“Music is capable of amazing journey and meanings” – Sir Harrison Birtwistle, British Composer
The current state of music presents a variety of solutions in search of a problem, the problem being to find somebody left to listen!’
It has been recognized for a long time that music has beneficial effects on living beings. A state of peace, tranquillity and emotional ecstasy is commonly experienced by one and all. As the impact of music could be easily gauged on emotions and thereby on mind, it can be used as a tool to control the physiological, psychological and even social activities of the patients.
Music, essentially and fundamentally, is an audio-satisfactory experience. The standards of satisfaction vary from individual to individual. From very ancient times, music has been used for prevention and cure of human ailments. Shamanism, an age-old practice for altering the state of consciousness of the suffering people, has been in vogue for over 40,000 years across the world. Resonance and rhythm play an important role, in all such practices, and have ·been found, from time immemorial, for transporting one to the level of dream-state as has been confirmed by the recent studies conducted by the neuro-musicologists. Giant strides made in neuro-imaging techniques have also confirmed the traditional beliefs regarding the therapeutic role of music.
At the same time, no one could ignore the giant strides made in science, thanks to the arrival of sensitive instruments and equipment such as cathode-ray oscillograph, Einthoven galvanometer, electro-cardiograms, Kymograph drum (for measurement of muscular tension), biomagnesoni transducers, vibroacoustic and vibrotactile gadgets and the like which have enabled the neuro-musicologists to attack the subject with these new-found ‘weaponry’ (For instance, Krautkramer oscillograph highlights vocal in consistencies and cautions the need for voice-culture).
There is a certain fluidity about music, which melts away stubbornness and rigidity underlying not only in the physical movements of the limbs, but also in the mental processes of thinking and feeling. It is this inherent fluidity in music that has gone into the making of the Sanskrit term for intonation, nada, which literally means ‘to flow’. -This flow of music forces us to use our imagination. This could be the reason for its being in a ‘continual state of becoming’.
The musical process, when synchronized with the mental process, promises an elevated state of consciousness, which the modern-day neurologists would term as alpha and theta brain wave patterns. This is a state of harmony, a state of inner silence, of causeless love and limitless joy. It is also referred to as the healing state, stated to be the consciousness level, which is stated to be in direct communion with the universal consciousness.
Scientific findings endorsing the need for music therapy for enhancing the cognitive ability of premature infants and helping the handicapped develop self-confidence are galore. In such experiments, Mozart seems to have stolen the show. Though certain types of music are reported to induce epileptic attacks, it is also reported that certain music could help epilepsy patients as well. Evidence is aplenty on the role of music enhancing brain functions.
Though the power of music is well known, it is the problem of tapping appropriate music for an appropriate duration for expected results which needs to be thoroughly researched upon and documented in a more scientific manner, say, in double-blind clinical trials, besides prescription of a treatment against a specific ailment. Lots of research needs to be carried out in the areas concerning selection of a particular piece melody or raga and rhythms and gait. Duration of treatment, intensity, intermission etc are other areas that need more experimental studies. Though there is a need for a more scientific orientation on this subject, existing evidence indicates that music therapy could be used as a safe, non-invasive, complementary medicine for alleviating the sufferings of the people. It can be, in any case, used to minimize the psychotic stress related syndromes.
Thanks to the ‘new science’ called PNI (Psycho neuro immunology), the impact of music on the brain and the central nervous system, inducing a beneficial state of equilibrium, stands very well established. It is also fairly known to science that the sound impulses do reach the auditory cortex for a primary registration, but the meaning or the significance of the impulses is determined by that part of the brain around the auditory cortex and by the associated fibres. Another interesting finding is the surprising variety of neural representations or musical ability found in humans, which require plurality of neural mechanisms and brain representations. Brain imaging research has indicated that the brain is found larger in musicians as compared to non-musicians. The primary motor cortex, the cerebellum and also the corpus callosum (the part that links the two hemispheres of the brain) are reported somewhat larger in adult musicians.
This article was published in Science India – February 2016 – Pages 46, 47
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, Nov. 21, 2021