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The Magic of Music

I hear the shuffling of papers, pens and pencils writing, murmurs from at least three

dozen people around me, but the loudest sound I hear is my own breathing and heartbeat. My

eyes are closed in preparation; doubts start popping into my head when suddenly, two words

strike me like lightning “Derrick Ho, please move towards the stage” states the announcer. I

open my eyes and see my sister Pamela walk off stage with a smile on her face and looking

proud of her work. As she passes by I give her a nod and she tells me good luck knowing full

well that my performance is one that I cannot fail. I slowly walk up to the piano in front of me,

hands shaking as I put down my sheet music and fix the position of the chair. Right as I sit down,

my doubts and fears rise up again, and despite all my preparation it still catches me off guard.

Guiding my hands towards the keys, I take a deep breath and begin to play “Piano Sonata No.14”

by Ludwig van Beethoven more commonly referred to as “Moonlight Sonata”. Slowly, I started

to relax as the song progressed and before I had realized it, I finished my performance without a

hitch. Still in a daze, I stood up and bowed to the crowd and judges who witnessed my

performance, then walked off stage as the next performer was called. After passing through the

backstage door, the trance I seemed to be in broke, and with it, all the emotions I felt beforehand

came flooding back. “What even was that performance Derrick?” my sister asked, “It looked as

though you had written that piece and perfected it in the moment.” “Honestly I don’t know either”

I replied with a shrug “I just felt more calm while playing and that was the

performance.” Walking to the front of the concert hall, my sister and I exchanged a few words

about the last few performances we had seen before the judges put up their scores for the best

performance. To no one’s surprise, I had taken first place with an almost perfect score, missing

only a few points in conduct due to the beginning of my performance. Although I had performed

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many other concerts since then, that particular performance and competition had always been

stuck in the back of my mind. It constantly bothered me to the point where I asked my piano

teacher, Mrs Breheda. She told me that it happened to her many years ago and that it would be a

subject worth pursuing if one had plenty of free time. With this in mind, I gave up on researching

more until I found out about music therapy. Knowing how extensive the field of psychology is, I

knew how much work had to be done. But as I started looking deeper into music therapy more

and more questions appeared. With my initial target suddenly changing, my craving for

knowledge grew quickly. That desire led me to one final question: How can understanding music

help enrich a person’s personal and social life?

Even though we have had many scientific breakthroughs in the past few decades, the

human body still has it’s mysteries that have not been solved. The biggest mystery is the human

brain and how it functions. With the power of being able to produce thought, emotions,

reasoning, etc. the brain is capable of amazing things, but not everything that comes out of the

brain is as amazing. Things such as depression, ptsd, stress are all things that are plaguing our

society to a dangerous degree. Although we are currently working on dealing with how to solve

those problems completely, music therapy has worked wonders on people suffering from

depression. The reason this is so powerful is because people suffering from depression are anti-

social and stray away from social contact. But “Above all, music-making is social (and hence

interpersonal), pleasurable and meaningful” (Talwar et al). With music being a catalyst that

almost everyone knows of and enjoys to some extent, it allows for a middle ground for both

parties to speak, and finding other who enjoy the same thing helps make friends. It would start

small and grow bigger to the point that the patient will feel more happy and enjoy what they do

allowing them to heal. Supporting this, Psychiatrist Scholer Myriam provided some ideas as to

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why music therapy works “ Receptive music therapy is used to help patients have “flow

experiences” when listening to stimulating music and to learn how to better respond through

verbal and non-verbal feedback based on changing music stimuli”(Scholer). Again supporting

how music therapy allows the patent to become more social, which in turn helps them become

better through an increase in social interaction. The benefits are not only limited to people

suffering from depression but mental disorders like schizophrenia and autism too.

Many may argue that music therapy is not as effective as medications like antidepressants, anti-

anxiety, etc. , they fail to realize that these medications are not perfect. These medications will

always have side effects and they may also have no benefits for some people.

Heading over to Danvil I meet up with Ameek Mundi, a psychiatrist working with the

East Bay Psychopharmacology Group who has experience in group therapy and counselling, in

his office. “There is an estimated 13% of the american population who take antidepressants yet

more than half are prescribed this medication and do not have depression” Dr Mundi states. “In

fact some are prescribed to deal with other problems like anxiety, neurotic pain or sleep

problems. However, the most common side effects of antidepressants are nausea, anxiety, fatigue,

insomnia, irritability and dizziness. These medications can also worsen one’s conditions instead

of improving them.” It is ironic how this type or class of drug was created to help other with

depression but is now being handed to others who do not have that problem. With an increasing

amount of people taking antidepressants, the worries of side effects and other problems are

ignored and those side effects are just a small handful. “Parents will try and make their children

take antidepressants despite the large list of smaller side effects. Some larger side effects are

suicidal thoughts and erectile dysfunction which can change someone’s life entirely.” states Dr.

Mundi. “With such an emphasis on medicine helping, people forget that there are other ways to

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help treat illnesses, both physically and mentally.” Drilling the information that medicine is the

end all be all to any sickness is something that should not be done. With use in curing short term

problems like a cold or flu being common, use over long periods of time will not always be

beneficial to the patent. The problem with this is that it “doesn’t focus on disease

prevention. The treatments only begin after illness is diagnosed. Once started, treatments only

address symptoms and not the root causes.” (The Pros and Cons). This is a major problem as

modern medicine will not find ways to find the starting point of the illness. With mental illnesses

this is particularly true as the medications will only help alleviate the symptoms but not find the

reason why it started. Only solving the symptoms is fatal as we are not seeking the root cause of

the issues. If the root is found, then it will be possible to prevent the illness from ever occurring

again. But with science as the leading reason, “ Any form of medicine that’s not proven by

scientific methods is considered inferior. Alternatives are often referred to as ‘quackery,

pseudoscience, poor science and fraud.’” (The Pros and Cons). Although irritating, this is very

true in the world of today as many people refuse alternative medicines and would rather take

western medicine as they feel it is more safe. Things like counseling, acupuncture, yoga,

meditation, etc. have no way of proving their worth as no one wishes to spend the time and

money to study these alternatives when money is already being spent on modern medicine.

Despite this, there are some scientific fields that prove the worth of alternative medicine in minor

ways. Physiology and anatomy has shown the workings of each individual part of the body and

how it relates to the body as a whole. Acupuncture is also focused on the human body with

precise needle placements to help the mind and body. The needles are placed on lines within the

human body called meridian paths which are an almost perfect copy of blood vessels and organs

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that are shown in anatomy. With physiology already proving the scientific worth of acupuncture,

there is no reason as to why other alternative medicines should not be tested.

Psychology is a great example as psychologists and therapists are considered to be

alternative medicinal practices due to a lack of medicine. Yet with years of scientific backing

psychology has helped unlock the mysteries of the human mind in the past few decades and has

helped improve our understanding of people. Everyone’s brain functions differently with their

thought pattern, emotions, attitude, etc. and so does their likes and dislikes. Music is no

exception as I myself like classical music and jazz while disliking pop, hip-hop, rap and heavy

metal while someone else may like electronic and dubstep. This diversity allows music to

flourish in multiple genres. While some may say music is just sound or entertainment, it is

actually very beneficial for everyone. Music can help one focus or get more energetic and

excited without one realizing it as the brain process the speed of the music, the human heartbeats

will try and match the speed of the music. It is this very reason why “Listening to Pachelbel's

Cannon, which has a rhythm of 64 beats per minute, (the rate of a resting heart beat), will change

our brain wave pattern from Beta to Alpha. Slower tempo music slows our breathing rate. The

human heartbeat will also tend to match the

rhythm of music.”(Heather 4). This is why intense action sequences in film are accompanied by

fast music to create more tension in the watcher by speeding up the heartbeat. Brain waves also

have a major role to play as they are the root of our thoughts, emotions etc. and are used in the

brain to allow neurons to communicate with one another. There are two major types of brain

waves, alpha and beta. Alpha waves are slow, and mostly present when someone is calm,

learning, or sleepy. Beta waves are fast and almost always present one one is awake, focused,

alert, etc. and although there are theta waves, they are only present when we are asleep. When

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we are awake we will hear sounds, cars, people talking, animal noises, etc but this is a huge

influence on a developing child. “Developing human brains seem particularly attuned to music -

even more than language- no doubt to its structural complexity and interesting

patterns.”(Campbell 26). Sounds are a major part of our lives and we hear them in waves which

would explain how they can affect our mind.

Another way music can affect our mind is how it is perceived. Music can be a form of

entertainment but it also helps a person feel good. “ Music causes the brain to release dopamine,

a brain chemical key to addiction and motivation. That's one reason why people like it so much.

The effects extend beyond the merely pleasurable: Music (often in tandem with dance) is used in

rehabilitation for stroke and Parkinson's disease” (Mindlin 35). By releasing dopamine, the brain

relaxes and starts to feel good and if enough dopamine is release one can experience a euphoric

feeling for a short while. The best part is that dopamine can be released by many things from

working out, to eating a good steak or even painting a picture. As stated earlier, this is why

action films have very fast paced music to suit the genre and scary films use more slow music.

However it is not entirely on the tempo or speed of the music. The pitch also make a huge

difference as “When listening to a melody, we perceive much more than just the pitch of each

successive note. In addition to these individual pitches, which we will term the absolute pitches

of the notes, listeners also encode how the pitches of successive notes relate to each other – for

instance, whether a note is higher or lower in pitch than the previous note, and perhaps by how

much. Relative pitch is intrinsic to how we perceive music.” (McDermott). Pitch is in everything

we hear, from the rumbling of our cars to the voices of our friends and family. Music composers

take this into account as they compose their music with how each note flows together. Musical

notes are grouped together to create many different sounding music. They can be peaceful, happy,

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eerie, depressing etc. which shows how each pitch of a note can be grouped together to make

many things. Caitlin Britt, a board certified music therapist who started the Mountain Sound

Music Therapy Group, commented on the effects of music on young adults. “I believe that music

revolves around the idea of letting people entertain themselves in a world that they can imagine

freely without any visuals to connect to. It can be used to create an atmosphere which can be a

good thing and a bad thing as good scenes in films rely on good music to create that magical feel.”

Even a multibillion dollar industry relies on music to make sure everything is played just right.

This is why music is considered to be such a large industry although the music industry is also

very large and subjective. With music being such a large thing in many people's lives, I

personally believe that music is a life changing thing that anyone can experience.

Listening to music is wonderful by itself and can be a great stress reliever for many and it

is quick and simple. However growing up my parents had always claimed that learn piano would

help me avoid alzheimer's if I learned an instrument and played it for more than ten years. There

is no scientific backing as Malcolm Young, a well known guitarist for the band AC/DC, had

gotten alzheimer's. It was mostly a threat that my parents used to keep me playing piano and it

worked seeing as I play piano, clarinet, guitar and bass for fun and for the school band. One

thing that I have noticed while playing is my enjoyment from just playing for fun instead of

being drilled day in and day out the basics and how to play piano. One major bonus one can

obtain from playing an instrument is “ Perseverance, discipline, and responsibility, important

skills for accomplishing anything in life. Playing music also fills you with a sense of

accomplishment; after all, you should feel good about mastering a song, difficult chord, or

instrument!”(What are the Benefits). This idea of learning discipline and responsibility is drilled

into those who are a part of the Northgate band thanks to our wonderful teacher Mr.Brown. He

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may be a tough teach at time but he really brings out the best musicianship out of every player in

the band while teaching us important life skills in a friendly and caring environment. One other

benefit from learning an instrument is just proper posture while sitting and standing. With an

increase in young teenagers slouching and giving themselves back problems, playing an

instrument correctly makes you sit upright and straight. “Sitting upright is important to playing

an instrument and will allow you to breath more easily and less painfully. Proper breathing goes

along with this as taking deep breaths will help relieve stress and allow you to sound better when

speaking or playing an instrument”(Gaynor 105). Proper breathing techniques can not only help

long term with one’s health but can also help calm someone in an instant. With proper posture

and breathing, getting back problems and shortness of breath is less likely as long as one

continues to play their instrument.

While conducting my interviews, pulling out books off the shelves of the library,

speaking to others about this subject one question is always asked. Are you going to become a

psychologists? My answer has always been no since there is so many things to go over and I

simply do not think I will find enjoyment from learning about the human psyche for my life.

However being a musician is something I have always considered despite my lack of musical

talent compared to other people around me like my sister and bandmates. Upon hearing that

everyone always tells me that unless I become a famous composer or am known world wide, I

will never amount to anything as a musician. I disagree strongly with that statement because

finding something I enjoy and making it my job is a dream come true for many. With such a

negative attitude on musicians and making money, it is astonishing how people seem to forget

the simple joy of music and how it can change a life in such a small way. Music is almost

magical as it allows people across the world to enjoy listening to the music even when they do

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not understand each other. It also allows the players to express themselves to a point where they

cannot speak and when words fail, music speaks the loudest.