The Power of Music
We’ve dissected some difficult subjects in the past in our conversations on depression, domestic violence and prodigal living.
If you’ve read my blog for a while you will know how important music is to me. My Behind the Hymn on Sunday is a very popular feature.
We’re going to delve into another subject that is just as important, but not quite so difficult over the next four months. We’re going to discuss the power of music.
So why is music so powerful?
“Music is a Universal Language of mankind,” is a quote attributed to the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
This is so true. Each of us have music that speaks and touches our heart. There might be a song to sing or dance along to, a memory that is triggered or a mood that is lifted.
Different songs touch each of us in a different way. Often this is due to the memories we associate with the song we’re hearing.
There is power in music. It can calm the savage beast, break a hardened heart, bring life to the numb soul, or heal a wounded spirit. Music has been known to ease the pains of birth and heal individuals with brain damage or reach into the recesses of the mind to another time and place.
Nowhere is this more true than when dealing with Alzheimer’s. As a trained musician, I have often used music with dementia patients. I am amazed when the woman that has not spoken in two years begins to sing or the man that can no longer express his feelings uses
body procession he used as a missionary in South Africa to express his emotions. I’ve even used music as a calming technique from violent memories.
Even when the memories have disappeared, music has proven to be a wonderful tool to use. Research has proven that music is the only sense that reaches all six parts of the brain.
How has music effected your life?