Music and Psychological Health

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MUSIC

And

PSYCHOLOGICAL

HEALTH

Parsa Pahlevan Zadeh


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First edition published in India in 2011

By Ruth art printers

6-1-1066/5/2, India - Hyd 500004

Tel: 0091- 9963776600

Book name: Music and Psychological Health

Author: Parsa Pahlevan Zadeh (Ehsan)

Email: [email protected]

Editor: Tahereh Yadegari

Volume: 1000

Price: Rs 150.00

ISBN: 978-81-8465-930-6

All rights reserved by the author only.


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AcknowledgementI present my infinite thanks to my

God, Ahura Mazda. Then I take this

opportunity to express my deep

appreciation for my father who has

always been my source of inspiration. I

am also very thankful to my dear

friends, Tahereh Yadegari who edited this book and Reena Roy who helped

me in writing and processing this book.

I sincerely hope this book is useful to

all my respected readers.

April 2011- India


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Contents in BriefChapter1The Effect of Music on Concentration and Work Productivity

Chapter2The Effect of Music on the Brain

Chapter3The Effect of Music on Schizophrenia

Chapter4Music Therapy

Chapter5Music and its Influence on Behavior

Chapter6The Effect of Music on Water, Plants and BeastsChapter7Why should we learn music?

What is the process of learning music?


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Introduction

I have always liked visiting charities and

welfare offices to understand the reason why

people suffer from mental and spiritual diseases.

A few such visits inspired me very deeply to

write this book. At that time, I was a student ofcivil engineering, not too keen or interested in

this subject. In the same vein, I was very keen on

knowing more and more about various nervous

disorders such as MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and

Schizophrenia. I knew a few people who were

affected by schizophrenia and I suddenly found

myself thirsty and curious to understand their

problems at a deeper level.

We had a rehabilitation centre close to the

place where I lived, where nervous and mentally

retarded patients were kept. After visiting thecentre, I made a decision to perform for the

patients, since I knew how to play the guitar, the

piano and the electronic keyboard. Along with

my education, I was also engaged in teaching

musical instruments. I began to play for a couple


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of hours every week at this centre. After a while,

I observed the extraordinary effects of music on

them. I was amazed to see such a vast

difference. For instance, the girls in the centre

looked depressed; their behavior pattern

depicted complete lack of interest in looking

good as they did not care much about their

appearances. When I spoke to the staff there,

they disclosed that the girls were not willing totake care of basic hygiene to such an extent that

they had to force it onto the girls when things

got too far.

After playing for a couple of weeks in the

centre, I found that the girls started paying

attention to their appearance. Despite their

religious constraints, one of them had gone to

the extent of dyeing her hair in a flashy

burgundy color and painting her nails blue. She

came to me and said that her feelings were

undergoing a strange transformation after mymusical sessions. A nine-year old girl told me

that at the end of that week, her mother was

scheduled to come and take her home, but she

had refused because she didnt want to miss my

music performance. The lady who was

responsible for this centre, admitted that she had


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not seen this girl talking to others before this.

The change that she saw was miraculous.

The excitement was obvious. What canmusic not do to the mind and body? In the ward

of the mentally retarded, the patients moved to

the rhythm of music and the children who had

earlier projected aggressive and hostile behavior

became much calmer. I did have the knowledge

of coddling and its effect on children, but I did

not know the extent music could calm them

down. I had asked the head of the centre to buy a

few musical instruments such as the flute and the

xylophone. I was willing to teach those patients

who were interested in learning music. It was

amazing to know that 50 to 60 patients were

ready to learn music. But I had to select a few

from amongst them due to lack of sufficient

instruments along with the knowledge of their

inability to hold an instrument in their hands as

they were after all suffering from MS. The mostimportant and determining factor which I used to

choose the core learning group, was that they all

had common sense and were otherwise normal

but had a pronounced obsession for feelings like

love, hatred, jealousy and obstinacy.


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The picture of the author in the rehabilitation centre

with MS patients - 2008

I continued to do this till the time I was

asked to join the army. In my country, it is

mandatory that we serve the army for a span of

two full years. During those two years, I visited

the centre only twice. Unfortunately, one among

them had died but fortunately, the others whohad learnt music, seemed much happier than the

others. After finishing my military service, I

continued working in the centre and later, since I

was very interested in this field, I decided to

pursue further studies in psychology. This

brought me to India. Its particularly interesting


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that when an individual has a physical problem,

it is easy to diagnose it visually and he can go to

a clinic to fix his problem and thus achieve the

desired level of physical equilibrium. But

diagnosing the causes of a mental disorder are

not as easy as compared to a physical problem

and in most cases, the symptoms are not visible

in the early stages. No wonder some cases go

completely undiagnosed which leads to a slowand steady deterioration to a point from where

there is no looking back.

I hope this book helps you to deal with

individuals suffering from mental and spiritual

disorders effectively and more importantly, to

bring awareness about the magic of music in

treating mental problems along with the stress

that pervades our everyday life, in equal vein.

Parsa Pahlevan Zadeh


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Music gives Soul to theuniverse,Wings to the mind, Flight to

imagination,Charm to sadness, Gaietyand Life to everything.Plato


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Chapter 1

The Effect of Music onConcentration and Work

Productivity

Music expresses that which

cannot be said and on which it

is impossible to be silent.

- Victor Hugo


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Various levels of research have been

conducted on the human brain. The scientific

study of the brain has become an essential

endeavor in understanding human life. Music

has the most positive and effective influence on

the brain. Renowned psychologists and scientists

have established linkages between the different

moods, music and concentration levels. Based

on experiments practically conducted inAmerican universities, the effects of music on

the brain were obvious. In this chapter, we will

observe the impact of different genres of music

on levels of concentration and work productivity

through interesting experiments.

It is worthy to mention that after a brief

reading comprehension test conducted on a few

selected students, it was concluded that listening

to a certain genre of music ( Rock, Rap,

Classical, Instrumental, Techno, and No music)

gave them a good foundation to start with.

The aim of this study is to determine the

correlation between the music and the mind.

They hypothesized that light music such as

classical music, had a greater impact on

the landscape of the mind and its concentration


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abilities when compared to wild and loud music.

Another conclusion of this study suggests

that when a particularly meticulous act, forexample, a surgery is under process, classical

music has its own effect on the mind of the

participant in terms of concentration. It is

unimaginable to listen to rock music while

studying or performing a surgery! It is good to

understand the real relationship between the

mind and the level of concentration, with the

presence of music and its result can be used as

an important tool in a human beings daily life.

Experimenters could also sense some amount of

pressure and stress in their study; which made

them want to explore and provide a method to

decrease their anxiety. They made an attempt to

find answers and conclude a successful

experiment. In view of many, this became an

interesting subject to a majority of college

students, who showed great joy in listening tomusic and desired to incorporate music in their

studies. They also sought ways to build up their

grades and achieve success in their tests.

Music is significantly very powerful.

It has the potential to evoke strong emotions and


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because of its profound effect on the human

race, it has become a common language across

different cultures and traditions all over the

world for centuries. Music not only provides

entertainment with beautiful sounds, but also has

an amazing effect on ones memory and learning

capacity. It has been found that people who

study music have a better GPA1

and are in the

category of high achievers when compared tothose who are not involved in music at all. It is

well known that Hungary, Japan and

Netherlands are the three academic countries in

the world, which strongly emphasize the

importance of music education. Based on this

fact, the other developed countries should alsopromote education in music amongst their

students and stress the importance of learning

music from an early age, when the children are

curious and adventurous. Recent scientific

studies depict a great understanding of music

and its effects on psychology.

1-GPA (Grade Point Average): A measure of a student's

academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by

taking the number of grade points a student earned in a given period

of time divided by the total number of credits taken.


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A vast number of studies have been done

to find out the complex correlation between the

complicated human brain and music. In the

study, the experimenters played music in a gym

and determined the moods by testing the

participants using scientific methods. The result

was there for everybody to see and appreciate.

In another fruitful experiment, they

collected some volunteers and encouraged them

to help in a charity show. They observed two

different groups: one who listened to annoying

music and the other, who listened to an uplifting

one. The consequences showed that the soothing

music erased the stress from the mind and made

the participants very supportive toward the

cause, while the people who listened to the

annoying music were short-tempered and

unhelpful.

Another famous study reveals how

Mozarts masterpieces help concentration and

memorization. According to an article of the

book The Mozart Effect written by

Weinberger Norman, the mathematical rhythms

in Mozarts musical pieces enhance mental

clarity, induce a short-term improvement on the


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performance of certain kinds of mental tasks

known as spatial-temporal reasoning and

raise intelligence levels. Popularized versions of

the theory suggest that "listening to Mozart

makes you smarter," or that early childhood

exposure to classical music has a beneficial

effect on mental development. Surely, the

transformational powers of music in health,

education and wellbeing cannot be overlooked.

A set of research results indicates that

music has a special effect on work

performances. A book written by the famous

music therapist, Teresa Lesiuk, highlights that

when music is in the air, the quality of work

produced is far better and the time taken to

complete the task at hand is far lesser in

comparison to a silent and no music work

environment with no musical waves filling the

air with their fragrance. Good mood increases

the quality of work. Our minds are complex andextraordinary structured. Different types of

music play a profound effect on our moods and

stress levels. Listening to melodious music has a

positive outcome and has a profound effect on

the level of concentration of the listener.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial-temporal_reasoninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial-temporal_reasoning


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These examples help us in recognizing the

importance of music on our levels of

concentration and work productivity. They

provide us the platform to understand how music

affects our mind and helps in healing the body

temple. Soothing sounds capes can take us deep

within our being to find and make the mind,

body, spirit connection a permanent part of our

life.

The earliest stages of learning for young

children are the most important. The

fundamentals of learning are instilled into a

child at a very young age and how much

importance is placed on these fundamentals can

have dramatic affects on the future of the child's

learning. Music, when applied in a constructive

way, can have positive effects on a child's

learning and help them in many ways.

One way that music can make learning

easier for a young child is by implementing

music lessons into a child's normal activities. A

small study was done two years ago involving

ten three-year-olds who were tested on their

ability to put together a puzzle and the speed at

which they could do it.


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After the initial test was taken, five of the

children were given singing lessons for 30

minutes a day and the other five were given the

piano lessons for 15 minutes a week. The

lessons were conducted over a six-month period

of time, and after the six months, all of the kids

showed substantial improvement in the speed at

which they could put together the puzzle.

The researchers understand this skill in

putting pieces of a puzzle together as the same

reasoning that engineers, chess players and high-

level mathematicians use. In this study of inner-

city kids, their initial scores were below the

national average, but afterwards their scores

nearly doubled.

An eight month study was conducted by

Frances H. Rauscher of the University of

California at Irvine, in which 19 preschoolers,

ranging in age from three to five, received

weekly keyboard and daily singing lessons while

another 15 preschoolers received no musical

training at all. At the start, middle and end of the

study, the subjects were tested on five spatial

reasoning tasks. After only 4 months, scores on

the test to assemble a puzzle to form a picture


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improved dramatically for the group with the

musical training, while the control group didn't,

even though both groups started out with the

same scores.It can be understood that this kind of

improvement may not be substantial enough to

alter the way people are fundamentally taught,

but its results cannot be ignored. Rauscher

explains, "Music instruction can improve a

child's spatial intelligence for a long time,

perhaps permanently".Implementing such changes and

improvements into a young child's learning

could have great effects on them in the future

when dealing with spatial reasoning skills. With

its resulting improvements in spatial reasoning,

music can also be a very helpful tool when

actually implementing it into the classroom and

involving it with learning basic curriculum. InNew York City, a program called Learning

through an Expanded Arts Program, or LEAP,

has been going on for a while now in which

music and the arts is implemented into the

school curriculum to improve scholastic scores

of children at all levels. One way in which music


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is implemented is with math. They call it

"musical math," in which the teacher

incorporates rhythm with counting and gaining a

grasp on the fundamentals of math.With the rhythm, they are able to learn

basic elements of math like fraction and

multiplication. Christine Bard, the LEAP

consultant explains, "Music helps teach the

precognitive skills. It gives the students the

capacity to trust themselves by providing

internal discipline through a highly repetitive

structure". On the whole, the students' feelings

of self-confidence and accomplishment are

greatly enhanced due to better academicperformance and most importantly, the students'

aptitude towards math and willingness towards

learning in general is increased dramatically.

Sweeney unfolds another interesting aspect

in his book. According to his study based on a

fashion store for women, he claims that the kind

of music being played at the store affects the

costumers perceptions regarding the service

quality of the store. Music can have an

overwhelmingly strong hold on the human mind,

dramatically swaying our emotions and evoking


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memories. The power of music may come from

its influence on regions of the brain responsible

for language, feelings, movement and other

unrelated systems. It could also be an important

vehicle for emotional communication and

connection from which societies emerge.

According to some more studies, it is

evident that music can never take a neutral

stand. It is positive or negative; beneficial or

harmful. It manipulates the mind and the

physiological aspects. A few researchers

conducted a study in which people of different

ages and sex were given an article to read within

a stipulated time while listening to different

types of music. As expected, the experiment

showed that the time taken for comprehending

the article was much lesser and the ability to

focus was far greater for those who were

listening to classical music in comparison to

those who were listening to other genres ofmusic. They were attuned to the slightest

distraction around them, which takes a step

further to explain how classical music sharpens

our intellect and perceptive abilities. Rock music

scored the least as the level of concentration

was extremely low for that particular group of


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people.

A recent study looked into the connection

between music, mood and mental clarity. Theresearchers sought to test the different effects

that diverse genres of music had on subjects

through psychological questioning and profiling.

They tested four genres of music from various

corners of the music world: Grunge Rock, New

Age, Classical and Designer. The results were

conclusive in revealing that grunge rock evoked

hostility and reduced mental clarity and

motivation immensely.

When I was still a student, I used to love

listening to my favorite music. The rhythms,chords, beats and techniques used to hold my

attention. I had a passion for reading and used to

love studying too. However, I had to avoid

listening to music because I couldnt focus on

academics as well as music at the same time. I

asked my fellow musicians and friends if they

experienced the same kind of distraction while

listening to music as well. To my dismay, some

of them claimed that listening to music while

reading made no difference to their

concentration. Eventually, I listened to the music


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by Mozart and acknowledged the vivid

difference it made to my level of concentration. I

could focus my attention on what I was doing

while enjoying music in the same breath. I

started using music as a strategy to reduce

learning time, increasing the rate of retention

and consequently earning better grades than my

other classmates. Music activates the whole

brain and makes you feel more energetic. I saythis so emphatically because I have experienced

it all my life.


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Chapter 2The Effect of Music on the

Brain

Music is the medicine of the

mind.

John A. Logan


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It is a well-known fact that a lullaby puts a

child to sleep in a way nothing else can. It has

long been obvious that music affects people

profoundly. What is new, though, is that

research is being conducted to determine the

effects of music on the brain. Through this

research, a lot of information has been gathered

about the effects of music on the functions of the

brain. It has been shown over and over again thatone of the strongest effects of music on the brain

is in the area of memory.

Based on the stories we come across

randomly in newspapers, magazines and the

internet, the scientists in California University

have conducted a few experiments on a varied

set of people. They have found that while

listening to music, one part of the brain is

occupied with memories from the past. It is this

section which interlinks music with sentiments.

This finding assisted the scientists to explainwhy Alzheimers patients benefit mentally from

listening to music. Listening to music triggers

certain memories to be recalled that might have

been otherwise forgotten. Parkinsons patients

also benefit from the effects of music on the

brain. Motor skills improve as some patients are


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able to walk when music is played. An

individual also connects the music hes listening

to, to the places, people and memories

associated with it.

Before beginning the topic of music and

its effects on the brain, I would like to ask you a

question. Have you ever realized the effect that

music has on you when you are happy, excited,

sad or angry? These are things one usually reads

about or randomly come across in psychological

articles and magazines related to health issues.

Music gives wings to our deepest desires, shows

us the true meaning of exhilaration from

within, and is the harbinger of peace and

contentment in our lives. It makes the human

spirit soar higher than an eagle. It has intense

therapeutic value for treating patients. In ancient

times, Aristotle and Plato used to treat patients

through music. The researches done by the

neurologists have shown that conducting musicclasses in schools empowers the students to

grasp better. They discovered that music

reinforces the neuron mechanism in the brain

when learning any new language. This

investigation demonstrated that listening to and

learning music can emendate the performance of


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the brain and enhance its proficiency.

Ever wondered why songs get inextricably

stuck in our heads? Experts say that the culpritsare earworms - or ohrwurms, as they are

called in Germany. No, they are not parasites

that crawl into your ear and lay musical eggs in

your brains, but they are parasites in the sense

that they get lodged in your head and cause a

sort of cognitive itch or brain itch a need

for the brain to fill in the gaps in a songs

rhythm. When we listen to a song, it triggers a

part of the brain called the auditory cortex.

Researchers at Dartmouth University found that

the participants auditory cortex automatically

filled in the rest. In other words their brains kept

singing long after the song had ended. The only

way to scratch the brain itch is to repeat the song

over and over in your mind. James Kellaris, a

marketing professor at the University of

Cincinnati College of Business Administration,has done extensive work in this area. His

findings reveal that as many as 99 percent of us

have fallen prey to these earworms at one time

or another. Women, musicians and people who

are neurotic, tired or stressed are most prone to

earworm attacks.


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Neurologists acknowledge that musicians

have a higher degree of brain activity. They can

receive and process sensory information from

the eyes and ears in a much better fashion.

Music encompasses complex concepts,

fundamental set of rules and numerous patterns.

Only a person who can imbibe these principles

has an improved ability to perform better at

reading, writing or daily understanding. By thehelp of Electroencephalograph

1, psychologists

have demonstrated the way in which the brains

of musicians respond to the stimulant in

comparison to those who are not familiar with

music. They have found that people who can

appreciate the harmonies of music, have a highergrasping power. It is largely understood that

people can do one particular thing at one time in

day-to-day life. This essentially means a large

percent of people are unable to do two or more

different things at the same time.

For a better understanding, try moving

your right hand in the right-left direction and at

__________________________________

1- Electroencephalograph: EEG is the instrument forsafely recording the electrical activity in the brain.


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the same time, move your left hand in the up-

down direction. It looks difficult but is not

impossible; it can be achieved with practice

easily. You see, the brain cannot command two

different organs to perform two different actions

at the same time. For example, consider a

situation wherein two people are trying to talk to

each other in a crowded and noisy place. They

would ordinarily find it difficult to listen andanswer when its noisy around them.

But it has been proven that musicians can

do it easily, because they are trained to

distinguish notes in melodies and different

harmonies. Visualize a pianist, playing the piano

while reading the music piece. Both hands have

to be used simultaneously; the right hand and the

left hand playing two different sets of chords and

melody. For example if a musician reads a

notation of the second line which is for the right

hand as note G, one should read the note of thesecond line for the left hand as note B. In fact

each note for the left hand is situated one line

below that of the right hand. There are three

pedals for changing the sound in different ways.

He can sing along while playing; therefore piano

performers are highly skilled and portray a


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picture of infinite concentration while playing

music. A musician synchronizes his mind and

limbs meticulously. The practice sessions of

music continuously improve the ability to hear

and speak. Scientists are conducting many

experiments on a continuous basis to understand

the process in which the brain changes while

practicing music.

Dr. Aniruddh Patel, a neurologist in the

Neuroscience Institute in California, says that

there is a particular link between music and

language. He emphasizes that music is

instrumental in addressing speech related issues.

By learning a musical instrument, the sensitivity

to sound increases and helps the child in learning

how to speak better. Being exposed to music

helps in the process of brain evolution and is

useful for all children especially those who

suffer from hallucinations and learning

disabilities. In another experiment, researchersin North West University have discovered the

link between music and the nervous system.

Playing a musical instrument has its own

particular impact on the brain stem. It is present

in the involuntary part of the brain and is

responsible for breathing, heart beat and reaction


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to sounds. People who play musical instruments

can recognize the sound of their instrument and

identify different rhythms and harmonies

effortlessly.

A spokesperson of National Institute of

Illusionism in America claims that many

children who are afflicted with Autism, respond

to music very well. He feels music can help

people communicate and express their feelings

and emotions in a calm manner. American

researchers have conducted many tests and

concluded that learning music in childhood

retains the youthfulness of the brain in

adulthood. Neurologists deeply believe that

when a person spends his childhood in learning a

musical instrument, it helps him to retain the

functions of his brain when he grows old. Some

enthusiastic researchers conducted a survey in

which they selected 70 adults between the age

group of 60 - 83 years. They compared peoplewith musical knowledge to people with no such

knowledge at all. The experiment showed that

people who were familiar with music had an

edge over others in cognitive tests. The smaller

subset among them consisting of people who

had learnt music since their childhood days and


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those who had a career in music spanning at

least 10 years, scored even better.

Influence of Learning Music from Childhood

They concluded that these people are more

creative minded and could adopt themselves to

any new environment and information. Music is

an experience which has a direct link to thebrain. It can be used for people who are

suffering from Aphasia1

and Dyslexia2.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1- Aphasia: Derived from the Greek word means speechless. It isknown as language disorder. People with this disorder have

difficulty in producing or comprehending spoken or written

language in which when they want to speak for each and every

word, they need to think; so there will be usually long gaps

between their speaking.

2- Dyslexia: It is defined as learning disability and impairs persons fluency in reading and understanding the alphabets.

Dyslexia is separate from reading problems resulting from other

causes.


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People with these disorders have problem

in speaking and in reading. It is a language

disorder. In human brain, the hub is located in

the medial prefrontal cortex region-right behind

the forehead. The cerebellum section of the brain

creates the emotional reaction people have to

music. It also reacts to slight changes to the

normal tempo of a song or piece of music.

That is why there is a close link between

learning a language, controlling and expressing

of emotions. Music can slow down and equalize

brain waves. When we experience emotions

that are strong, the result is the fast brain wave.

Slower brain wave results in bringing calmness

and heightened awareness. The effect of music

on the brain after it has stopped playing is also

visible. With these brain waves, the other

organs of the body will also get affected. The

music affects the heart beat, pulse rate and blood

pressure. Music can regulate stress relatedhormones. The level of stress hormones in the

blood declines significantly in those listening to

relaxing, ambient music. As a result it is

concluded that music prevents severe stress

disorders and does all kinds of wonderful things

to us. That is why it is wildly used for treatment


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of depression and anxiety and the results are

proving most advantageous to individuals. Many

researches are done to improve and illustrate

their connection between music and the brain.

Dr. Frank Wilson reports that instrumental

practice enhances coordination, concentration

and improves memory. It is interesting to knowthat it also improves eye sight and helps in better

hearing aid. Music improves brain development.

Dr. Wilson believes that people, who listen to

music while they are working, become

increasingly alert. It boosts self-confidence to

individuals in their society. It develops motorskills of the brain. UCLABrain Scan-

researches show that music has a definite affect

on the brain functions. These significant results

are so important and lead to a universal

understanding, that music is necessary for the

development of brain in an individual. The

studies show that the gray cells and the span of

hearing are higher in the brain of musicians than

people who do not know music. The brain

consists of two regions; the right and left

hemispheres. Each one of these two hemispheres


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has special tasks to perform.

Left hemisphere is greatly responsible for

reasoning and a center hub for learning, but righthemisphere sorts the feelings, imaginations and

creativity power. By utilizing the whole part of

the brain, both hemispheres have a good

coordination. Based on the research done in

Harvard University some parts in the brain

which are responsible for mobility and hearing

in musicians, especially pianists, are completely

interconnected. By stimulating one part, the

other part automatically gets stimulated. Based

on this reason, the fingers of musicians

involuntarily move when listening to melodies.

Result in music rehearsals is a preventive

measures taken, from destroying the nerve cells

in adulthood.

Listening to the music depends on the

genre of music; it affects on body metabolism

and the blood pressure. Investigation shows that

light music or music with slow tempo helps the

person to be tranquilized. Listening to this kind

of music for thirty minutes is equal to taking one

tranquilizer like valium pill. According to

a German musician, music impact s on the


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Musicians Playing in an Orchestra

intelligence of the child along with various

positive effects; so in future they are well

equipped to manage their life in a better and

proper way and it can be well understood that

the effects of music on the brain, during

childhood are of paramount importance; that a

special attention and awareness should be

brought about, to developing countries.


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Chapter 3

The Effect of Music on

Schizophrenia

Music washes away from the

soul the dust of everyday life

Berthold Auerbach


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Before getting started on the topic of music

and schizophrenia, I would like to explain about

schizophrenia and its symptoms. Schizophrenia,also sometimes colloquially referred to as a

split personality disorder, is a chronic,

debilitating mental illness that affects about 1%

of the masses. It is a psychotic mental disorder

characterized by a breakdown of thought

processes and by poor emotional responsiveness.It most commonly manifests itself as auditory

hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions,

disorganized speech and thinking and it is

accompanied by significant social or

occupational dysfunction. The thought problems

associated with schizophrenia are described as

psychosis - a condition in which the affected

persons thinking is completely out of touch

with reality and he is unable to separate the real

from the experiences he has never had! For

example, the sufferer may hear voices or seethings that dont exist, believe that he is a

celebrity of sorts or an important/famous person

such as Jesus Christ or the King of his country,

speak in strange or confusing ways, believe that

others are trying to harm him or feel that he is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_hallucinationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_hallucinationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_disorderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_disorderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_hallucinationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_hallucination


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being constantly snooped upon! An individual

with this disorder may also have disorganized

speech and disorganized behavior. The formermay range from loss of train of thought, to

sentences only loosely connected in meaning, to

incoherence known as word salad in severe

cases. Social withdrawal, sloppiness of dress and

hygiene and loss of motivation and judgment are

all common in schizophrenia. The affectedindividuals are physically rigid and constantly

tormented by delusions, which are ideas about

themselves or others that have no connection

with the real world (for example, the individual

might experience paranoia, and think others are

plotting against him/her even when they are

not!). This was the case in the office of welfare

where I worked. A patient suffering from

schizophrenia believed that a group of sinners

used to come to his ward every night when

everyone was sleeping and indulge in mischief.He was sure one of them had cut off one of his

ears. He seriously imagined he did not have an

ear and hence could not hear properly. On the

contrary, according to the medical reports, his

ears were in perfect state and there was no

noticeable impairment in his hearing!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophasiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophasia


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As is true for virtually every mental health

diagnosis, there is no one test that definitively

indicates that someone has schizophrenia.Therefore, health-care practitioners diagnose this

disorder by gathering comprehensive medical,

family history and mental health information.

Most cases of schizophrenia appear in the late

teens or early adulthood.

Vagabondism, suicidal and aggressive

moods are the main characteristics of

schizophrenic patients. I will determine the

chemical substances present in the brain and

prove how music brings stability to these

chemical substances, leading to decreased stress

and anxiety. The exact cause of schizophrenia is

unknown, though genetics and environmental

factors may play a role. For example, altered

brain structures, such as having less gray matter

than average, may contribute to the onset of thedisorder. Altered brain chemistry, specifically

due to the neurotransmitterDopamine1

may be a

______________________________________1-Dopamine: is one of the neurotransmitters; a chemical released

by the nerves to communicate with other nerves or muscles.

Dopamine is present in those areas of the brain, which control

emotional responses, movement, cognition, motivation and pleasure.


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factor. The brain regions known as thalamus and

striatum are affected by dopaminergic activity.

Thalamus plays a role as a filter for receiving theinformation and controls the flow of all

information to the cortex. When the amount of

dopamine is less in the thalamus region, the

filter becomes weak. As a result, transferring of

information to the cortex becomes easier. This is

the reason schizophrenic patients hallucinate.

In Sweden, researchers have shown that

people afflicted with schizophrenia and the

creative people have the same dopamine system

in their brain. In other words, these people are

predisposed to some unusual and wired thoughts

and behaviors. For creative people, this means

they can come up with solutions and ideas that

other people may not. With schizophrenics, it

may result in abnormal thought processes, flat or

blunted affect and emotion, poverty of speech(alogia), inability to experience pleasure

(anhedonia), lack of desire to form relationships

(asociality), and lack of motivation (avolition).

According to new investigations, music

therapy can reduce some of the schizophrenic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blunted_affecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alogiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anhedoniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asocialityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avolitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avolitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asocialityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anhedoniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alogiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blunted_affect


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symptoms. In such study in London, 81

schizophrenic patients were randomly selected

to receive music therapy. The researchersmeasured the symptoms of schizophrenia and

found that improvements were greater amongst

those people receiving music therapy than

amongst those receiving standard-care alone.

There was a considerable reduction in the

intensity of general symptoms such asdepression and anxiety. The negative symptoms

of schizophrenia, such as emotional withdrawal

and functional disability were also arrested with

music therapy to a great extent. Dr. Mike

Crawford, London College believes that some

psychological treatments coupled with music

therapy open up new avenues for working with

patients with severe and acute schizophrenia.

Schizophrenic patients find it very difficult

to express the goings-on in their emotionalworld, however music provides a new way for

them to express their sentiments and feelings.

Without a doubt then, music therapy reduces

depression, anxiety and isolationism to a great

extent. As we discussed earlier, the reduced

level of dopamine in schizophrenics increases


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the symptoms to a large extent. Since music

releases dopamine, it ultimately reduces the

negative symptoms in the patients.

Everyone enjoys music depending on their

moods. Your favorite piece of music can make

your brain release the pleasure chemical

dopamine, whether it is Beethoven, Chopin,

Mozart or an old folkloric song. It is just likehaving sex, eating good food or using drugs. The

level of Dopamine rises when we listen to music

that we enjoy as it sends pleasure signals to the

rest of the body. A recent study on music

therapy reveals that music therapy miraculously

improves the mental condition and social

functioning of a schizophrenic.

Music being performed for a Schizophrenic Patient


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Now, I want to identify what causes the change

in the nervous system of the schizophrenic or

schizoaffective

1

patients when music invadestheir life.

Our nervous system consists of the spinal

cord, two hemispheres and nerves - sympathetic

and parasympathetic. When our nervous system

is strongly stimulated externally, the sympatheticand parasympathetic nerves lose their

equilibrium. The more the imbalance, the more

the stress experienced by the nervous system.

Music brings the balanced state back by

releasing chemical substances.

Our brain consists of many nerve cells and

each one is interlinked with the other. This link

is established in many ways. One such way is

through chemical substances. The major

chemical substances present in the brain areknown as Serotonin, Glutamate, Dopamine and

Nor-epinephrine. Everyone is aware of the role__________________________________________________

1-Schizoaffective disorder: describes a mental disorder

characterized by recurring episodes of elevated or depressed mood,

or of simultaneously elevated and depressed mood, that alternate

with, or occur together with, distortions in perception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_disorderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_disorder


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Insulin plays in the body. In case there is a cause

which disturbs insulin levels, the symptoms are

immediately visible, but what can be said aboutserotonin? Serotonin contributes to feelings of

well-being and happiness. People with a less

amount of serotonin in their brain tend to eat

more, resulting in weight gain. On the other

hand, people with a high level of serotonin are

prone to anxiety and stress. Caffeine, Alcoholand Nicotine are a few well-known causes that

create serotonin disturbance and are thus advised

to be consumed in restricted quantities.

Everybody likes some or the other type of

music, be it classical music with its magical

rhythms and beautiful melodies which bring

instant elevation to the mood, or lively, peppy

music. Music helps regulate serotonin in the

brain; suddenly the person begins to feel

cheerful and joyous. In fact when the brainproduces enough serotonin, the body feels

extraordinarily happy. But when it is not

producing enough serotonin, depression sets in.

Therefore, music brings balance in the levels of

serotonin.


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It is worth mentioning that serotonin is also

produced when the brain is exposed to a pleasant

surprise. For example, when someone sees a

beautiful painting, indulges in sexual

intercourse, smells aromatic fragrances or listens

to a fascinating song, something stirs him up

from inside. That is the correction of equations

inside his body, which he cannot see with the

naked eye. With a fairly good understanding ofschizophrenic patients and their weaknesses, it is

now possible to help them regain their

equilibrium and normal condition by removing

all unnecessary and disturbing thoughts from

their minds on a daily basis. Moreover, with the

Performing music along with a child suffering from

emotional and mental disorder


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discovery of new medical procedures, it is

possible to teach the schizophrenic patients how

to play a musical instrument that they like. Thiswill surely help them to keep their minds calm

and occupied constructively.

Even in the third world countries, the

melodies used when praying prove how music

acts like a mediator between God and humanbeings. Music is also used extensively during

Exorcism1. Various mental illnesses are treated

by chanting special prayers from different sacred

and holy books in specific musical tunes so that

the possessed individual reaches a calm and

relaxed state of mind.

Music is everywhere - in our heartbeats, in

each and every cell of our body, in the chirp of

free birds, in the tinkle of a doorbell, in the

ringing of cell phones, in the smile of childrenwhen they are hugged with love, in the grace of

fishes swimming gently in streams, in the spring

___________________________________________________

1-Exorcism: is the religious practice of evicting demons or other

spiritual entities from a person or place, which they are believed to

have possessed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_possessionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_possessionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon


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water that touches the pebbles gently making its

way to the river.

Consciously or unconsciously, we are

always attuned to the music in the air. Music

acts as an antidote for many kinds of physical

and mental illnesses; it is a sure cure from the

time of conception in a mothers womb all the

way to the tomb.

As Osho truly propagates:

Man without music is a man without any

song in his heart, without any poetry in his

being, without any celebration. His spring has

not arrived yet, his flowers are still waiting, he

has not yet bloomed, his fragrance is not

released. He is just like a seed: encapsulated

within himself unaware, completely unaware

of what he can be, of what he is. And he goes onliving an ordinary life with no joy, with no bliss,

with no dance. He drags life like a burden; he

somehow manages to carry it. In fact death looks

like a relief that sooner or later everything will

be finished and he will be able to rest in the

grave.


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So move in this world with a light foot

and with laughter in your heart. And then

suddenly your whole existence will turn into adivine experience. The mundane will become

sacred, the ordinary will become extraordinary

and you will be free.


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Chapter 4

Music Therapy

When words leave off, Music

begins.

Heinrich Heine


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If we believe in music as a human

language, it would be easier to understand how

music works and affects our spirit, mind,

sentiments and engulfs our total life affairs. It is

music that completely immerses us in the

unknown world of our dreams. No one knows

why we get goose pimples or why the hair on

hands suddenly feels so erect when we listen to a

particular type of music but everyone feels thattheir soul has been fondled with a thousand

feathers. It is a lovely and melodious song of

life, decorating our lives with the soulful tunes

of a sweet-sounding nightingale.No matter which race, group, caste, creed,

or family one belongs to, music has its own

impact on human beings. It has been found that

this impact is felt by healthy people as well as

patients living with some or the other disorder in

their body, alike. Therefore a type of treatment

entitled Music Therapy has been showingmany positive results so far. Unlike what people

think about Music Therapy, it is not just for

patients with special problems such as mental

disorders, retardation or psychotic patients.

It works wonders for the so-called perfectly


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healthy people by taking them to a different

level of equilibrium; makes them more calm.

There is no specific document which traces the

origin of music therapy. It would not be an

exaggeration to claim that music therapy is as

old as Plato and Aristotle.

Human beings have used various

instruments to accompany the music in their

hearts, made of different indigenous materials

down the ages. Rhythm and melody are the basis

of music. It was openly evident when we go

back and study the first human tribe that existed

on the face of this earth. During the years when

silent movies were produced, it was music,

which gave expression to all their sentiments

like sadness, happiness or tension on the screen.

The Great Farabi known as Alpharabiuss

is one of the paramount philosophers of his era

(c. 872 - c. 950). His name shines through Irans

music history along with other fields such as

medicine, military science and astrology. He

composed many pieces of music and was a noted

musician as well. The books written by his

students say thatAlpharabiuss was able to make


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people laugh or cry through his music.

Alpharabiuss has mentioned the impact of music

on the soul and spirit of humans in his famous

book,Alkabir.

The Great Farabi, Iranian philosopher and musician (c. 872 - c. 950)

Another well-known Iranian scientist is

Pour Sina (c. 980 - 1037), who was one of the

greatest and most famous philosophers and

doctors of his time. He also mentioned the

wonderful effects of music on the spirit of

human beings and removing physical diseases in


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his famous work called Al-Qanun. He used

music for treating his patientsas a therapeutic

medicine for all their trauma.

Iranian Scientist, Pour Sina (c. 980 - 1037)

Every tribe has its own sentimental

connections and cultural characteristics. Theirfolk music also has a very particular and unique

flavor. Sometimes this is a useful way to treat

some patients - viewing their lives and finding

their ways of communicating with music and

finally applying the same music as they used to


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follow or like as before. For instance for treating

a rural patient who is living in an Asian country,

application of traditional music of that place is

better than introducing Chopin music to him

because as I mentioned earlier, music makes the

listener travel through the spaces of time,

recalling people and events of the past. Music

therapy is not just listening to music, although

listening is a very important element of musictherapy. Singing songs and playing musical

instruments enables individuals to accomplish

good results.

If we take a sneak peek at the exact

history of professional music therapy, it refers

to the time towards the end of the first and

second world wars in the twentieth century

when musicians of different communities - from

amateur to professional - went to American

hospitals to play music for soldiers who had

suffered mental and physical injury. Immenseimprovement in the sentimental and physical

condition of all the seriously injured soldiers

provided the ground on the basis of which

doctors later demanded employment of

musicians in hospitals. For the first time,


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Michigan University offered a course in music

therapy to its students in 1994. According to

scientists, the euphonies of music based on

rhythm have vibrations, which stimulate the

nerve cells and sentiments. They motivate and

transform an individual into a person he was

himself unaware of. Investigators in New York

believe that music genres like jazz and classic

can actually enhance the capacity to tolerate painand reduce anxiety levels tremendously.

Dr. Ronald Hass, the professor of Mozart

University in Salzburg, claims that music can

effectively energize and enrich the immunity of

the body against diseases, reduce pain

considerably and protect people against bad

events. He believes that we should encompass

all genres of music in music therapy. Based on

his research, he has concluded that some old

melodies of eastern countries are mainly useful

for treating headaches. Around 800BC, easterncountries used to treat patients by applying this

method. At this stage, I would like to mention

some effects of music therapy on individuals and

the diseases in which it has been allocated a

certain position among other types of therapy.


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* Music helps in reducing the danger and

probable risk of Alzheimers disease.

Investigations in America show that studying

and playing games such as chess reduces the

danger of being diagnosed with Alzheimers.

But the most important point is playing a

musical instrument. In fact, playing a musical

instrument is like doing a special exercise for the

brain which aids the brain to remain young for along time, longer than anyone can imagine.

Music Therapy on Alzheimer Patients


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* For children suffering from Embolism1

and Thalassemia, performing music takes the

attention away from the pain towards listening to

great music. It alleviates the suffering and gives

their lives a new meaning and perspective.

* Songs with the same beats as our heart

beat provide relaxed conditions to an individual.

One Japanese researcher has found out that

listening to those songs which have been

composed based on heartbeats create peaceful

waves in our nervous system, effectuate more

relaxation and reduce tension and stress through

the veins in the body. This experiment had been

done on twenty-two applicants. Half of these

applicants answered the questions in a silent

place and the others answered them in a musical

area. The questionnaire was based on measuring

the stress, anxiety and feeling of fatigue in

applicants. Those who had listened to their heart

music had been more relaxed and comfortablewhen compared to the other applicants.

1-Embolism: the process of blocking vessels by foreign substance

through the blood stream. These substances can cause Embolism

including an air bubble, a globule of fat, or a clump of bacteria.


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* Music improves the power of learning.

This experiment was carried out in Hong Kong

and it showed how music affects the learning

process in children. In this study, they compared

students who had started playing musical

instrument from their childhood and children

who did not know music at all. Apart from a

better GPA, they saw that these students were

able to memorize more words, exhibited bettervocabulary and grammar skills and were able to

learn foreign languages like French and Spanish

quicker than their non-musical counterparts.

* Music enhances the intelligence

level and gives a new dimension to the inner

spiritual universe of an individual. It improves

the attention span and reasoning capabilities of

human beings. In other words, it brings in its

wake, a special sensitivity to sounds and

surrounding stimulants of an individual. It

results in quicker identification of even theslightest sound. This attention is not limited to

just hearing but goes beyond that and the

individual begins to take special care of most of

the happenings around him. For instance, when

he is walking along a new street, he observes

many things in that street which others would


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easily miss out on. In addition to this fact, music

also results in spiritual calm and helps

individuals to communicate with others in a

more effective way.

* Music is an efficient way for

rehabilitation of speech among patients who

suffer from stroke. Scientists believe that people

who are suffering from stroke and who cannot

talk properly, are able to improve their speech

through singing. Neurologists express that music

is a tool that creates linkages between the

different parts of the brain.

Dr. Gottfried Schlaug- Director of Music

in Israel, Medical centre and Harvard MedicalSchool - discusses about patients suffering from

stroke and severe speech problems. In these

patients, the left hemisphere of the brain is not

functioning in the appropriate manner resulting

in their disability to converse through words;

however they can communicate with others

through singing. He declares that music is the

magical bridge, which connects different parts of

the brain to each other. Dr. Gottfried Schlaug

plays a video about a patient who is unable to


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make sounds that make any sense at all, but he

expresses I am thirsty through a song. Another

patient also says Happy Birthday to you in a

musical way.

In music therapy, there are two major ways

for treating patients: Inactive Method and Active

Method. The Inactive method consists of

listening to music passively in such a way that

the very act of listening is the treatment itself. In

this method, listening to music arouses the core

set of emotions and sentiments in patients. But

in the Active method, the patient makes his own

contribution towards his treatment by singing

and doing rhythmical movements with his body.

In this method thus, the five senses are

stimulated as music affects movement and motor

skills.

Music and song have been an integral part

of human development since thousands of years,

much before we learnt to talk. Music is alive and

hidden in every part of nature and it has its own

unique euphonies. Who then, can deny the

reality that music impacts the soul and spirit in

an inexplicable sort of way? You get excited


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when you listen to a happy song and on the

contrary, you feel sad and blue when you listen

to music that has sad tunes. In a nutshell, music

affects every single cell of the body it stirs up

the inner universe and creates magical recovery

symptoms, which have to be seen to be believed.


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Chapter 5

Music and its Influence on

Behavior

When the music of a state

changes, the constitution will

change too.

Daimon


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Have you ever wondered why your

behavior is different in different situations? Ever

pondered over the times when you have

responded well to external stimuli and the other

times when you have been rather nasty and

reacted explosively? It is better to start this

discussion by presenting the definition of

behavior.

Behavior is a response to external stimuli

or a kind of action or reaction represented by a

living entity shown in a particular condition.

Behavior refers to the actions and mannerisms

made by organisms or artificial entities in

conjunction with its environment, which

includes the other systems or organisms around

as well as the physical environment. It is the

response of the system or organism to various

stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external,

conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and

voluntary or involuntary. In sociology, behavioris considered as having no meaning, being not

directed at other people and thus is the most

basic human action, although it can play a part in

diagnosis of disorders such as the autism

spectrum disorders. Humans evaluate the

acceptability of behavior using social norms and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_Intelligencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscioushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subconscioushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coverthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Involuntaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_(philosophy)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum_disorderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum_disorderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_normhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_normhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum_disorderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum_disorderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_(philosophy)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Involuntaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coverthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subconscioushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscioushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_Intelligencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organism


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Regulate behavior by means ofsocial control.

In humans, behavior is controlled

primarily by the endocrine system and thenervous system. It is most commonly believed

that complexity in the behavior of an organism is

correlated to the complexity of its nervous

system. Generally, organisms with more

complex nervous systems have a greater

capacity to learn new responses and thus adjust

their behavior.

Behavior can be regarded as any action of

an organism that changes its relationship to its

environment. Behavior provides outputs from

the organism to the environment. A vast numberof subjective processes in human beings are in

fact the cause and reason for the complexity in

human behavior.

Study of human behavior has various

applications in psychology and is used inevaluating mental diseases. Various trials are

conducted to monitor human behavior with the

aid of scientific methods. Behaviorism has

actually provided a great influence on

psychology. John B. Watson was the founder of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_controlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_control


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the school with the belief that each phenomenon

begins with particular stimuli and comes to an

end with a response. We represent different

behaviors in different times. Sometimes we feel

ecstatic and joyous, at others we are anxious and

depressed. In some cases, we prefer to spend

time with others and in other cases we opt for

being alone; thus behavior generally is a

collection of all our actions and their influenceon our social environment.

According to age, our behavior undergoes

change. A child cries for every single wish that

has not been fulfilled during childhood because

his understanding is limited and he has not learnt

other reactive behaviors that are accepted by the

society. Every community has its own special

rules, which must be obeyed by the residents.

We are encouraged for displaying good

behavior; therefore we consider it the best thing

to do. This might be another major reason why achild learns family behavior patterns and

imitates them to the extent he can.

We must understand that behavior

deteriorates due to nervous pressures on the

brain; therefore the brain is the most paramount


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part of the human body and supremely

responsible for human behavior. We can say that

any behavior is understandable as well as

controllable. In chapter 2, I completely discussed

the effects of music on the brain. But I will

discuss further and make you more familiar with

the effects of music on behavior in this chapter.

Music activates and stimulates emotional

reactions in the listener. The same type of

stimulation occurs in the music performer, who

is busy composing or playing his piece of music

as well. It creates a connection between the body

and mind. I have witnessed a deep influence of

music on the spirit of a human being. Often we

find ourselves moving between kaleidoscopic

moodssometimes feeling gloomy and stressed

out or bright and cheerful. But the strum of a

guitar or a particular chord of the piano can

suddenly change everything. No wonder we find

stories about sudden transformations and smallmiracles all associated with music and its

effects.

We observe that learning music right from

childhood days, makes the children develop a

keen sense of observation, good hygiene and


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organizational skills. When they undertake

music lessons in groups, they imbibe concepts

related to cooperation, tolerance and regularity

of practice in groups among others. These skills

go a long way and help them in their future

engagements and interactions. Music thus, has a

huge role to play in impacting the behavior of

children and nurturing them into happy, carefree

and fun-loving souls.

Music sculpts the self-confidence in

children and provides the impetus required to

enhance it on a regular basis. If the child has the

ability to play a musical instrument, he receives

encouragement from others and this factor

prepares the ground for deep and everlasting

contentment. It boosts his confidence levels,

gives him fresh energy to play better, reach

higher. Gradually, the continuous association

with music assumes a coherent form and shapes

the childs personality. At times, he gets soinfluenced by a particular genre of music and its

stars that he begins to style his walk, talk,

clothes, hair, shoes and accessories in the same

fashion as his favorite idols. However this fan

behavior happens in extreme cases and is not

particularly propagated.


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Continuous experiments conducted by

researchers around the world prove that fans

who enjoy Jazz style, tend to indulge in sexual

relationships more when compared to fans

following the Pop style of music. Followers of

the Classical style have the least degree of

inclination towards intercourse with their

partners. Another experiment shows a crabbed

and reluctant attitude in children who keeplistening to Heavy Metal. Any reaction to a

specific genre of music might be the

consequence of our general mood and

experiments or events in the past.

If a sad event has taken place while

listening to a song, then playing the song again

at a future point in time would definitely bring

back the memories of that event wherever and

whenever he/she listens to it. It could make the

individual cry as his heart breaks into pieces yet

again. In a diametrically opposite scenario, thesame song might invoke ecstasy beyond words

as something special might have transpired

between two individuals when that music was

being played. Each and every persons reaction

to different voices and sounds is very personal.

For instance, teenagers who follow the Rock or


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Rap genres of music, demonstrate extremely

aggressive behavior. Statistical surveys provide

sufficient proof that their behavior contains

unbridled violence, aggression and tendencies of

meaningless destruction.

On the other hand, music has the great

power of healing. It has the fabulous gift of

bringing calm and peace to individuals. It has

the special power of creating an astonishingly

serene and romantic atmosphere. It affects the

state of mind, making it very peaceful. Classical

songs are viewed as a good source for preparing

the ground so that the young can talk about their

own emotions, sentiments and feelings of love

without any inhibitions.

It has been proved that when individuals

listen to songs with fast beats, they get excited

and demonstrate their inner happiness by means

of physical movement like dancing and jumping

with joy. They imitate the moves of the guitarist

or the drummerwhoever fascinates them more.

Generally if one starts looking at music

as a phenomenon, he will unarguably

comprehend the remarkable healing properties

of this wonderful thing we call music and its


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importance in communities and societies. A vast

number of observations have proved beyond

doubt, that music has particular effects on the

state of body in different situations. It is an

excellent de-stress tonic and brings instant quiet

and comfort to the harassed mind.

In the event of complicated surgeries like

Angiographies1, music plays an important role in

the preparation of tranquilizers for patients,

especially if doctors select the songs to be

played. A detailed clinical research in

Cardiology has led scientists to publish their

experiential report based on two hundred

patients for whom music had been played during

Angiography.

In this investigation, 100 patients were

able to exercise their choice between the 3

genres of music - Classic, Jazz and Pop or select

no music. For the other 100 patients, the doctor-

in-charge selected the music. The results of the

1-Angiography: It is a medical imaging technique used to

visualize the inside blood vessels after injecting them with

Radiopaque dye that outlines them on x-ray.


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experiment obviously demonstrated that the

patients who had opted for music were at a

lower level of risk medically than the other set

who did not listen to music at all. The fact is that

music makes the heart beat in a rhythmic style

and decreases the patients blood pressure. Just

like you can never be overdressed or

overeducated, the wonders of music can never,

please note, never be overemphasized.

Patient undergoing Angiography operation

Doctors believe that Classical music brings

serenity and calm in the surrounding spaces

and immediately affects their patients. The


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music of waves rushing to the shore, the

chirping of the birds, the rustling of leaves

during autumn, the silence of the dawn, thefluttering of butterfly wings - all make for

excellent hearing material and herald a hitherto

unknown sense of inner peace and beauty.

Store-owners and shopkeepers have more

than one reason for playing soothing music intheir premises. Not only does it make the

environment more welcoming and warm,

statistics reflect that it enhances the probability

of effectuating a sale by 38% on an average.

Music sorts the puzzled mind and helps the

potential customers to think through the benefits

of their purchase. It alleviates confusion and

assists them in establishing clear preferences.

Another experiment indicated an interesting

consequence of playing a peppy little dance

number in a restaurant. It was found that peoplewho generally spend 56 minutes to finish their

dish were able to do so in just a matter of 45

minutes. Fast-paced songs gear them up and

finishing the meal sooner translates into quicker

turnover of empty chairs which can be refilled at

a faster rate.


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All these experiments highlight a common

conclusion the surrounding atmosphere

influences consumer behavior, the extent of

which may vary depending upon various factors

like the readiness of the mind to absorb the

goodness in music, the current pace of activity,

the kind of music being played, the shape and

condition of current mental health of consumers,

the volume and pitch of the song etc.

If we study precisely how music

influences behavior, we can use it as a tool to

take control of child behavior and veer it in the

required direction. It might be possible to help

children in improving their behavior in two

ways: firstly, by showing and teaching them

what we expect them to do and secondly, by

helping them to increase their levels of self-

confidence and self-esteem. Have you ever

noticed that when some questions are posed in

front of a shy child, he typically, thoughunconsciously, puts his fingers in the mouth and

mumbles something incoherently? It is

recommended to train the children to stand tall,

look straight at the other persons eyes and

respond with confidence. And music can help

immensely.


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In fact, singing songs is one of the best

ways to enhance self-confidence. When parents

choose popular songs and sing them along with

their children, it can be quite a challenging task

for the little ones to imitate their elders and

perform to the best of their ability. When they

overcome their shyness and sing with gay

abandon, the doors of confidence get unlocked.

So once again, music is key.

Small kids are very keen to play simple

percussion instruments such as shakers,

clarinets, rattles and drums. We should nurture

their hidden potential by playing videos and

encouraging them to watch and play exactly at

the same time along with the person in the

particular video. This can be taken forward to a

more professional level. By learning how to play

a musical instrument such as a guitar or a piano,

the following skills can be sculpted and

improved:

*Attention

Focus and concentration are two very

important components required for learning

various concepts in the field of music. Music


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sessions encourage the children to focus and be

creative. Their attention span experiences a huge

jump and they suddenly find themselves

improving in everything they get involved with.

They become alert to the music of every breath

that passes through their body. This skill, which

is hard to learn in any other way, comes easily to

a child who practices music.

*Social skills

Learning music in small groups helps

children in enhancing their communication

skills. They become adept at handling group

issues and learn to interact freely with the

members of their group. They broaden theirhorizon by applying the experiences of their

peers and emerging winners in otherwise

difficult situations.

*Self-expression

Music expresses the feelings of the heart

in a way nothing else can. Sentimental children

have very expressive eyes and are generally

good at music. They draw inspiration

from the depths of the song and lend it their

voice. They become imaginative and creative


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by manipulating the tone, the pitch, the scale and

the feel of the song. For them, expression of

their inner world becomes as easy as baking a

pie.

*Energy-release

Famous music item in providing

happiness and change in the state of emotion

impresses children to a great extent and releasestheir energy. A simple rhythm awakes children

emotions. When a child is asked to play a piece

of music, he applies his internal and objective

emotions and energy to perform that piece.

There are emotions and energies as tools for

children, help them in organization of theirbehavior in future. Music plays an outlet role for

children future, through which they would

experiment love, sentiments, sadness, happiness,

humanity etc.

I bring the subject of behavior to an endby an example of music effect in religious

places. There is high impression of music on our

spirit and little by little on our behavior. It is

obviously clear in churches that by singing

religious and calm songs, Christians bring their


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soul and spirit in peace and tranquilization. This

is noticeable to mention that Zoroastrianism is

the first religion, founder of religious music and

introducing happiness as a paramount element in

human completion within this religion.


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Chapter 6

The Effect of Music onWater, Plants and Beasts

Music has charms to soothe

the savage breast, to soften

rocks, or bend a knotted oak.

William Congreve


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Ancient man believed that music

dismantles the negative forces and releases

positive energy in the body, which has healing

properties. Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle

believed that listening to music every day helps

us in maintaining a very sound mental health.

Pythagoras had the firm belief that if an

individual loses his/her physical equilibrium, it

will cause a degree of illness at some level of the

being.

Music, among other things, can restore the

previous state of physical balance and emotional

control. It is the harbinger of contentment and

harmony. During the Medieval era, the kings

used to enjoy listening to classical musicians intheir palaces to soothe their minds after the tiring

day was over. They used to shower their favorite

musicians with expensive gifts, sparkling gems,

gold coins and even palaces. History bears

sufficient evidence of the fact that the depths of

music contain secret pots of gold which eludehuman beings as well as other living organisms

like plants, animals and water molecules.

I will begin the discussion by the

introduction of sound. Sound is a sequence of

waves of pressure that propagates through


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compressible media such as air or water. Sound

is a kind of energy received by our ears. Sounds

are of musical or non-musical nature; they are

sometimes pleasant, sometimes annoying.

Generally undesirable sounds are called noise.

Noise is a term often used to refer to an

unwanted sound. In science and engineering,

noise is an undesirable component that obscures

a wanted signal. Hertz (Hz) is the unit of

measurement of sound.

Sound is a traveling wave, which is an

oscillation of pressure. Humans perceive

frequency of sound waves as pitch. Each musical

note corresponds to a particular frequency,

which can be measured in hertz. The perceptionof sound in any organism is limited to a certain

range of frequencies. An infant's ear is able to

perceive frequencies ranging from 20 Hz to

20,000 Hz; the average adult human can hear

sounds between 20 Hz and 16,000 Hz, although

these limits are not definite. The upper limitgenerally decreases with age. Other species have

a different range of hearing. For example, dogs

can perceive vibrations higher than 20 kHz, but

are deaf to anyt

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Music and Psychological Health