“Music is the shorthand of emotion”, Leo Tolstoy
I have been reading the relatively new books on music and the brain and watching PBS documentaries recently on this very subject. In particular neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin has produced excellent programs featuring such musicians as Sting whose brain has been examined through MRIs while playing and composing and even thinking about music. The results are astounding. This has led me to the question of whether or not music could be used for treatment of fibromyalgia, as in music therapy. The book and movie Awakenings and the further work of Oliver Sacks has made me reach the conclusion that music is a therapy for many neurological conditions. I watch that tiny infant in the picture as she listens attentively to her uncle playing his guitar for her and know that she is mesmerized. She is calm and content.
I think back to the music in my life and while I am not particularly musically inclined, much music has a profound impact on me (as it does on most people who have the ability to hear), especially if it is nostalgic and has the standard old melodies or tunes. Even more moving for me are political/folk songs whose lyrics inspire me. What does that say about me and those of every generation and culture whose music choices vary considerably from mine ? What would happen to my brain if I heard only joyful, catchy music for a long period of time in a therapeutic environment? Why do I have an attachment for nostalgic tunes? Why does some classical music leave me joyful while some I cannot listen to without feeling aggravated? If it true that we go back to the music of our earlier years, what are the psychological processes at work here and if our childhood was not particularly happy could not a music therapist help us to change the brain (nervous system) to enjoy music other than that of our childhood? The music that makes my 11 year old granddaughter happy often irritates me. But some of the music I like can be annoying to even my adult children. It would seem as though music that is culturally and generationally inspiring to us is the kind of music we turn to more frequently. Those of us with fibromyalgia are prime research targets for research in this brain and music research. It is too bad that so far we have not heard of findings that suggest music may provide some answers for us.
As I write this Paul McCartney is playing on a green space near my home in Halifax and thousands in my city are there to hear him. My young granddaughter is there with her father. We three all love the Beatles but I know the crowds would be overwhelming and overly stimulating. She herself plays the violin and I love going to her recitals as I am touched by the beauty of a youngster with musical talent. So, I ask myself to what extent does music and has music played a role in either calming or aggravating my nervous system? What are the differing moods that are evoked within me when I hear Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Horn, Leonard Cohen, Carly Simon, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Paul Robeson, Diana Krall or even Frank Sinatra? Why do I appreciate some jazz while the more modern stuff aggravates me? How can I feel relaxed when I hear Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or a Strauss Waltz or The Merry Widow Waltz but aggravated by hard rock? I listen to Iz singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow and I am moved to tears, with feelings of intense joy and hope. Most, if not all of us with hearing ability are affected by music either directly or indirectly. What inspires us through music is an untapped area of fibromyalgia knowledge.
Why can’t music be used instead of medication for those of us with hyperaroused nervous systems? Where are all the music therapists? As can be seen I have more questions than answers. But the scientists who are studying the effects of music on the brain are finding astounding information that can guide those who are interested in the non-medical approach to helping people who suffer from this condition. The research has yet to be done. Maybe we should be our own researchers.
The books on music and the brain are awe inspiring. I am hopeful that as even more sophisticated scientific evidence is forthcoming, soon we will be turning our attention to the role that music can play in the treatment of fibromyalgia.
My all time favourite is Here’s to Life by Shirley Horn as it gives me hope that all of us with this invisible condition might have a better life without pain.
We could all try to ‘treat’ ourselves by measuring our degree of arousal (pain) with different types of music. We might be able to find our own answers? Here’s to Life!
wonderful thought provoking article barb…..
Happy you enjoyed it, Paul and thanks for the comment!
Barbara
As a musician myself i find this piece particularly interesting and hope you can continue to further explore this subject.
Thanks Tim! I appreciate your comment and hope to hear from more musicians in the future!
Barbara
Hello Barbara music is the universal language for sure it makes sense that it could be helpful for people with fibromyalgia you are onto something recently read that people going into surgery listened to music and their recovery was quicker than the group who did not listen to it I left my ipod at home when I went to exercise the other day and my “workout” did not have the same “zing” keep us updated on your research
Thanks for your comments Jane!
I am a music therapist in Huntsville, Alabama and I enjoyed your article. We music therapists are out here and many of us are looking to meet the needs of those suffering with chronic pain. To find someone in your area, contact the American Music Therapy Association. Their web site is http://www.musictherapy.o
Thanks for the info Carla! Those of us with chronic pain need to find alternate ways of dealing with it rather than with just the usual pharmaceuticals. The idea of music therapy excites me. Do you know of a Canadian Music Therapy Association? I am hoping that some of the nueroscientists will soon do research with people with fibromyalgia as we would make good research participants! Do you know of any research done by music therapists in this regard?
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
I am a music therapist practicing in Huntsville, Alabama. Yes, there is a Canadian Association for Music Therapy. You can find them at http://www.musictherapy.ca and they should be able to help you locate a music therapist in your area. You can also ask them if they know of current research being done with music therapy and fibromyalgia. If there is a university music therapy program nearby, you can also contact the director of music therapy. They are often great resources for local/regional contacts, and they will know of ongoing research projects as well. Hope this helps!
Stephanie
Thank you so much for the info Stephanie: I shall certainly look into this! A great reference for all of us!
Barbara
Hello again Barbara,
I have truly enjoyed looking over your Website since I first discovered it a couple of days ago. This particular entry on music therapy really struck a chord with me. I have been using music to help control my fibro-pain for nearly 3 years now. I first got on this line of thinking after reading some research out of McGill University which connected FMS and the hyper-aroused amygdala.
My first memory of music was when I was two years old sitting on my mother’s lap while she rocked in a rocking chair, singing along with Ray Charles records (remember those?). I can still feel the vibrations from her chest against the side of my face and my ear. When I was four I began setting up pots & pans to use as my drum kit. By age six I had my first real drum. By age eight I had my first real drum kit. By age twelve I was playing drums in my father’s nightclubs with the band after closing. I enjoyed the black blues bands the most. Those guys understood how to play without knowing how to read music. They understood that you could just “feel” the music. Over the years I’ve learned to play a number of instruments just by being around other musicians.
In 2007, I began experimenting with re-mapping my brain in order to ease my FMS pain. I started discarding the things in my life which I recognized as stressors and replaced them with things that brought me pleasure. Music was on the top of my list of pleasurable activities. I make it a point now to get together with other musicians at least once each week to play. And, living in Nashville makes it easy to find musicians who want to jam.
I don’t know if I can answer your question about how different types of music bring on different feelings, but I’ll try. I think it has something to do with the way each person hears music. I tend to hear in rhythms and chords. I don’t hear melodies very well. I can’t read music and have no desire to learn. There are moments when I am playing, when everything falls together just right and all the musicians lock up tight like they are one person, I can actually enter another dimension. I know that sounds strange. The best way I can think to describe it would be to imagine you are floating down a river on a big inner-tube. You are not controlling the direction or the speed you are going. You are just going with the flow of the river, wherever it takes you. That’s what it’s like. You surrender yourself and just go with the flow. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does it’s an amazing experience. In fact, it can be out-of-body experience.
I have a small recording studio in my home, as do many people who live in Nashville. I can spend hours at a time bending and shaping and coloring sound. Musical instruments produce vibrations and harmonics. These vibrations and harmonics cause things to happen to our bodies. Just look at the way government armies and police departments have learned to use sound to disperse crowds and even produce sickness in someone they wish to control. But sound can also bring pleasure. It can relax or stimulate. Certain types of blues music could even be compared to a sexual encounter. Well, at least for me. When an instrument is out of tune and someone hits a chord, it’s like taking a bite of some food that’s gone bad. The harmonics are off and you can feel it. It’s sour. The vibrations are wrong.
Yes, music is therapeutic. Without question. Thank you for posting your thoughts on this subject.
Kind regards,
Anon1984
Dear Anon:
Your comments have inspired me beyond belief! I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this letter of yours. If you remember the research on FM and the hyper-aroused amygdala which you read several years ago from McGill I would really appreciate the reference.
I have always wished I had been a musician, dancer or an artist of some kind but don’t have the talent for any of it. The rigid Catholic nuns took any hope away from me by teaching me to colour within the lines. Yet, my appreciation for the arts is a secret passion that gives me pleasure.This is why I took up quilting this year and have made 4 quilts since Easter, all by hand, and definitely not following a pattern but making up my own. Of course now I have sore wrists and have to take a rest from it. Typical of the FM personality!BUT, I created something lovely:-)
It is often difficult to discard that which causes stress since much of it is due to familial or work related responsibilities. The trick I think, is to find at least a balance between that which gives pleasure and that which causes stress! And, I have found something that is pleasurable may actually itself induce too much excitement! That amygdala has a lot to answer for!
Please keep in touch,
Sincerely,
Barbara