power, not just listen.
Dr Oliver Sacks
Dr Oliver Sacks is professor of neurology at the NYU School of Medicine and best-selling author of many books, including Musicophilia and The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. Here are some noteworthy quotes from Musicophilia about the power of music and why humanity should make music together.
“One does not need to have any formal knowledge of music - nor, indeed, to be particularly “musical” – to enjoy music and to respond to it at the deepest levels. Music is part of being human, and there is no human culture in which it is not highly developed and esteemed.”
“Rhythm and its entrainment of movement (and often emotion), its power to ‘move’ people in both senses of the word, may well have had a crucial cultural and economic function in human evolution, bringing people together, producing a sense of collectivity and community.”
Tod Machover
Tod Machover is Professor of Music & Media and Director of the Opera of the Future Group at the MIT Media. He is a composer and innovator in the application of technology in music. He has been called “America’s Most Wired Composer” by the Los Angeles Times and is well known for creating music that breaks traditional artistic and cultural boundaries. He has recently launched a Music, Mind and Health group at MIT to develop musical activities that significantly improve a variety of medical conditions and enhance lifelong mental and physical acuity.
Here is an excerpt from his TED talk in 2008 with Dan Ellsey: Releasing the Music in Your Head. The video is inspiring and sow the seeds for the founding of I’m Soul Inc.
“The first idea I'd like to suggest is that we all love music a great deal. It means a lot to us. But music is even more powerful if you don't just listen to it, but you make it yourself. So, that's my first idea. And we all know about the Mozart effect -- the idea that's been around for the last five to 10 years -- that just by listening to music or by playing music to your baby [in utero], that it'll raise our IQ points 10, 20, 30 percent. Great idea, but it doesn't work at all. So, you can't just listen to music, you have to make it somehow. And I'd add to that, that it's not just making it, but everybody, each of us, everybody in the world has the power to create and be part of music in a very dynamic way, and that's one of the main parts of my work. So, with the MIT Media Lab, for quite a while now, we've been engaged in a field called active music. What are all the possible ways that we can think of to get everybody in the middle of a musical experience, not just listening, but making music?”
Anita Collins
Dr Anita Collins is an award-winning educator, researcher and author in the field of brain development and music learning. A professor in neuroscience and child education at the University of Canberra, Australia. She is internationally recognized for her unique work in translating the scientific research of neuroscientists and psychologists to the everyday parent, teacher and student.
Her work first came to prominence when she wrote the script for the highly successful TEDEd video, How playing an instrument benefits your brain, followed by her TEDx Talk, What if every child had music education from birth?
Why music could be a treatment for these neurological conditions
Singing, playing an instrument or listening to music have all been shown to activate numerous areas of the brain that control speech, movement and cognition, memory and emotion – often all at the same time.
For example, studies show that for people with Alzheimer’s, music can often spark a reaction, helping patients access memories that were previously lost.
There’s also evidence of patients who have suffered brain damage and lost the ability to speak that can still sing when music is played.
Given the powerful effect that music has on the brain, researchers are investigating whether it can be used to treat many different neurological conditions – such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease or brain injury.