Music and meaning

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/musicminds/



A fascinating story from the folks at Nova, about music and the brain. How do we experience music? Is everyone capable of appreciating it, though we may not have the gift of producing it ourselves? Does it have the power to heal, physically and psychologically?
One of the segments tells of a young man with Tourette's Syndrome who suffers with very bad twitching. In his childhood, he would become violent, though he was generally a very gentle, loving boy. He discovered an affinity for the drums and also that playing the drums gave him respite from those twitches. He's taken his experience of the power of music, and is using his talent to help others discover the same thing.
Another man, an accomplished surgeon well into his career, initially liked rock and roll from the 60s and 70s. One day he was struck by lightening, and almost over night he developed a love for classical music - particularly piano music. He didn't know how to play a note himself, but the music became almost a compulsion for him. He bought sheet music, and taught himself how to play, by practicing for hours a day. He went on to compose his own piece (whether a piano symphony or sonata I don't remember) His life was transformed.
It has been documented that people with brain injuries or brain-affective disorders who cannot talk will sometimes be able to sing, and those who cannot walk will sometimes be able to dance. Isn't that remarkable? Wouldn't you rather listen to a beautiful tune than pop a pill, or undergo surgery?
Music is so powerful; it is very personal and intimate as well. The doctor on whom the story "Awakenings" is based, a man who is passionate about classical music, underwent a brain scan to show just what happens in the brain when you listen to music. It was fascinating to see how many areas of the brain are engaged - memory, the senses...neurons are firing all over the place. But it is not the same for everyone, and it is not even the same for one person for every piece of music, no matter how similar they may be. This doctor listened first to Bach - a mournful requiem, I think it was. His brain scan lit up all over the place. Then a very similar piece by Beethoven - quite alike in pitch, tempo, mood etc. and yet there was much less activity.
Personally, I know that music is powerful. So much of what is produced is absolutely inane, and yet.... along comes something really really good. Not just technically good, but good in how it grabs hold of you somewhere deep in the heart of you...deep down where you are you. There is some contemporary music that has that ability for me, and some classical as well. I think what they have in common is sincerity, and probably also the fact that they are sad. For example, I really like an Adagio by Albinoni, which was once offically voted the saddest piece of music ever. I also like Everything by Lighthouse, and while it may be about the desire to give everything to a lover, it is mournful, yearning, heartwrenching. Plus, I love Depeche Mode, and if Martin Gore ever wrote a song not in a minor key, I haven't heard it! They are not a group known for peppy, perky, upbeat, happy happy happy songs.
Is it easier to connect to sorrow? If so, why? And despite the imagery of the brain scans showing where the brain fires up on hearing music, just what is it about music that bypasses logic and reason to go right to the heart of us?
One sad note from this program: there are people who cannot hear music. They are not just tone deaf - they literally cannot hear the difference in pitch, tone, tempo or mood from one piece of music to another. Can you imagine a world for yourself without music?



(The title of this post is a literary quote. Did you catch it?)