News

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......

Jeff Miers: The healing power of music

October 08, 2017 - 08:05 AM Sometimes it seems to me that the music knows more than I do. Lyrics from a favorite Flaming Lips tune of mine had been popping into my head at random all through June and July, and I was simultaneously trying to ignore them and discern whatever it was they were trying to tell me. The Lips' song "In the Morning of the Magicians" pokes its finger into some serious existential issues, as its narrator makes his way through the brief-but-emotionally-resonant space between the first morning bird's call and the rising of the sun. It begins with the singer pondering the qualitative differences between love and hate, his thinking still a bit fuzzy as he emerges from a dream. It ends with a rather......

Using music to break barriers in homelessness, mental health

September 26, 2017 - 07:00 AM In a session here at Psych Congress, Vijay Gupta, MM, director of Street Symphony and violinist, illustrated the power of music in mental health and homelessness. Gupta established Street Symphony, a classical music outreach non-profit organization that performs for homeless and criminalized individuals in Los Angeles. The session began with a performance of a Schumann piece by Gupta and his colleagues. According to Gupta, Schumann struggled with mental illness himself, as did Bach, Beethoven and several other famous classical musicians. “[I began to realize] in this music, I wasn’t just telling the story of some dead white guy,” Gupta said. “But I was......

Music In Health – How It Is Helping

September 22, 2017 - 07:00 AM The power of music in health was explored and at the heart of discussions once again at the recent Music and Memory Symposium at the Sydney Opera House.As part of the key event, the results of a recent Music and Arts trial, brought about by a partnership between Arts Health Institute and the New South Wales Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI), were announced. The trial implemented the Music and Memory program within 21 clinical settings at 10 NSW Local Health Districts over 12 months. ACI’s Raj Verma spoke about the surprising lessons learnt about improving a patient’s journey while the NSW Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research; Brad Hazzard acknowledged that......

5 Amazing Things You Didn’t Know Music Could Do For Your Mind And Wellbeing

September 20, 2017 - 07:33 AM Most people spend a large part of their day listening to music. The radio’s an essential part of the school run, a workout would be boring without a great playlist, and you can’t dance a Saturday night away in silence. Scientists have been researching the benefits of listening to music too, with some surprising results – in fact, researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands and Sydney’s University of Technology recently found listening to ‘happy music’ can make us more creative. The study saw 155 participants being asked to assess their current mood, before being split into five groups. One group did not listen to......

Become Better Than You Ever Thought Possible

September 01, 2017 - 08:05 AM Why are some people so good at what they do whereas others struggle with the most basic of tasks? Have you ever wondered if you were capable of achieving more in your work and life? This question is what researcher Anders Ericsson has spent most of his career pondering. And the answers might surprise you. In his recent book, Peak, Ericsson points out the obvious fact that many people in our world appear as if they are endowed with certain genetic gifts and abilities that seem downright superhuman. But where do these gifts actually come from? Can anyone become an expert? Or is that category reserved for only the elite? Take the example of famous composer Mozart, who at the age......

Healing Hands - In music, a therapy for all

August 25, 2017 - 08:05 AM “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.” – William Congreve, in “The Mourning Bride,” 1697. Music plays an important role in the daily life of many people. Some rely on music to get them through their morning routine, while others listen to it to stay inspired during a workout. Many folks even have their iTunes on when they’re cooking a meal, taking a shower or folding the laundry. And how many of you, when you hear a tune from your past, think back on those times and reflect on what you were doing back then? Music is quite often linked to mood. A certain song may make us feel happy, sad, energetic or relaxed. In fact since music can have such......

News

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

Jeff Miers: The healing power of music

Using music to break barriers in homelessness, mental health

Music In Health – How It Is Helping

5 Amazing Things You Didn’t Know Music Could Do For Your Mind And Wellbeing

Become Better Than You Ever Thought Possible

Healing Hands - In music, a therapy for all

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