Musicwoman Magazine Spring 2020

The

IMPACT OF MUSIC on well-being from birth through your amazing aging, and beyond

We each have a favorite song. Dr. Lara Ronan, a neurology professor at Dartmouth College, shared in the January 2019 issue of Psychology Today that conscious use of music extracts an emotional dividend that motivates us during exercise, sets the mood for a romantic dinner, relaxes spa clients, and rallies the crowd at sporting events. Songs become favorites when we recreate that atmosphere, even far into the future.

The brain encodes music in our multifaceted memory of a moment or experience. That is how songs become favorites. The musical structure or lyrics of a song generate an emotion and a memory. Memories recalled with a musical soundtrack are usually stronger and more positive.

Ronan believed that “hearing music from our past evokes a strong feeling of knowing, which we often call nostalgia.” Many of the songs we love define lifelong friendships, console us, and make us feel secure.

So, music matters and musicians matter. Their work carries us from the womb to the tomb and beyond. Think of your favorite songs that evoke memories of events, feelings, or people you love. When hearing an old favorite, most people smile, take a moment to savor the emotion, and think of other songs that evoked that feeling of happiness or delivery from despair.

This association of music with our emotions has been going on since before birth. Pregnant women shared the gift of music with their babies in the womb. Then, came the lullaby or other musical sounds that comforted their infant. Music has a Pavlovian response. My oldest son listened to a lullaby at bedtime. When “La La Lu” played, he laid down, said “la la lu” and fell sleep. The music evoked his desire to sleep.

LYDIA HARRIS

As we grow older, our experiences are lived to the song track of our generation. As a Detroiter, I lived and loved the Motown sound. My mom and grandmother sang the songs of their livesspiritual songs and blues – as love came in and went out of their hearts. Then, there was dance music and inspiring songs that supported our achievements. Some jingles stuck in our heads. Travel, school, the workplace, celebrations, and dates spent cultivating new relationships added more melodies and catchy tunes that paired with specific moments in time. We relive memories and feelings of joy from those pairings. Music makes you cry, laugh, smile, or it makes you grateful for that time in your life that is long gone but relived and relished for one moment. Even the heartaches carried notes of survival and achievement.

Research revealed that music improves and supports our well-being. Music is a powerful communication tool that stimulates the emotions and the intellect. The amazing concept is that chosen music elicits a desired response like Pavlov and my son illustrated. Choice means that we create our own playlist to serve our sense of well-being.

The songs vocalists sing and the melodies musicians create help us sleep, relax, dance, be inspired, drive, work, love, and stay focused. The International Society for Music Education sums it up in their motto which states that “lived experiences of music, in all their many aspects, are a vital part of the life of all people.”

The context where music meets health and wellbeing, called music medicine by Ralph Spintge, can impact patients in surgery and post-surgery therapy. Listening to music helps reduce pain and anxiety. All of our musical modalities deliver therapeutic outcomes. The catchy tunes of yesteryear have a positive impact on our longevity, health, and well-being.

Music relaxes the mind, energizes the body, and boosts cognitive performance. Furthermore,

music enhances sleep, motivates us, improves our endurance, and helps with pain management, especially when we create playlists, consciously. Music is evergreen with the power to inspire and entertain us. But the most amazing value it has is contributing to our health and well-being from our prenatal beginnings and throughout our lives.

To all of the global Amazing Musicwomen, I humbly ask you ladies to keep making music. The world needs all of your positive voices and sounds to improve the well-being of our global citizens.

Lydia Harris

Think of your favorite songs that evoke memories of events, feelings, or people you love.