Music Thought To Enhance Intelligence, Mental Health And Immune System

Music Thought To Enhance Intelligence, Mental Health And Immune System


ScienceDaily (June 22, 2006) — A recent volume of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences takes a closer look at how music evolved and how we respond to it. Contributors to the volume believe that animals such as birds, dolphins and whales make sounds analogous to music out of a desire to imitate each other. This ability to learn and imitate sounds is a trait necessary to acquire language and scientists feel that many of the sounds animals make may be precursors to human music.

Another study in the volume looks at whether music training can make individuals smarter. Scientists found more grey matter in the auditory cortex of the right hemisphere in musicians compared to nonmusicians. They feel these differences are probably not genetic, but instead due to use and practice.

Listening to classical music, particularly Mozart, has recently been thought to enhance performance on cognitive tests. Contributors to this volume take a closer look at this assertion and their findings indicate that listening to any music that is personally enjoyable has positive effects on cognition. In addition, the use of music to enhance memory is explored and research suggests that musical recitation enhances the coding of information by activating neural networks in a more united and thus more optimal fashion.


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Music and Yoga

An intimate touch of sound or music can penetrate the whole being of human body. From the ancient ages this is a proven fact. Particularly in India, music for its rich root is considered as an integral part of Yoga practicing. And India has also a rich source of instrumental music with its innumerable kinds of musical instruments be it classical, traditional or folk. Every kind, every type and every genre has its own distinct characteristics. The mild and melodious tunes of flute or the healing sound of sitar, each one soothes the mind and soul. Instrumental music can be used as the best kind of meditation music. As the beautiful sounds of instruments help the mind and soul to relax and concentrate on a single thought.

Yoga or meditation is a way to connect oneself with the divine power or God. Gods and Goddesses often have a close association with music. It is said that the melodious tune from the flute of Krishna, the God of love, overflows this earth with serene divinity. Musical instruments are also used to worship Saraswati, the Goddess of music. Instrumental music frees the mind from all mundane thoughts and pulls the mind towards the Divine. Thus, it transforms the mind into a higher level of concentration required in practicing Yoga. Music also plays a significant role in some particular forms of Yoga like Hatha yoga or Kundalini Yoga.

Traditional musical instruments like flute or bansuri, tanpura and sitar are mainly suitable to form the base of yoga music for their calming sounds. Generally these instruments are used to compose the music-tracks of Yoga DVDs which relieve the mind from all anxieties, tensions or worries thus helping it to relax. The sound of bansuri is perfect to be used in meditation or yoga. Sometimes natural sounds like sounds of waterfalls or birdsong when woven with instrumental music creates a harmony between the mother nature and human kind. This heavenly symphony makes the Union with the Absolute amazingly smooth and perpetual.

Music heightens the consciousness of human being which is a pre-requisite for practicing any kind of yoga - be it Kundalini yoga, Karma yoga, Nada yoga or Vikrama yoga. But vocal music can distract the mind as the mind seems to get involved in understanding the lyrics and voice. Whereas calm and relaxing instrumental music is free from such kind of mind-distraction features. Minimal use of heavy sounds or instruments and maximum use of mind-refreshing light sounds evoke the spiritual sense within. Nothing can be better than these tranquil tunes as meditation music. Incorporating these types of music into yoga practicing can lead to a greater level of self-realization and attainment of moksha.

Spirit Voyage, an online music company, is rich with its massive collection of instrumental yoga music suitable for practicing yoga or meditation. This collection will surely transform the mind of the practitioner into a higher level of divine calmness. This company also offers wide range of music of different genres such as meditation music, yoga music CDs and DVDs etc. which promise to satisfy the demands of the yoga admirers. Artists like Deva Premal, Wah!, Snatam Kaur, Donna De Lory and Gurmukh have lent their pure voices which transform the atmosphere into a highest level of divine meditative state.


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Influence of Music on Teens

The Influence of Music & Rock Videos

Singing and music have always played an important role in learning and the communication of culture. Children learn from the role models what they see and hear. For the past 30 years, some children's television has very effectively used the combination of words, music and fast-paced animation to achieve learning.

Most parents are concerned about what their young children see and hear, but as children grow older, parents pay less attention to the music and videos that hold their children's interest.

The sharing of musical tastes between generations in a family can be a pleasurable experience. Music also is often a major part of a teenager's separate world. It is quite common for teenagers to get pleasure from keeping adults out and causing adults some distress.

A concern to many interested in the development and growth of teenagers is a serious deterioration in the messages of some rock music, including best-selling albums promoted by major record companies. The following troublesome themes are prominent:

•Advocating and glamorizing abuse of drugs and alcohol.
•Pictures and explicit lyrics presenting suicide as an "alternative" or "solution."
•Graphic violence.
•Preoccupation with the occult; songs about satanism and human sacrifice, and the apparent enactment of these rituals in concerts.
•Sex which focuses on controlling sadism, masochism, incest, devaluing women, and violence toward women.


Parents can help their teenagers by paying attention to their teenager's purchasing, listening and viewing patterns, and by helping them identify music that may be destructive.

Music is not usually a danger for a teenager whose life is happy and healthy. But if a teenager is persistently preoccupied with music that has seriously destructive themes, and there are changes in behavior such as isolation, depression, alcohol or other drug abuse, a psychological evaluation should be considered.


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The Psychology of Music

Music can be a positive force for mental health, calming, relaxing, intellectually stimulating. This is true for adults, teens and children. Music can and does affect our emotions, it can create "channels" in our mind, patterns of thinking. It can impart ideas and ideologies, powerfully and emotionally conveying a way of life.

Our choices in music, the intensity and frequency of the music we listen to, can have a bearing on our mental health. Some of the greatest composers were borderline geniuses, but also, many had personalities that could be described as deeply emotional or even volatile. Mood disorders can be affected by both the type, intensity and amount of music we listen to.

When we listen to music, we can internalize, so that the emotions of the composer, the band or singer, become a part of us. For the time we listen to and identify with the music, we have a spiritual connection, a bonding, with the one or ones who are singing, playing, and/or who composed the music.

Music can be interpreted in different ways. Even the same music performed by the same composer, can convey a message of sadness and loyalty, or anger and betrayal, depending on the manner in which he chooses to convey the message.

Music can be used in a positive way to bridge gaps, to create a bond between people who might otherwise have little in common. It can convey a message of peace and brotherhood, relax, soothe.

At the same time, music has been used historically to glorify war, such as in the Star Spangled Banner which recalled the victory of the Americans over the British in the War of 1812, or when classical pieces by German composer and theatre director Richard Wagner (pronounced Vagner), were used by Hitler to stir patriotic fever in the masses.

Children, teens, and even babies potentially benefit from listenening to music, as music can be a stimulant to intellectual and cognitive development. At the same time, parents should choose carefully the type of music they play for the baby and child, as well as what music the mother listens to while she carrying the baby in the womb.




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Music Psychology - Music Education and Benefits for Children and Young People



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Music Psychology, the Classroom and Children
In the classroom, typically in preschool and kindergarten, soft and calming music is often, almost ubiquitously used to help children to relax at nap time and other times of the day. Some high schools use classical music in the hallway speaker in the morning periods and other times of the day. This adds to a peaceful and calm atmosphere in some large city schools.

Music and Psychology - Higher Test Scores, Cognitive Development
* In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students, researchers found that students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show "significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12." This observation holds regardless of students' socio-economic status, and differences in those who are involved with instrumental music vs. those who are not is more significant over time. (Catterall, J, Iwanga, J., 1999.)


*"Education in the arts makes better math and science students, enhances spatial intelligence in newborns." It also can be part of a "solution" to "teen violence" [if directed in the right way]. Michael Greene, for Music Education Online.


Higher SAT Scores
* Students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT: students in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did students with no arts participation. College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers. Princeton, NJ: The College Entrance Examination Board, 2001. (Music Education Online).


Music and Language Skills Development
* Both music and language are processed in the same area of the brain. Children and youth who develop skills of playing an instrument often times develop greater language capacity as well as the greater adeptness in the ability to learn a new language.




Music Teachers as Positive Role Models * Music teachers provide good role models for inner city children. The percentage of high school students, in one study, who viewed music teachers as a role model was higher than for any other discipline, 36% for music teachers, 28% for English teachers, 11% for elementary teachers and 7% for phys-ed/sports teachers. (Hamann, 1993)


Music and Teens - Developing Self Esteem
* "I love my piano lessons," said a 14 year old girl who recently (2010) began studying piano. Active participation in playing music and music appreciation has been demonstrated to increase self-esteem. One teenager who was diagnosed with ADHD said that she had difficulty connecting with other teenagers in school. Learning to play piano during her teenage years, filled many vacant hours, staved off boredom, but also contributed to her development of self-esteem, which sometimes can be damaged when a teenager is diagnosed with a mental health disorder.



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The Psychology of Music - Teenagers and Children Benefit from being Exposed and Learning to Enjoy a Wide Variety of Music



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There are many positive benefits for children and teenagers to be actively involved in learning about a wide variety of music, as well as in learning to play a musical instrument. By learning about and being exposed to a wide variety of music, "widening out" in their musical taste, a teenager can get a better perspective on cultural history, and where the music of today fits into the broader picture of music throughout history.

There have been centuries of rich cultural heritage in many diverse cultures which have produced a wide variety of fascinating styles of music, much broader and scope and emotion than what might be popular at this point in time with commercial and pop, hop-hop and rock music, along with their various offshoots or progeny, in different, current, styles of popular music.

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The psychology of music

The Psychology of Music
Effects on Behavior, Intelligence, Learning, Pain and Health


Read more at Suite101: The Psychology of Music: Effects on Behavior, Intelligence, Learning, Pain and Health



Studies indicate that music can have profound physical and psychological effects not only on people but also on animals and plants.
Research into the effects of music on behavior, intelligence, learning, pain tolerance and health have generated a number of interesting findings. This article describes the results of some of the more intriguing experiments and studies.

Music, Mice and Madness
A student named David Merrill devised an experiment to discover how music would affect the ability of mice to learn new things. Merrill had one group of mice listen to classical music 24 hours a day and another to heavy metal music. He then timed the mice as they ran through mazes to see if the music affected their speed of learning. Unfortunately, he had to cut the first experiment short because the heavy metal mice all killed one another. In a second experiment, mice that listened to Mozart for 10 hours a day dramatically improved their maze-solving abilities, while the heavy metal mice actually became worse at solving mazes than they had been at the beginning of the experiment.

Music, Intelligence and Learning
According to the Association for Psychological Science, intelligence test scores grew higher in children who took lessons in keyboarding or singing. In another study, boys between the ages of 6 and 15 who took music lessons scored higher on tests of verbal memory than a control group of students without musical training.

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Researchers found that patients who listened to harp, piano, synthesizer, orchestra or slow jazz experienced less post-surgical pain than those who did not.

Music Therapy and Autism
Music therapy is particularly helpful for autistic students, who have difficulty interacting with classmates and teachers and become agitated in noisy, changeable environments. Autistic students respond very well to music therapy, which can be used to help them remain calm under stress and socialize more effectively. In addition, many autistic children have spectacular music skills.

Music and Violence
In a study of university students, participants listened to seven songs with violent lyrics, while a control group listened to seven songs without violent lyrics by the same artists. Afterwards, when asked to classify words as violent or nonviolent, those who had listened to violent lyrics were more likely to ascribe aggressive meanings to words such as “rock” and “stick.” The American Psychological Society has also published a report stating that research has definitively proved the link between youth violence and violent media, including music.

Music and Suicide

Read on
Psychology of Classical Music
Music Psychology & Behavior
Careers for Art, Music, and Dance Therapists
On a stranger note, sociology professor James Gundlach found higher rates of suicide among those who listen to country music. However, Gundlach notes that the suicide link occurred only with older country music, which he believes is not as upbeat as today’s.

Music and Plant Health
Experiments conducted by Dorothy Retallack to learn about music's effects on plants are described in her 1973 book The Sound of Music and Plants. Retallack played rock music (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Vanilla Fudge) for one group of plants and jazz for another. When two weeks had passed, the jazz plants were healthy and bent toward the radio. The rock music plants grew very tall and droopy, with faded blooms, and most had died within 16 days.

Retallack tried other types of music, including country, to which the plants showed no reaction, and modern (discordant) classical music, which caused the plants to bend away from the speaker. The plants seemed to “like” Bach and North Indian sitar and tabla music.

Other people have conducted similar experiments, and some claim to have achieved similar results. However, Retallack has been criticized for using unscientific methods in her experiments.

Most music studies to date have used small sample sizes and some have not controlled for confounding variables, so although these findings are compelling, more research is required. However, given that many studies have generated similar results for certain types of music, the psychology of music is certainly worthy of further exploration.


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The hope of music's healing powers

Yes, yes, it hath charms to soothe a savage breast (or beast, if you prefer to repeat a common mistake). But researchers are finding that music may be an effective balm for many other afflictions: the isolation of conditions such as autism and Alzheimer's disease, the disability that results from stroke, the physical stress of entering the world too early.

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Research - Effect of Music on Heart Rate

This project studies the heart rate variability and psychological responses due to exposure to various genres of music. Subjects to be used are 20 undergraduate students at Miami University between the ages of 18 and 25. The pieces of music to be used are ÒSymphony Number 5: IIIÓ by Dmitri Shostakovich, ÒSprits DriftingÓ by Brian Eno, ÒBlackest Eyes,Ó by Porcupine Tree, ÒWar Machine,Ó by Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus, and ÒImaginary Places,Ó by Bus Driver. The five songs will be tested on each subject for duration of three minutes with an interval of two minutes between each kind of music. The heart rate will be brought to the resting rate before experimenting with the next genre of music. We speculate that slow music will lower the heart rate and bring the psychological sense in a state of low tension and stress while songs with fast beats and high pitches increased the rate of the heartbeat. The positive effect of slow music will be an apparent tool to reduce anxiety and stress in patients after a surgery and can be used as an adjuvant in their treatment.






Introduction


An alternative method of healing exists, known as holistic medicine, that may be more effective than the "over the counter drugs" commonly used in society today. Holistic--from the Greek root holos, meaning wholeÑmedicine, the practice of making the body whole, ÒÉis part of a worldview, which promises to achieve societal change through respect for the individual and for the contribution of diversity to an integrative model of healing. It includes, but is not limited to, nutrition, herbal medicine, spinal manipulation and body work medicine, "energy medicine," spiritual attunement, relaxation training and stress management, biofeedback and acupunctureÓ (AHMA). In holistic medicine, physical, mental, and spiritual ailments are treated.

Relaxation training and stress management exist as fundamental treatments in holistic medicine because they involve directly all three types of ailments. Traditionally, relaxation and stress has been measured by fluctuations in heart rate. The heart is a vital organ in the human body. Though only the size of the fist, it pumps blood to the rest of the body by rhythmic expansion and relaxation. The frequency of this cardiac cycle is measured through heart rate. The heart rate is the number of contractions (beats) of the heart in a minute (Bianco 1-6).

Previous experiments involving heart rate have used music as an alternative technique to induce relaxation or stress. Earlier studies made show that music may influence heart rate and respiration, however, all of these experiments have used small numbers of subjects. In the early 1900Õs Shoen and Soibelman showed that there was a correlation between music and heart rate by the increase in the rate while listening to different types of music (Schoen 1-449, Soibelman 103-108). An experiment by Ellis and Brighouse was completed on The Effect of Music on Respiration and Heart Rate. They tested how different genres of music effected 36 college studentsÕ respiration and heart rate. Each genre of music caused slight increases in both respiration and heart rates among the students. Therefore, concluding that music is an effective therapeutic agent if the desired effect is an increase in either respiration or heart rate (Ellis and Brighouse 39-47).

Although Ellis and Brighouse did not find music decreasing heart rate, there experiment did show a correlation between music and heart rate. This correlation has a wide scope in the medical field. By implementing a natural method of relaxation rather than taking pills to soothe the mind, humans can create a holistic body. The natural system of medication evolves from India in the form of Ayurveda and Yunani where plant extracts such as Neem and Tulasi are used to cure various sicknesses. Treatment has evolved from natural methods to medication in the form of chemical pills. However, there is still an underlying natural method of cure amidst the emerging trend of medical treatment. Finding how music effects heart rate may help to relieve stress and put the mind and body in a state of calm. Music has an arousal effect, which is related to its frequency and tempo. Logically, slow or meditative music may induce a relaxing effect and cause relaxation. In measuring how different genres of music affect the heart rate of human beings, we intend to discover if there is a type of music that will lower the heart rate. We propose that different types of music will increase or decrease the heart rate.








Specific Research Design

We will be measuring the heart rates of each subject to determine the effect of music on cardiovascular activity. In order to do this, we first must measure, using a heart rate monitor, the resting heart rate of the subject, as the control. As a heart rate can fluctuate and a heart-rate monitor tracks the contractions of the heart in real-time and calculates an estimated heartbeats per minute, we will take three (3) measurements and calculate an average. This resulting average is the heart rate that the subjectÕs heart rate must reach before exposure to each genre of music.

Prior to experimentation, the subjects will be asked to rank preferentially the five genres of music to be used in the experiment: classical, ambient, rock, metal, and rap. The subject will be asked to specify their physical activity. As a higher level of physical fitness will result in a lower fluctuation of heart rate and a faster recovery time, it might prove statistically beneficial to be aware of this information for each subject. The subject will sign up for an appointment to be tested. Once they arrive for their scheduled time, only the tester(s) and the subject will be in the room, so as to eliminate any distractions. The subject will be lying down with a heart rate monitor attached and the tester will hold the receiver to record all of his/her findings (see attached data/consent form). Each piece of music will be administered to the subject through headphones via an Apple iPod¨.

The third movement of Dmitri ShostakovichÕs Symphony Number 5 will be used for classical music. A 20th century modern composer, his works tend to emulate the style of his predecessors and create a phonic often indistinguishable and genericÑthis will eliminate any particular attachment that a subject might possess with a certain composerÕs style. ÒSpirits DriftingÓ by Brian Eno from his album Another Green World (1979) will be used for ambience. Eno is recognised as the first creator of ambient electronica, an avant-garde genre of music focused on atmospheric horizontal composition rather than rigid structure or focus on harmony, resulting in more naturally flowing stream-of-consciousness works. They will not know the songs that they will hear beforehand, and the songs chosen are intended to be obscure so that prior experience with the song will not introduce lurking variables. For rock, we will be using ÒBlackest EyesÓ by Porcupine Tree, from their album In Absentia (2001). A British progressive rock song, ÒBlackest EyesÓ combines many elements found in modern rock music, including pristine production, use of syncopation and odd-time metres, subtle complex harmonies, technicality, and transitions between acoustic and electric sections. For metal we will be using ÒWar MachineÓ by Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus, an underground ÒgrindcoreÓ avant-garde metal band. Using visceral vocals, aggressive drumming and rhythmic foundation, and deliberate use of atonality and tempo changes, they exemplify most subsets of the metal genre. For rap, we will be exposing the subjects to ÒImaginary PlacesÓ by Bus Driver, from Temporary Forever (2003). His unorthodox style of rapping typically is shunned by mainstream media for use of his combined elements of vocal jazz, straight rap, and spoken word.

Before being exposed to the experimental genres of music, the subjects will hear a jazz song, ÒIt Might As Well Be Spring,Ó by Brad Mehldau from the album Introducing Brad Meldau. This song will have no data associated with it; rather, it will serve as a ÔdummyÕ to eliminate any initial shock the subjects might encounter when first initiating the experiment.

Each song will begin once the subject achieves resting heart rate, and will commence to play for three (3) minutes. The order of exposure will be classical, ambient, rock, metal, and rap, preceding all of which will be the jazz ÔdummyÕ song. At intervals of fifty (50) seconds, the reading of the heart rate monitor, which the subject will be wearing, will be recorded, with a maximum total of three (3) readings. These readings will be averaged and analyzed statistically after data collection is complete.

Once all of the data is allocated, we will use significance tests to determine whether or not any of the genres of music had a statistically significant effect (a = 0.05) on the heart rate of the subject, and furthermore, if their music preferences impacted their cardiovascular reactions to the exposure of each genre of music.
The null hypothesis states that the heart rate of a subject for each genre equals the resting heart rate. Thus, if the data is statistically significant, it would suggest that a genre of music on a level greater than random chance, affects the heart rate of a subject. A second statistical method, drawn from the preferences of each subject will analyze the variability of heart rate among the different genres and determine if this could be predicted accurately knowing only a subjectÕs music preferences.




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Using Music to Lift Depression’s Veil

Many people find that music lifts their spirits. Now new research shows that music therapy — either listening to or creating music with a specially trained therapist — can be a useful treatment for depression.

The finding that music therapy offers a real clinical benefit to depression sufferers comes from a review by the Cochrane Collaboration, a not-for-profit group that reviews health care issues. Although there aren’t many credible studies of music therapy for depression, the reviewers found five randomized trials that studied the effects of music therapy. Some studies looked at the effects of providing music therapy to patients who were receiving drug treatment for depression. Others compared music therapy to traditional talk therapy. In four out of five of the trials, music therapy worked better at easing depression symptoms than therapies that did not employ music, the researchers found.

“The current studies indicate that music therapy may be able to improve mood and has low drop-out rates,” said lead author Anna Maratos, an arts therapist for the National Health Service in London. “While the evidence came from a few small studies, it suggests that this is an area that is well worth further investigation….We need to find out which forms have greatest effect.”

Ms. Maratos notes that music therapy might be particularly useful for adolescents who may reject a traditional form of counseling. Some older patients also may not be comfortable talking about their feelings, “but do tend to express themselves through song,” she said.
“I think we can be reasonably confident that music therapy has an effect,” Ms. Maratos said. “Music therapy is often used where more conventional therapies are not as likely to be as accepted or tolerated.”

There are two main types of music therapy. Sometimes, a therapist will listen to music with a patient and talk about the feelings or memories that it evokes. In another form, the therapist is a skilled musician and will improvise music with the patient. If the patient doesn’t play an instrument, he or she might be given a simple percussion instrument and the therapist will play along.

Other studies have shown a benefit from music therapy in the treatment for autism, dementia, learning disabilities, strokes and pain management during labor and birth. The problem, Ms. Maratos notes, is that there isn’t very much high-quality research. “It doesn’t easily attract serious research funding,” she said. “It’s difficult to do high-quality, large-scale trials.”

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Relationship of Music and Spirituality

Music has a close connection with spirituality. Spiritual music has the capacity to enlighten our minds and inspires us to dive deep within. The most profound spirituality involves peace and silence. But to enter this realm of peace and silence it is quite practical to take the benefit of spiritual, soulful music.

Music that helps us spiritually is music that elevates and uplifts our consciousness. It is music that makes rather than breaks. Some music embodies a restless, aggressive quality. Spiritual music energies our inner being, but it does this without creating restlessness and vital excitement. Spiritual music can be a great aid to meditation. If we listen to music with our heart it awakens the inner aspiration to dwell in the higher realms of consciousness. The great composer Beethoven said of music

"Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. Although the spirit be not master of that which it creates through music, yet it is blessed in this creation, which, like every creation of art, is mightier than the artist."

A popular form of spiritual music is bhajans. Bhajans are simple devotional songs, which are sung many times to invoke a quality of God , The Supreme. Many spiritual teachers have noted the power of devotional music to help seekers spiritually. To sit in silent meditation may be difficult for many seekers, but to enter into the spirit of devotional music is to get the fruits of meditation in an easy and accessible way. For some aspirants devotional music alone is a way to reach the goal. The great Indian Saint Sri Chaitanya sung endlessly devotional bhajans to Sri Krishna. His infectious singing, inspired many in India to follow the path of Bhakti yoga. His bhajans to Krishna are still sung today.

Spirituality and music can never be separated. If music awakens our inner aspiration we will be inspired to dive deep within. Sri Chinmoy says of music:

"When we play soulful music, we elevate our consciousness most rapidly. Soulful music is a form of aspiration, a form of meditation."

From the outer music we will become in touch with the inner silence. In our deepest meditation great seekers say that we can hear the divine music in the depths of our own heart.

Music also has the capacity to bring people together. It is something that unites rather than divides. Speaking at the legendary Woodstock festival of 1969 the spiritual Guru Swami Satchidananda offered a welcoming address to nearly half a million spectators.

"I am overwhelmed with joy to see the youth of America gathered here in the name of the fine art of music. In fact through music we can work wonders"

Many who attended Woodstock of 1969 felt it was a unique occasion when so many people were attracted by the ideal of harmony and friendship that transcended any cultural or racial barrier. Oneness and harmony is an indispensable part of spirituality, music helps this to become a reality

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Cognitive development, Verbal Skills and Emotional Intelligence

Effects of Music on the Brain
Cognitive development, Verbal Skills and Emotional Intelligence


Music has been known to alleviate stress by increasing the body’s release of endorphins—the feel good chemicals. New research also reveals that music produces powerful effects on the brain, promoting cognitive development, verbal skills and emotional intelligence.

Music and Cognitive Development
A great deal of evidence exists showing a correlation between musical training in childhood and cognitive proficiency. Canadian researchers measuring changes in brain responses to music in children aged 4 to 6 discovered that children who took Suzuki music lessons had greater improvements in IQ scores and specific skills such as literacy, visiospatial processing, verbal memory and mathematics. The study suggests that music training has a profound effect on rewiring the brain for cognitive functions.

Another study undertaken at Georgetown University Medical Center shows that music exercises all areas in the brain involved with attention. Peak activity in the brain occurs when listeners are engaged in the pauses of silence between movements, suggesting that music activates networks in the brain associated with anticipation, attention and neural clairvoyance.

Can music help produce better readers? Definitely, according to a research done at Northwestern University which suggests that music training is directly linked to enhanced verbal proficiency. In fact, researchers at the university suggest that musical training may be more effective for developing verbal skills than learning phonics. Why?

The brain’s multi-sensory engagement during music practice and performance enhances the same communication skills needed for speaking and reading. Musicians sharpen a specialized neural system for processing sight and sound, music and speech, which means that early musical training can help children develop literacy skills and reduce literacy disorders. Listening to music while exercising has also been shown to help increase verbal fluency scores among cardiac rehabilitation patients.

Music and Emotional Intelligence
Perhaps the most compelling effect of music on the brain is its development of emotional intelligence. The latest research shows that music training sharpens an individual’s ability to recognize emotion in sound, an ability that goes a long way in terms of developing sensitivity to emotional cues and intuitive understanding of social contexts, two skills critical to emotional intelligence. Music training fine-tunes an individual’s perception of the emotional landscape around him, allowing him greater flexibility in dealing with human relationships.

There is no doubt that music promotes both cognitive proficiency and emotional probity.The effects of music on the brain are so pervasive and pronounced that mandatory and subsidized pre-school music education should be espoused for all children.

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Ten Reasons Why Going to Concerts is Good for Your Health

People go to music concerts for many reasons. Some people watch concerts to support their favorite music idols, others go to concerts to have fun with friends, while others watch concerts to enjoy music.

But for whatever reason it is, many studies show that going to concerts is actually good for your health.

Here are some reasons why:
1. The feeling of excitement that a concert brings causes a sudden rush of adrenalin that is good for the heart.

2. This activity will also allow one to burn calories which can be a good form of physical exercise for the day.

3. Live music gives an uplifting feeling that is good for physical and emotional well being.


4. Live concerts allow one to perspire which leads to faster metabolism.

5. Going to concerts is a healthy alternative to spending an evening at home watching television.

6. Watching your favorite music icon, live, can bring a sense of confidence that can boost your overall well being.

7. Live concerts are social gatherings that can promote positive energy resulting to overall good health and great physical outlook.

8. Listening to live music can enhance your senses, resulting to more alert and active physical condition.

9. Being within a live concert promotes confidence that can lead to a healthier approach in life.

10. Live music can bring about a healthy balance that is good for the body and mind.

Does this information surprise you? How often do you go to live concerts?

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Music therapy treats diseases and conditions from Parkinson's to autism

Listen up: belting out tunes in the shower may not only be music to your ears, but may also treat a variety of disorders such as Parkinson's disease, aphasia and dementia.

In fact, singing has both physical and neurological benefits, according to a CNN article in which Dr. Wendy Magee, International Fellow in Music Therapy at the Institute of Neuropalliative Rehabilitation in London, described music as a "mega-vitamin for the brain" that can improve a host of conditions.

"When neural pathways are damaged for one particular function such as language, musical neural pathways are actually much more complex and much more widespread within the brain," she told CNN. "Music seems to find re-routed paths and that is why it is such a useful tool in terms of helping people with different kinds of brain damage because it can help to find new pathways in terms of brain functioning."

Music is effective in treating not just certain medical disorders but also autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), says Dr. Robert Melillo, co-founder of the Brain Balance Achievement Centers and the author of "Disconnected Kids" (Penguin, 2009).

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Asperger Syndrome

Asperger syndrome (Asperger disorder, Asperger’s syndrome) is a form of pervasive developmental disorder characterized by persistent impairment in social interactions and by repetitive behavior patterns and restricted interests. Unlike autistic disorder, no significant aberrations or delays occur in language development or in cognitive development. Asperger syndrome is generally evident in children older than age 3 years and occurs most often in males. (See Etiology and Epidemiology.)

De Spiegeleer and Appelboom pointed out that Asperger syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder.[1] Although normal language and cognitive development differentiate Asperger syndrome from other developmental disorders, the severe social impairment associated with this condition overlaps with disorders such as high-functioning autism (HFA). (See Diagnostic Considerations.)

Children with this syndrome often exhibit a limited capacity for spontaneous social interactions, a failure to develop friendships, and a limited number of intense and highly focused interests. Although some people with Asperger syndrome may have certain communication problems, including poor nonverbal communication and pedantic speech, many individuals have good cognitive and verbal skills. (See History.)

Bowler and colleagues reported that although people with Asperger syndrome have fewer memories, the experiences of remembering are qualitatively similar in people with Asperger syndrome compared with healthy control subjects.[2]

Physical symptoms may include early childhood motor delays, clumsiness, fine motor difficulty, gait anomalies, and odd movements. (See Physical Examination.)

Individuals with Asperger syndrome have normal, or even superior, intelligence and may make great intellectual contributions while demonstrating social insensitivity or even apparent indifference toward loved ones. Published case reports of individuals with Asperger syndrome suggest an association with the capacity to accomplish cutting-edge research in computer science, mathematics, and physics, as well as outstanding creative work in art, film, and music. Although the deficits manifested by those with Asperger syndrome are often debilitating, many individuals experience positive outcomes, especially those who excel in areas not dependent on social interaction. (See Prognosis and Treatment.)

Persons with Asperger syndrome have exhibited outstanding skills in mathematics, music, and computer sciences. Many are highly creative, and many prominent individuals demonstrate traits suggesting Asperger syndrome. For example, biographers have described Albert Einstein as a person with highly developed mathematical skills who was unaware of social norms and insensitive to the emotional needs of family and friends.

For clinical management purposes, Asperger syndrome and HFA may be considered together. Impaired social skills are associated with several other conditions (eg, developmental learning disability of the right hemisphere, nonverbal learning disability, schizoid personality disorder, semantic-pragmatic processing disorder, social-emotional learning disabilities).

The Autism Screening Checklist (seen below) is helpful in identifying children with characteristics of autism spectrum disorders. It differentiates children with autism spectrum disorders from children with schizophrenia and other psychoses.

Autism screening checklist.
A score of "yes" on items 1, 3, and 4 of the Autism Screening Checklist occurs in healthy children and in children with autism spectrum disorders, including Asperger syndrome. Some children with autism and other autism spectrum disorders demonstrate normal development for the first couple of years or so and then demonstrate a regression with loss of language skills. Children with autism may or may not speak. Therefore, children with autism may score “no” or “yes” on item 4. Children with Asperger syndrome develop speech at the usual age. They may display oddities of speech characteristic of autism and Asperger syndrome. A score of "yes" on items 2 and 11 occurs in healthy children, not in children with autism spectrum disorders and other pervasive developmental disorders.

A score of "no" on the Autism Screening Checklist items 2 and 11 and a score of "yes" on items 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13 occurs in some children with autism spectrum disorders. The higher the score for "no" on items 2, 4, and 11 and for "yes" on items 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13 on the Autism Screening Checklist, the more likely the presence of an autism spectrum disorder. A score of "yes" on items 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 occurs in children with schizophrenia and other disorders, not in children with Asperger syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders. A score of "no" on item 2 and "yes" on item 12 may occur in people with Asperger syndrome.

Go to Pervasive Developmental Disorder and Autism for complete information on these topics.

Associated morbidities
Depression and hypomania are common among adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome, particularly those with a family history of these conditions. (Caregivers of persons with Asperger syndrome may be prone to depression as well.)

An increased risk of suicide is observed in persons with Asperger syndrome, with risks possibly rising in proportion to the number and severity of comorbid maladies. Asperger syndrome is probably undiagnosed in many suicide cases because of the dearth of awareness of the condition's existence and the ineffective and unreliable tools used to identify it. Therefore, people with Asperger syndrome who commit suicide are probably reported as having other or undiagnosed psychiatric problems. In cases of unexpected suicide, Asperger syndrome is a strong possibility.

Every person who interacts with people with Asperger syndrome can benefit from developing an awareness of the symptoms of depression. When these symptoms occur in people with Asperger syndrome, family, friends, and others, the afflicted person can be guided to receive the needed help.

Several criteria have been identified to diagnose depression. A major depression is characterized by the presence of the symptoms on a sustained basis for at least 2 weeks. In other words, transient sadness lasting a few hours does not qualify as major depression. In order to meet the criteria for a symptom of depression, the symptom must interfere with the person’s life, possibly in educational, occupational, or social settings.

The key hallmarks include depression and anhedonia. Anhedonia is characterized by the inability to experience pleasure. Anhedonia is a symptom of depression. Either depression or anhedonia must be present to diagnose major depression. The presence of depression can be elicited by asking the person, “Do you feel low, blue, sad, down in the dumps?” The presence of anhedonia can be elicited by asking if the person experiences pleasure from activities that usually produce pleasure.

Symptoms of depression
In addition to depression and anhedonia, 7 other symptoms of depression are noted below.

Disturbances of eating are typical in depression; the person may lose weight when not dieting or may gain weight. A change of 5% of the body weight in 1 month qualifies as a symptom of depression. Alternatively, the person may experience a marked decrease or increase in appetite.

Sleep disturbances are common in depression. The person may experience insomnia. Difficulty falling asleep may be reported. Ask the person, “Do you wake up in the middle of sleeping? Do you wake up earlier in the morning than usual?” Alternatively, the person may sleep more than usual.

Disturbances of activity levels often occur in depression. The person may move much more frequently or much less frequently than usual. This may lead others to comment that the activity level has changed.

The person may have a loss of energy and a persistent feeling of tiredness.

The person may have difficulty concentrating.

The person may experience feelings of guilt, helplessness, and hopelessness. Ask the person, “Do you feel worthless?”

Addressing patient depression
Clinicians must be aware of the risk of depression and institute prompt interventions when major depression occurs.

The person may have thoughts that life is not worth living. The person may consider, plan, attempt, or commit suicide. This symptom requires immediate evaluation by a mental health professional. Involuntary psychiatric hospitalization is indicated if the person is acutely suicidal.

Throughout the process of interacting with a person who has depression, the person needs to be informed that the depression will probably pass. Unlike other progressive mental disorders, depression is usually a remitting illness. In other words, the depression typically resolves entirely without treatment. However, treatment likely hastens the onset of recovery.

Still, a person with depression may be convinced that recovery is not possible. This may be a result of the temporary feeling of hopelessness common in depression. The belief that the person will never recover may lead to suicide. For this reason, people with depression must be told that the depression will probably completely resolve. Inform the person that sometimes people’s minds play tricks on them and that they will probably completely recover.

People who are depressed may need assistance to obtain help from mental health professionals. If a person is suicidal, call emergency services (eg, 911) to ask for an ambulance for a person with a mental disorder. People who are a danger to themselves merit commitment to mental hospitals for treatment to protect them from hurting themselves.

People with Asperger syndrome are vulnerable to depression, even suicide, after a perceived rejection in a social situation such as dating and marriage.

Additional morbidities
People with Asperger syndrome can have other neuropsychiatric disorders, including Tourette syndrome, anorexia nervosa, and schizophrenia; treating such comorbid disorders may be beneficial.

Other concerns
Changes to a child's environment may exacerbate symptoms of Asperger syndrome. Therefore, minimize separations if the child is fond of family members, teachers, or others.

People with Asperger syndrome may be entitled to benefits for people with disabilities.

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Music's Affects on the Human Body

Music does many things for the human body including, masking unpleasant sounds and feelings, slowing down and equalizing brain waves, affecting respiration, affecting the heartbeat, pulse rate, and blood pressure, reducing muscle tension and improving body movement and coordination, affecting the body temperature, regulating stress-related hormones, boosting the immune function, changing our perception of space and time, strengthening our memory and learning, boosting productivity, enhancing romance and sexuality, stimulating digestion, fostering endurance, enhancing unconscious receptivity to symbolism, and generating a sense of safety and well-being. The next few paragraphs will address each way that music has an affect on our body so one can get a more full understanding of how something like music can affect our bodies in such a large way. (Campbell Index)

Music masks unpleasant sounds and feelings in many ways. A simple example of how this is done is when you take a trip to the dentist. If you're going to get a root canal or something else that would involve a drill, you usually don't want to get it done because most people are terrified of drills, and the sound of the drill. And we all know the music the dentist plays in the office. We all dread it. But what we don't know is that it is this music that can most of the time disguise or even balance out the sounds of the dentist's drill. But what the music doesn't necessarily do is calm you down while you're in the waiting room waiting for the moment you go into that room, sit in the chair, and have the doctor start to drill away on your teeth. (Campbell 64)

Music can slow down and equalize brain waves. There are 4 kinds of waves that the brain has. Beta waves, Alpha waves, Theta waves, and Delta waves. All of these waves are measured in hertz. Beta waves range from 14-20 hertz, Alpha waves range from 9 to 13 hertz, Theta waves from 4 to 7 hertz, and Delta from .5-3 hertz. When we focus on daily activities, or experience emotions that are strong, that's when Beta waves occur. Calmness and having a heightened awareness are part of the Alpha waves, and if you're in meditation, sleeping, or in an inspiring mood where you're very creative, that's when you're using theta waves, and when you're in deep sleep, and deep meditation, that's when delta waves are used. The slower the brain waves, the more relaxed, contended, and peaceful we feel. Common household music, medium paced music, generally has a pulse of about 60 beats per minute, which in turn can shift from the beta waves to the alpha waves. This is in certain types of music like Baroque, and New Age type music. This will increase alertness and things of that sort. If you're listening to a Shamanic drumbeat, your waves may drop into the theta range, which would in turn, alert your state of consciousness. Because a Shamanic drumbeat alters your hearing, because it's so different than other types of music. Different types of music, alert different waves, which then react differently, which makes you react differently. “If you are daydreaming or find yourself in an emotional, unfocused mood, a little Mozart or Baroque music in the background for ten to fifteen minutes can help to steady your conscious awareness and increase your mental organization.” There isn't any bias or opposing viewpoints on this part, mainly because it's all proven fact. One can't argue with what has already been proven, because it's right. Scientists now know that the brain reacts differently to different types of music. (Campbell 65,66)

Music affects respiration, there's no doubt about it. Everyday breathing is rhythmic. When one breathes deep, and at a slow rate, this helps calmness, and lets you have a better control of emotions, you can think deeper, and speeds up your metabolism. If one breathes fast, quick, and shallow, it leads to that person having shallow scattered thinking, and you'll have more of a tendency to make mistakes in what you're doing while you're breathing so hard. (Campbell 66).

The music you listen to affects the way you breathe and react to the music. If you react by dancing and banging your head around, you're usually listening to fast paced music, which will then speed up your breathing. (Campbell 67) Bias in this is that this doesn't happen for everybody. Some people listen to fast music and relax to it. I am one of those people. But that doesn't mean that the music still doesn't have an affect on my breathing. It really just depends on the music you listen to and who you are.

Music affects the heartbeat, pulse rate, and blood pressure. It's pretty obvious how this works. From the previous paragraph where the breathing was affected, it's nearly the same thing. The heartbeat responds to sound and music just as we would. It picks up on the frequency, tempo, volume, and it tends to speed up according to the pace of the music. It's not necessarily going to go with the beat, but it will slow down or speed up to a fast or slow song, but only within a certain range. Because the heart can only go so fast or so slow and still be safe, and it sure wouldn't kill itself. Just like the breathing rates in the last paragraph, the slower heartbeat makes it so the mind is calm, it reduces stress and tension, and helps the body heal itself. There are studies on this particular statement, but nearly all the studies are the same. Two groups do one thing, one is exposed to either silence or a neutral music, and the other to the music you're trying to prove something for, and it comes out positive for the hard rock, or the elevator music, or whatever music one may have tested. The heartbeat, affects the pulse rate, because they're related, so that's how it affects the pulse rate. Music can change the blood pressure also. �Dr. Shirley Thompson, an associated professor of epidemiology at the University of South Carolina School of Public Health, reports that excessive noise may raise blood pressure by as much as 10 percent.� It's not likely that all the types of music you listen to will raise your blood pressure until it's unhealthy, these are just minor changes that don't really mean anything; it just shows what music can do to our body. (Campbell 67)

Music reduces muscle tension and improves body movement and coordination. There was a study conducted in Colorado State University in 1991. twenty-four undergraduate women had to swing their arms and hit a target with an object on completion of the downswing. They played music during this and the researchers found that when the women coordinated their movements and swings with the beat, instead of going at their own rate, they had more control over their muscles, and it also enhanced their mood and motivation. (Campbell 69)

Music affects the body temperature. For a very common example, think of a creaking screen door, or fingernails on a chalkboard, and how those noises send chills up your spine and give you Goosebumps and often make you shiver. All sounds and music can put out an influence on our body temperature and make our body adapt to changes in heat and cold. �Transcendent music can flood us with warmth. Loud music with a strong beat can rise our body heat a few degrees, while soft music with a weak beat can lower it. Music does this by influencing blood circulation, pulse rate, breathing, and sweating.� (Campbell 71)

Music can regulate stress-related hormones. The level of stress hormones in the blood declines significantly in those listening to relaxing, ambient music report anesthesiologists. Sometimes this music can overcome the need for medication. People with hard stress related jobs often times go to music for relaxation. (Campbell 72)
Music and sound can boost the immune function. Current research in immunology suggests that an insufficient amount oxygen in the blood may be a major cause of immune deficiency. Music comes into this problem simply. Music, can actually oxygenate the cells. “Buddha Gerace, a voice researcher in Lake Montezuma, Arizona, has developed vocal exercises that can increase the lymphatic circulation to as high as three times the normal rate. In fifty years of teaching voice, Gerace has witnessed many remarkable changes, and he credits his exercises with helping actor Henry Fonda boost his immune function and recover from vocal trouble during the Broadway production of Mister Roberts.� (Campbell 73)

Music changes our perception of space. Music can do all kinds of wonderful things for us. It's a wonder why most people don't realize that music helps them that much. Some people listen to music all day, all the time, and they just think its music. It does something for them. That's what they say. But more people should fully understand that music might be the reason they haven't been sick in a year, or why they have such a low blood pressure for the way they eat.


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Music Therapy for the Hearing Impaired

Hearing impairments are believed by many to be the most devastating of the sensory handicaps. While visual impairments are environmental handicaps that keep us from things, hearing impairments are communication handicaps which keep us from people (Darrow, 1989), Communication is the basis of our social and cognitive being, and without it we are cut off from the world. For this reason, clinical practice in music therapy with the hearing impaired has focused on those areas closely related to communication: auditory training, speech production, and language development. Through working on these communication deficits, music therapy has the secondary effect of improving socialization and self-esteem.

Music therapy still seems impractical to many people. This is largely due to misconceptions regarding the hearing impaired individual's capacity to hear and appreciate musical stimuli. As Darrow (1989) points out, only a small percentage of hearing-impaired individuals do not hear at all. She further suggests that, because of the variety of frequencies and the usual intensity, the perception of music is often more accessible to the hearing impaired than the complexities of the speech signal. Music is also highly flexible and can be modified to suit the client's hearing level, language level, maturity, and music preference.

Robbins & Robbins (1980), who have designed a comprehensive resource manual and curriculum guide for music therapy with the hearing impaired, approach the subject with the attitude that musicality is inborn in every individual. By musicality they refer to our inherent sensitivities and capacities that respond directly to the experiences of rhythmic and, tonal variety and order described as "music." They stress that music is many sided in its effect on the human being. It is a medium of outward activity and inward experience, and it relates directly to speech and language, communication and thought, as well as to bodily expression and a wide range of emotions. Rather than excluding them, music therapy embraces and enhances the habilitation and overall development of those persons who are hearing impaired.

For persons with hearing impairment, music therapy can:

Enhance auditory, training and expand the use of residual hearing

Auditory training is an integral part of the habilitation process with hearing impaired persons. These individuals must learn to interpret--and attend to the sounds--especially speech-in their environment, in order to increase the rate and quality of their social and communicative development. The central goal in auditory training is to develop the hearing impaired client's residual hearing to the maximum possible extent. Persons with hearing impairments must learn to listen, a complex mental and aural process. Auditory training attempts to develop focused and analytical attention to sound in the hearing impaired client, and it can become a tedious and uninteresting process. Music, therefore, becomes a useful tool with which to motivate and enliven the sessions.

Speech and music contain many common properties. The auditory perception of speech and music involves the ability to distinguish between different sounds, their pitches, durations, intensities, and timbres, and the way in which these sounds change over time. These properties aid in the listener's ability to interpret sounds and attach meaning to them. These commonalties between music and speech allow music and music therapy to provide an alternative and pleasurable tool to enhance traditional auditory training techniques (Darrow, 1989).

Music therapy procedures can effectively address a number of objectives in auditory training. Attention to sound, attention to differences in sound, recognition of objects and events from their sounds, and use of hearing to determine distance and location of sound can all be trained through musical experiences (Darrow, 1989). Further, Robbins & Robbins (1980) found that suitable music is more easily heard and assimilated than speech and thus is more likely to stimulate a natural motivation to use residual hearing.

Amir & Schuchman (1985) employed a music therapy programme to develop and improve skills in awareness of musical sound, awareness of tempo and perception of simple rhythm patterns, awareness of intensity contrasts, recognition of musical sounds, and comprehension of musical sound patterns. An investigation into the effectiveness of such a programme indicated that certain aspects of a profoundly hearing impaired person's residual hearing may be measurably improved through a systematic programme of auditory training in a musical context.' Specifically, subjects' discrimination levels significantly improved and the practice the subjects received in the music setting generalized to environmental sounds as well. Amir & Schuchman further supported the use of music because it provided an interesting diversification and positive learning experience, reinforcing the clients' use of the auditory modality. Enhance speech development and improve speech prosody.

The speaking voices of persons, who are hearing, impaired are often described, as awkward and unnatural. These individuals commonly lack the internal feedback mechanisms necessary for monitoring and adjusting, for instance, pronunciation of words, vocal inflection, or speech rhythm. Consequently, their speech production is often unclear or distorted. Hearing impaired speakers tend to demonstrate fewer variations in pitch and intonation than normal hearing speakers, which results in a monotone. They often prolong syllables and/or sentences and frequently pause inappropriately. These rhythmic and intonation problems often affect speech intelligibility.

Music therapy techniques and activities can effectively aid the development of these prosodic features of speech, the rhythm, intonation, rate, and stress. Darrow (1989) discusses the use of music therapy in addressing speech intelligibility, vocal intonation, vocal quality and speech fluency. The breathing processes, rhythmic and timing requirements, and pitch and articulation needed for singing songs provide important structure and motivation for the clients. Darrow also stresses the importance of constant feedback by the therapist.

Darrow & Starmer (1986) studied the effect of vocal training on the fundamental frequency, frequency range, and speech rate of hearing impaired children's speech. Hearing impaired speakers tend to have a higher fundamental frequency and vary pitch less, producing problems in speech intelligibility. The results of this study suggest that specific vocal training and singing songs in appropriately lower keys may help modify the fundamental frequency and frequency range of hearing impaired client's speech. Another study by Darrow (1984) points to the role of music therapy in training rhythmic responsiveness, thereby refining responsiveness to rhythmic elements of speech.

Staum (1987) also successfully used music notation to improve speech prosody in hearing impaired clients. She employed a visual notation system devised to help clients to match familiar and unfamiliar words or word sounds with the appropriate rhythmic and inflectional structure. Significant positive results were found for improved speech prosody as well as significant generalization and transfer of learning.

Robbins & Robbins (1980), after extensive work with hearing impaired clients, suggest that the potential contribution of music therapy should be evident in the reinforcement and/or quickening of the individual's overall learning and use of speech, greater vocal/verbal spontaneity and confidence, improved voice quality, and a freer use of intonation and rhythmic principles.

Enhance language development and education and improve overall communication skills

For children with hearing loss, limited auditory input not only impedes the ability to hear the speech of others, but also has a negative impact on their own language development. Regular auditory exposure to language provides important information about vocabulary, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, which are normally assimilated incidentally by the child. Without such exposure, the hearing impaired child commonly experiences a host of language problems. Common difficulties include reduced vocabulary, difficulty with numerous meanings of words, less appropriate use of vocabulary, less precise structure and content, and so on. Difficulties in appropriately using language further remove the individual from meaningful communication and interaction with others. Language problems can also have a negative effect on other academic tasks such as reading, writing and comprehension (Gfeller, & Baumann, 1988).

Music therapy can contribute significantly to the communicative abilities and language education of the hearing impaired client. Gfeller (1990), for instance, discusses the rich repertoire of vivid music and movement experiences in music therapy, which can be paired with spoken and, later, written words. Young children, especially, operate primarily at a motoric level and learn through direct manipulation of their environment. Musical instruments and materials are rich resources for sensory and motor involvement. The multi-sensory experience that music provides is a valuable learning tool, which is eventually attached to mental representations or symbols (Gfeller, 1990). Musical events and sequences can be labelled or described by the music therapist, providing language models for the child. Since language rehabilitation can be a long, difficult process, the music therapist provides important motivation by designing activities to be playful and engaging. Music therapy activities can also provide an opportunity to experience language concepts in different contexts.

Other investigations have also found the integration of music experience into language arts education to be beneficial (Darrow, 1989; Gfeller, & Darrow, 1987). Not only does it improve motivation, it provides a multisensory approach to learning that can help the client to internalize the meaning of new words. Singing, for example, offers an opportunity for intensive listening and vocal activity. Learning songs can stimulate practice in auditory discrimination, differentiating and integrating letter sounds, syllabication, and pronunciation (Gfeller, & Darrow, 1987). It can also assist in the development of vocabulary and provide experiences for the study of sentence structure and semantics. Songwriting can fulfil many of these same goals. Songs also have the advantage of patterned drill without its monotony.

Beyond enhancing the language development and education of hearing impaired clients music therapy can further enhance their communication abilities by providing some awareness and insight into meanings conveyed by "tone of voice." Important cues in communication with others are such things as facial expression, body language, and pitch and dynamic intensity. Awareness and sensitivity to one's own and other's language stylization can be successfully addressed in the music therapy setting. By stylizing singing, and signing to songs in a stylized way, the individual can learn to use and be aware of these nuances in communication with others (Gfeller, & Darrow, 1987). Musical signing also provides an opportunity for exploration of emotional self-expression, since lyrics and melodic line together can project a greater degree of emotion than the spoken word.

Promote socialization, self-awareness, emotional satisfaction, and enhance self-esteem

Some literature has characterized hearing-impaired individuals as possessing feelings of inferiority and depression, as well as detachment and isolation (see review by Galloway, & Bean, 1974). Poor body-image and awareness, language and communication deficits, and social isolation contribute significantly to these feelings. Music therapy can provide an important avenue to address these issues and enhance the hearing-impaired individual's self-esteem.

Brick (1973) found eurhythmics--the art of harmonious and expressive body movement-and music activities provided clients with a pleasurable experience, which utilized their creative powers. This, in turn, aided in the development of self-esteem, pride in accomplishment, and group cooperation. Robbins & -Robbins (1980) also found group music activities to be effective models for social adjustment. The intrinsic rewards in music experiences seemed to motivate the resistive client to cooperate, the distractible to concentrate, and the failure expectant to complete his or her efforts. Clients who often do poorly in other areas can receive special support and compensation through achievements in music.

Body-image and awareness can also be improved through music therapy exercises. Galloway & Bean (1974) found action songs and movement to music particularly effective. Robbins & Robbins (1980) also stress the importance of realistic and positive self-image. They found that movement skills learned through musical experiences could significantly enhance self-confidence, coordination, natural poise, and a sense of physical well-being.

Singing, playing or signing original songs can also afford the individual important opportunities for self-expression and emotional satisfaction. Gfeller & Darrow (1987) suggest that signing or singing self-composed songs allows hearing impaired individuals to express or illustrate thoughts, feelings, and ideas that may be too difficult to produce in written form. Staum (1987) also found that music therapy techniques and procedures can actually provide a functional skill that can be readily integrated into private music lessons or the general music classroom. By having a skill transferable outside the therapy setting, individuals may be more able, and likely, to experience new situations, meet new people, and find themselves working alongside other groups. This, in turn, may promote a sense of social responsibility as well as recognition, pride, and self- and social-esteem.

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