When our semi-conductor
Raised his baton, we sat there
Gaping at Marche Militaire,
Our mouth-opening number.
It seemed faintly familiar
(We’d rehearsed it all that winter),
But we attacked in such a blur,
No army anywhere
On its stomach or all fours
Could have squeezed though our cross fire…
By the last lost chord, our director
Looked older and soberer.
No doubt, in mind’s ear
Some band somewhere
In some Music of some Sphere
Was striking a note as pure
As the wishes of Franz Schubert,
But meanwhile here we were:
A lesson in everything minor,
Decomposing our first composer.
From: “The Junior High School Band Concert,” by David Wagoner; Traveling Light: Collected and New Poems. University of Illinois Press, 1999.
When I first read David Wagoner’s poem, I laughed out loud, remembering with some embarrassment how, as one of the few French horn players in the high school band, we enthusiastically blasted out the theme to Dvořák’s “The New World Symphony” at the annual Spring concert, not appreciating the need for subtlety and modulation at the time.
No wonder, since much of our playing was relegated to football season and marching around the football field, icy brass mouthpieces stuck to our lips as we played the boring after beats to the marching tune. Given the opportunity to “shine,” as it were, in our spring concert, we made certain we were heard. I doubt “Pop” Behnke, our band leader, was ever the same after that, and I quickly gave up my career as a French horn player after I went to university.
It turns out that all those years of piano lessons, singing in the church choir, doing pliés while a pianist accompanied the ballet class, or playing French horn in the marching band were beneficial in multiple ways. Not only can music enhance young people’s self-esteem and academic performance, musical training appears to help protect our mental sharpness and brain functioning. And as I grow older, I’m intent on maintaining my mental acuity for as long as humanly possible.
It’s one of the reasons I drum, something I’ve been doing for nearly two years. Each Monday evening, I spend an hour playing the dunun, a family of West African drums that accompany the djembe in the Mandé drum ensemble. Given my age and stage in life, I often joke that I’ll remain in the beginner class indefinitely, but mastery isn’t the reason I drum. I love music and rhythm. I drum because it’s joyous activity. I drum because drumming in a community of other drummers is exhilarating. Drumming, dancing, singing–anything to do with music–makes me feel better. The cares of the day disappear. I drum because it’s good, very good, medicine.
“The power of music to integrate and cure is quite fundamental,” Dr. Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author of Awakenings wrote. “It is the profoundest non-chemical medication.” In fact, music has a long history in medicine and healing. The ancient Greeks believed music could heal the body and the soul. Ancient Egyptians and Native Americans incorporated singing and chanting as part of their healing rituals. Even the U.S. Veterans Administration incorporated music an adjunct therapy for shell-shocked soldiers after World War II. Today, music therapy is widely used in hospitals and cancer centers to promote healing and enhance the quality of patients’ lives.
Google “music and healing,” and you’ll find a number of articles attesting to the physiological and emotional benefits of music.
- It aids our autonomic nervous systems, positively affecting blood pressure, heartbeat and breathing. In fact, music can actually improve the overall functioning of our cardiovascular systems.
- It helps reduce stress, aid relaxation and alleviate depression.
- In cancer patients, music can decrease anxiety. Together with anti-nausea drugs, music can help to ease nausea and vomiting accompanying chemotherapy.
- It relieves short-term pain and decreases the need for pain medication.
- It’s effective in diminishing pre-surgical anxiety and beneficial for patients with high blood pressure.
- Music even plays a role in improving troubled teens’ self-esteem and academic performance.
But even among Alzheimer’s and dementia patients like my mother, the role of music in memory is also a powerful one. We all associate songs and other musical pieces with people, places and emotions we’ve experienced in the past. Not only can music trigger life stories, but it can enhance memory functioning and face-name recognition among Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.
On one of my last visits with my mother, I was shocked by her physical and mental deterioration in the few weeks since I’d last seen her. She was completely unresponsive, no longer able to walk and sitting motionless in a wheelchair, her head bobbing listlessly to her chest. I tried without success to elicit any reaction from her and decided to take her outdoors and into the garden. I positioned her next to a bougainvillea, furious with red blooms, hoping to see a glimmer of life, some sign my mother was still there. I held her hand and, at a loss, began singing a song she often sang to me as a child. “Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with you,” I began, struggling to remember the lyrics. “I’m in love with you/Let me hear you whisper…” By then I had tears in my eyes, but I kept singing , because very slowly, my mother raised her head and fixed her eyes on my face. With great effort, she smiled, and for a moment, I saw light return to her eyes. “Why,” she said, struggling to find the words, “it’s Sharon!” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m happy,” she said. The memory stays with me, forever associated now, with that long ago song.
This week, think about the role music plays in your life. Has it been beneficial to your well-being or recovery? What memories does a particular song ignite for you? What stories? Music, even a song like “Happy Birthday,” is a powerful prompt for writing. Here are a few suggestions:
- Perhaps there was some particular music that helped you through cancer treatment or another difficult time. Listen to it again, closing your eyes, and try to remember that time and how the music made you feel.
- Recall a lullaby from childhood, a favorite song, a bit of classical music, or even the somewhat dissonant music from your high school band. What memories or stories does the music trigger?
- Take any favorite recording, classical, jazz, new age, or pop, and listen to it. Keep your notebook nearby. As you listen, capture the random thoughts and associations that come to mind. Once the recording ends, open your notebook and begin free writing. Do this for five minutes. When you finish, re-read what you’ve written and underline the sentence that has the most power for you. Use that sentence to begin writing again on a fresh page. Set the timer for 15 minutes and see where it takes you.
I think I should have no other mortal wants if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.– George Bernard Shaw
Leave a Reply