The Whole Music Experience

The Music Instinct Science and Song DVD Public Broadcast Station Many years ago I discovered the healing power of music. I was attending WOMAD USA and felt myself merge with everything around me when I listened to music played by world musicians. That epiphany led me on a journey that has only been validated by a small group of people, thus far. PBS just released a DVD and broadcast of The Music Instinct: Science & Song , directed by Elena Mannes and hosted by Bobby McFerrin and Neurologist Daniel Levitin . A bridge is built between science and the arts, music in particular and a lot of questions are probed, but some not answered to their full extent. On one hand, the director and her crew seem to have crunched too much information into the 120 minute film, but on the other hand, some of this information seems repetitive such as the presentation of brain scans activated by music listened to or performed. Neurologist and music lover Oliver Sacks who appears in t...

Oliver Sacks Musicophilia Tales of Music and The Brain hardback: Alfred A. Knopf (2007) I spent a good part of the weekend reading about the effects of music on the brain compliments of Neurologist/Author Oliver Sacks' book, Musicophilia (Tales of the Music and The Brain). While I do not come from a science background myself, I have read in the past about music therapy for people with autism, Parkinson's, clinical depression and dementia. I have also read a little about the renowned hearing and speech specialist Alfred Tomatis as well as, Joshua Leeds work with psychoacoustics. Sacks book delves deeper into diseases, injuries and birth defects of the brain. In the synopsis for his book found on his website, the description of this book reads "how music heals and haunts us" or something to that effect. Sacks explores music hallucinations, brainworms, epilepsy and fear of music (because some types of music can bring on seizures and convulsions in list...