News

Sting's Brain on Music Offers Scientists Clues to What Fuels Creativity

December 08, 2017 - 09:29 AM Poets and philosophers have pondered the quiet, contemplative times of reflection in our lives. Now neuroscientists are finding our brains are really on fire during these restful periods when the brain daydreams. People had assumed that since we're not doing anything during daydreams, the brain would be on idle. In fact, a network of activity takes place during daydreams. The neuroscientists say daydreams reflect the brain's default mode network — the attentional system when you're not in control of your thoughts and they drift loosely from one to another. It's when much of our creativity and problem solving occurs. Dr. Daniel Levitin, an emeritus professor of......

How Music Could Help You To Concentrate While Studying

December 08, 2017 - 08:33 AM It’s fair to to say the majority of students prefer to study while listening to music. Whether frantically cramming some last-minute reading to Kanye, or finalising an essay to the sound of the Arctic Monkeys, go to any university or college library and the majority of students there will be listening to their music of choice. Music is a very significant part of our daily lives; the image of the quietly-focused student isolating themselves into a personal study zone has led to interest into whether listening to music actually helps studies or not. Research into the field has proven fairly ambiguous, with manystudies contradicting each other. However this does......

The Healing Arts In Palliative Care

November 13, 2017 - 08:05 AM YOU MAY HAVE HEARD that art can be therapeutic for those grappling with cancer or its aftermath. But what kinds of art can have these benefits, and how can patients and survivors decide which forms to pursue? What instruction and other help do they need?A recent conference in New York City offered a glimpse of some art forms that can be part of a palliative care plan designed to reduce suffering and improve quality of life. During the June 7, all-day palliative art conference sponsored by End of Life Choices New York and the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, presenters demonstrated how their art therapy programs help patients and their loved ones — no matter where......

Health Matters: Musical Healing for Kids

November 09, 2017 - 08:05 AM Music and laughter are probably not the sounds you would expect to hear from inside a hospital. But at Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida patients are encouraged to get out of their rooms and enjoy themselves. Doug MacGregor, Arts in Healthcare program coordinator says it’s all part of a nationwide movement focused on bringing art into the hospital. “It’s part of the Arts in Healthcare program. We use arts of all different kinds, expressive arts. We use theatre, we use music, and we use art to keep our patients busy.” Arts in Healthcare are designed to bring expressive and healing arts into the hospital. The goal is to help reduce stress and......

The Healing Transformation of Music

November 08, 2017 - 08:29 AM Modern life continues to be challenging. People find that they are assuming several roles: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, partner, parent, child, student, professor, administrator. Technology is ever present with us. People have their I-Phones, Smart Phones where they are incessantly gazing at screens, reading and sending E-Mail, perhaps even staying detached and isolated from others. Where do people go for solace and peace in our modern digital age? Some opt for church, going to religious sacred sites, others may go to museums, and then there are others who attend the symphony. On October 29,2017, I had the pleasure to attend the Mendelssohn Reformation concert......

Healing Harmonies: Music Used to Treat Stroke, Dementia, and Even Cancer

October 29, 2017 - 08:05 AM Maybe you've heard the age-old saying, "Music has charms to soothe the savage beast." Back then, people believed in the healing power of music. Today, hundreds of years later, medical research shows they were onto something. Music therapy is now a growing part of many treatments. For example, when a massive stroke tried to take James Rodriguez's speech, the Music and Medicine program at Virginia's Sentara Healthcarehelped him get it back. James belts out "Amazing Grace" and all the old hymns that bring back happy memories from his days in the church choir. How Music Therapy Works We actually use more of our brain when we sing the same phrase versus when we speak......

Nature of Things Documentary Says Music Essential To Humanity

October 27, 2017 - 08:05 AM A fascinating new Nature of Things documentary created by two Edmontonians reveals music’s role in human evolution, while also exploring the power of song to heal body and mind. Images and settings in I Got Rhythm: The Science of Song include a baby crying, perhaps sympathetically, as her mother sings woefully, deaf rapper Sean Forbes teasing Def Jam records in a music video, and the sound of one of the world’s oldest found instruments — a four-note mammoth ivory flute dating back to the Ice Age. Interviews with scientists discuss experiments with brain reactions to songs played live versus canned, and the astonishing effect of music on the mobility of......

Egyptian Doctors, Therapists Explore Healing Powers Of Music

October 25, 2017 - 08:05 AM CAIRO — Have you ever thought about how music can be used in psychotherapy or to regulate blood pressure? For Egyptians, the answer is probably no. On Oct. 8, the Ministry of Health announced that it would hold a survey on non-infectious chronic diseases such as high blood pressure in a number of provinces so that needs for medicine and treatment can be reassessed. A source from the Ministry of Health told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that music therapy is unlikely to be part of this study. “Despite our belief that the percentage of people with high blood pressure in Egypt is one of the highest [in the Middle East] due to heavy......

Las Vegas Philharmonic Shows Music’s Healing Power At Concert

October 22, 2017 - 12:44 PM As Las Vegas reels, music heals. Donato Cabrera, the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s music director, has firsthand knowledge of music’s healing power — and will help the orchestra demonstrate exactly that at Saturday’s Smith Center concert. Initially conceived as an Oktoberfest celebration, the performance has metamorphosed into a musical tribute keyed to “standing strong,” Cabrera notes, in the wake of the Oct. 1 mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. First responders from Las Vegas’ police, fire and emergency services, along with victims and their families, have been invited to attend the concert at no charge. (Limited free......

Can Music Heal Trauma? Exploring the Therapeutic Powers of Sound

October 17, 2017 - 08:05 AM An increasing number of music therapists are now treating people touched by traumas both big and small, highlighting humanity’s deepest connections with music in the process. Imagine you are a newborn baby in an intensive care unit. Maybe you were born prematurely, or didn’t get enough oxygen during the delivery. There might be an IV in your tiny arm, with a small board holding it down so you can’t rip it out. You might have a tube going into your nose. You are alone, finally stabilizing after a traumatic event. But then, the doctors come in. “It’s as if you are finally safe in your nice warm bed and suddenly, out of nowhere, someone rips the sheets off of......

News

Sting's Brain on Music Offers Scientists Clues to What Fuels Creativity

How Music Could Help You To Concentrate While Studying

The Healing Arts In Palliative Care

Health Matters: Musical Healing for Kids

The Healing Transformation of Music

Healing Harmonies: Music Used to Treat Stroke, Dementia, and Even Cancer

Nature of Things Documentary Says Music Essential To Humanity

Egyptian Doctors, Therapists Explore Healing Powers Of Music

Las Vegas Philharmonic Shows Music’s Healing Power At Concert

Can Music Heal Trauma? Exploring the Therapeutic Powers of Sound

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