The Power of Music

​When you hear a familiar piece of music, how does it affect you? Does it transfer you into the realm of unforgettable memories? Does it soothe your nervous system and puts you into a pensive state of mind? Speaking for myself, it does the foregoing and much more.

In a recent episode, an Author, Entrepreneur and Musician talked about his mother who was encumbered with dementia; however, the power of music had a calming effect and would bring her to the time in history when she first experienced that music. These moments were incredibly special to her, she was transported back in time, and it confirmed to my guest that she was not entirely cognitively lost, he said.

Of course, this is only one case in point, however, a growing body of research suggest Listening to or making your own music affects the brain in many ways that may assist to encourage good health and manage chronic pain. We must ask ourselves as to what is going on neurologically.

​Apparently, playing an instrument or listening to music induces a whole host of neurological activity in our thinking processes, affects emotionality, affects movement, and a plethora of sensations. Therefore, these effects in the brain may have physiological and psychological effects on our well-being.

I am sure we can relate when music causes a surge of brain chemicals that can evoke emotional responses of memories of sadness or happiness. In my research I found Music can even affect the framework of the brain. Certain Neurologists have found the brain to be larger in musicians in comparison to nonmusicians, particularly discernable in people who began their musical training during youth.

I can only tell you of my anecdotal experience of growing up in the 1960s when the Beatles were one of the most acclaimed and influential bands of all time and remain a pop culture phenomenon. If you were to ask me when a song hit the charts, I can tell you what year it was. I can only deduce that music is powerful in how it affects us, there is a lasting memory.

Ongoing evidence suggests that music-based interventions may help those with health conditions, or those with dementia. However, much of the research on music-based interventions is still in its infancy, I cannot help but scratch my head, something positive is happening in the brain brought on by music.

The only harmful effect of music that I can think of, however, is listening to music at extremely high volumes of decibels may cause noise-induced and irreparable hearing loss. However, there is no question, music is cardiological healthy. Research has revealed that the circulatory system flows more easily when a favorite piece of music is played. It can also lessen the heart rate, relaxes blood pressure, reduces the stress hormone, cortisol, and increases endorphin levels in the blood stream. It also elevates our frame of mind, affecting our mood. The genre of Music you enjoy can be uplifting by producing the feel-good hormone, dopamine. And when you are feeling good naturally, because of this increased dopamine levels helps alleviate feelings of depression and anxiety. It has been shown that music is undertaken directly by the amygdala, which is the section of the brain where mood and emotions occur.

I know you do not have any levels of stress whatsoever, right? Yes, I am being facetious, jesting aside, it does reduce the stressors of life. Research has demonstrated that listening to your genre of music can mitigate stressors by stimulating biochemical stress reducers thus relieving symptoms of depression. When you are feeling stuck in the doldrums, and much like exercise can affect you, music will uplift your perspective in how you view and feel about everything, hence, you are able to resolve challenges or cope.

Obviously, it stimulates old memories once thought to be forgotten, as my guest happily found out about his mother.

At this point in neuroscience there is no answer for Alzheimer’s disease or dementia however, music therapy has been shown, clinically, to diminish some symptoms. Music therapy can placate an agitated person, ameliorate the person's mood and is conducive to opening communication in people like my guest realized with his mom.

Another aspect of benefits, music helps to manage chronic pain. By allowing music to reduce stress levels and letting the brain provide a powerful competing stimulus of endorphins to combat the pain signals that the brain recognizes, music therapy can help in the process of pain management. Incontrovertibly, music can significantly reduce the perceived strength of pain as noted in geriatric care, in intensive care units, and minimizes the progression of a disease and relieves undesirable symptoms for as long as possible, rather than attempting to cure the incurable.

Did you know music helps people eat less? Playing soft music and dimming the lights during dinner will help slow down our eating habits, which means less intake of food, reduces our concern about weight gain, and makes for a lovely evening.

Do you use music to increase workout stamina? Listening to a musical beat workout track does boost physical endurance and augments energy during a vigorous exercise workout.

It is no wonder that the history of music is as old as humanity itself. Archaeology has discovered wood wind instruments such as flutes carved out of bone and ivory dating back thousands of years. However, when you refer to specific songs, they are more recent. For example, the earliest piece of musical notation was found on an old Sumerian clay tablet dating back four thousand years. What is so interesting to me, this clay tablet includes directions and tunings for a hymn paying homage to the ruler Lipit-Ishtar.

But the oldest surviving document of a song, according to historians, dates from around the 14th century B.C. on behalf of the goddess Nikkal which was composed in cuneiform by the ancient Hurrians. These clay tablets contain a musical tune were archeologically found in the 1950s specifically in the ruins of Ugarit in Syria. Interestingly, they contain a complete set of musical annotations, including specific instructions to play the song on a type of nine-string instrument called a lyre, which were popular in the ancient Mediterranean region.

Speaking of the Mediterranean region, be anticipating an upcoming episode featuring a Professional Classical Singer who studied in Rome with the best in the art of opera. She will be providing tips about how we can free the power of our voice and at the end of the show we will be playing her entire rendition, accompanied by string instruments, and with the most beautiful part of the music, the human voice.

Let us continue to make a conscious effort for the appreciation of how much music is an integral part of our daily lives. Think of how much this is true when we consider how many platforms music is found. Have you ever watched a movie or a TV commercial without music? How about while eating out in a restaurant, while shopping, while your call is put on hold, while in the OR, at the dentist’s office as he or she pulls a tooth? It sets the mood for every occasion!

Unquestionably, music has been valued and appreciated as part of culture throughout the ages. Are those your same sentiments?