Quick notes....

The Los Angeles Times published an article on March 1, 2010, from which this quote is taken:

"Patients in the depths of Alzheimer's and other dementias regularly respond to - and even play and sing - music from their distant past, without missing a word or a note. Nursing homes have seized upon that fact, exposing residents to the songs of their childhoods or courtship years to help reunite spouses in dancing and singing and try to coax dementia sufferers from their isolation."

In addition to triggering helpful brain chemistry, music also triggers memory. Have you ever tried to forget the words to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" or gotten a song stuck in your head for hours at a time? Monks chanting religious liturgies benefit from the same triggers. Music and memory are intertwined in our minds in a way we can use to re-connect with emotion, memory, and even physical movement. 

Folks whose ability to walk has been compromised by Parkinson's disease were able to walk immediately when accompanied by music with a strong beat. To quote Dr. Gottfried Schlaug, a Harvard University neurologist interviewed for the LA Times article:

"It works well and it works instantaneously, and it's hard to think of any medication that has this effect."

Did you know that stroke victims whose speech has been impaired (aphasia) are able to sing without difficulty? It's called "melodic intonation therapy," in case you were wondering, and it works by musically bypassing the speech centers of the brain. I'd like to suggest that it may actually build new connections in the brain -- and neuroscience is starting to prove this point for me. If you know someone who's having difficulty speaking, ask them to attempt to sing the same words and see what happens.

Keep your music on!

What music should I listen to?

I'm asked frequently: "Bill, what music should I listen to?" You've probably read my response before, but I'll repeat it again because the point is so powerful. Listen to music that you love. We both might love the same music, and that happens often when I perform for people, but I really want to encourage you to find the music that speaks to you in the very best possible way. That can change, depending on your mood and activity, and that's completely fine, especially if you are able to set up iTunes playlists for various purposes or activities like some of the rest of us gearheads.

If you're not a computer geek like me and you're just getting started with intentional listening -- that is, bringing your entire focus and purpose to really hearing the music you choose -- then check out Pandora or Songza for incredible preselected playlists that are assembled by human beings who really know the music. Pandora is free online streaming music organized by category, and it conveniently lets you choose favorites, then builds suggested listening based on what you like. A great tool for the intentional listener, and value-based too, since unlike iTunes you don't have to buy a lot of music in order to get familiar with what flips your skirt.

So, listen to music that you love. With intention. Which means that you 1) sit down, 2) put on some comfortable over-the-ear headphones and 3) give yourself five or ten minutes of music and nothing but music.

This stuff works! Want to know more? Check out the tabs that follow below for my Facebook fan page Notes tab for my current reading list, or the second page of my one-sheet (both are also available here) for real-life examples and medical studies on how and why it works.

And listen yourself well.

How listening to music with intent can relieve anxiety and depression

There's a reason we like music. It can be exciting or soothing. It can help us connect more deeply with our emotions, whatever they are. Whether at the seventh-inning stretch, in a Balinese ceremony, a mosh pit, or in the cry of a hawk, music -- sound -- has a unique and specific physiological impact on us.

Over more than 30 years of observing audiences from the piano my curiosity about music's effect on folks who listen has become something of a project. The volume of research into music and healing has increased dramatically over the last ten years, and I will be sharing some of the recent medical studies with you in this newsletter. Most recently, I've been teaching short seminars based on my research. (Click on my nearby photo to launch my FaceBook fan page, where you can see a brief clip from one of them!

Last July I met a decorated VietNam veteran -- a Native American and County Veterans Services Officer -- who told me his story of dealing with war-related post-traumatic stress. For thirty years -- 1979 until 2009 -- all he could do to relieve his symptoms was lie on the floor for 30 minutes a day with the headphones on listening to music he loves. After 30 years, he finally sought professional treatment. Maintaining a lifestyle that works for 30 years is solid testimony to the power of music.

Here's the bottom line: if you take some time, say, 10 minutes regularly (whatever that means for you) to do nothing but put on the headphones (I prefer the over-the-ear kind because they won't damage your eardrums like the ear buds do) and listen to some music you love, I promise it will change you. Yes: change you. Why? Because you can't help it, physiologically speaking. Set your intention to simply listen...and if thoughts come wandering into your listening presence, just be OK with that. Let me know how it goes!

What is "Music Care?"

There wasn't a name for how music cares for us physiologically -- actually minds us in a safe, effective and useful way -- so we gave it one: Music Care.

Music Care is the use of specific music -- music that YOU love -- to produce a desired emotional, mental or even physical result. That result could be calming you after a stressful day, firing you up at a ball game, helping you focus or study to prepare for an exam, or transforming "negative" emotions into "positive" ones. Good example: music in church can help you to feel reverent or peaceful, happy or connected.

Physiologically, human beings respond to sound without effort or thought. That is, when we hear sound, the vibrational energy of the sound is converted to electrical impulses in our brains, which then trigger the release all sorts of brain chemistry, such as hormones and neurotransmitters. This causes our emotions to change. Just two examples: an "adrenalin rush" can result from certain kinds of music; other kinds of music predictably lower blood pressure.

If you know that, and then pay attention to how the music and sound around you is making you feel, you will have unlocked your own powerful skill to care for yourself using music: Music Care.

Soldiers, Symphony Conductors and Self-Medication

Self-medication. All too common in a negative context. Hardly ever mentioned in a positive one. No wonder, as self-medication often involves substance abuse: alcohol, drugs - both prescription and illegal.

There are other ways of self-medicating too. Extreme sports, extreme speed and mixed martial arts give you an adrenaline boost you can't get any other way.

Or can you?

If you've never been in combat - and most of us never will - you will never experience the kind of brain chemistry overload that it takes to be an effective soldier or cage fighter. Preparation for and execution of an effective combat maneuver - whether on the ground, sea or air - pushes the human system to an incredible limit of endurance, physically, mentally and emotionally. Remarkably, human beings are built to do this. The combination of brain chemicals available to trained Service members is remarkable.

At a recent presentation, I spoke to a Marine F-18 pilot told me he finally got it when it came to the music his team listens to before flight. I asked him what they listen to afterwards.

Think about the music on ESPN before a game, or the music AT the game. It's designed to pump you - and the players - up to peak performance. Just like the music those fighter pilots use. Is this self-medication?

We know that hearing music is directly related to release of brain chemicals (hormones, neurotransmitters and the like), so if you or me are self-medicating with music does that make you or me an addict?

Given the incredible sacrifices made by the folks who fight our wars, crime and fires, it's tragic that their average lifespans are so short. It's even more tragic that we don't have our heroes around to honor for many many years - as parents, public servants and exemplary human beings - and that so many of them take their own lives after they leave the Service.

One ad-hoc study found that, of all the professions and occupations, symphony conductors generally have the longest life span AND continue to perform many years beyond the age where most of us will have retired from our jobs. The same study theorized that the gentle aerobics of conducting an orchestra and the classical music in which a symphony conductor is immersed combine to provide longevity. Make no mistake: it's not life threatening (in most cases!) to conduct a symphony, but it is a HIGHLY stressful, politically demanding, intellectually challenging career which some have likened to herding cats.

To rise to the top of your profession in business, banking, technology, politics, medicine, education or the creative arts for example pretty much demands some kind of self-medication. In the music industry, we think of Kurt Cobain, any number of rappers, John Lennon, Billie Holliday - many many others - who died way too young, but who gave the world some incredible art. What part of self-medication didn't these hugely gifted musicians understand?

Plenty of examples, both of those who survive into old age and those who don't. Sure: plenty of career Service members who are combat Veterans live long lives, as do ex-CEOs, surgeons, teachers, artists, actors and musicians. So what's the difference between those who live to enjoy a long life and those who don't?

All these questions have one possible answer, but it's a difficult one to swallow:

The music you hear matters.

Symphony conductors survive to do their jobs late into life in part because they engage in gentle, consistent movement over many years, and in part because of the kinds of music bathing them regularly. Classical music, it had been shown, provides a life-affirming combination of brain chemistry.

Rock, rap, some kinds of jazz, electronica, hip-hop, house music, the sound of a jackhammer and other similar sounds have the opposite effect. You get a GREAT adrenalin boost, but not much that contributes to longevity. Great music for pumping up for a fight; poor choice for healing.

Folks listening to classical music have been shown to need half as much pain medication, increase their level of the "healing hormone" - pituitary growth hormone, - have more restful sleep, lower their blood pressure. This ONLY from self-medicating with music.

Interested?

Here's an idea: try it.

An example:

Some Servicemen I know practice cage fighting. Pre-fight, I'd suggest they boost adrenalin by listening to hip hop or rap, as hard and loud as they can without hurting their ear drums. Post-fight, I'd recommend they put on some Chopin, Rachmaninoff, or even the piano jazz of Brad Mehldau (Mozart might be a bit to airy-fairy, but the others have a lot more healing pathos). This will reverse the effect of the adrenalin boost and provide a wash of healing and soothing brain chemicals.

With iTunes or spotify.com it's easy to get started with musical self-medication, and with Pandora.com it's easier still to find the music that does it for you. I'd be the last to say that one particular song is any better than another - that's a personal choice everyone makes based on their own preferences - but there's enough research to generalize in an effective way about the genres of music and what they can do to the human system.

Many of you know about Guitars for Vets - is playing a guitar to relieve symptoms of combat-related post-traumatic stress "self-medicating with music?" Positive self-medication with music may be a tough term to grasp, but the Department of Veterans Affairs has concluded fieldwork for a study to be released in December 2011 demonstrating the results of the Guitars for Vets program. To quote the study's Purpose:

"Post traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) is a common condition for persons who have served in the Armed services during combat or deployment. Treatments include medications, cognitive behavioral therapy, and other social support mechanisms.

"[The Study's] aim in this project is to critically evaluate the effects of a novel music therapy intervention on the symptoms of PTSD."

Results of that Study indicate that the Guitars for Vets program is effective for intervention and relief of the symptoms of combat-related post-traumatic stress. Here's the Study link: Guitars for Vets: Evaluating Psychological Outcome of a Novel Music Therapy.

Music as medication? You decide. And choose wisely.

Problems facing American society when dealing with military suicide, PTSD and other unseen wounds

Yes, there's a problem...several actually. Fighting in a war impacts survivors in ways that are classified as "mental illness" rather than "normal human response to fighting in a war." Some of those "mental illnesses" are called suicide and post-traumatic stress. Unfortunately, the PR campaigns meant to help raise awareness of those responses to war have made the public aware of the symptoms of war without raising awareness of the root cause: war itself. Classifying the effects of war as "mental illness" is just as sane as classifying the reasons for war as "mental illness." That's issue #1.

Issue #2: human beings -- both civilian and military -- grow through distress. We are, by and large, slow and apathetic learners, but stick our hands in the fire and we will quickly understand that learning about being burned can help us avoid future pain from that source. I believe that today's Veterans and Service members are world leaders in human growth potential because they are also on the front lines of pain and distress. Look at the amazing leadership and example of double and triple amputees. Those with the "hidden" wounds of the post-9/11 conflicts are poised to become powerful leaders as they master their wounds and integrate them into the warrior spirit that brought them to military service in the first place.

Issue #3: the 99% problem. America has become overly individualistic, probably to its detriment. Warriors fight in teams, hurt in teams and serve in teams. Take the warrior out of the team and...well, that doesn't happen. Or does it? When Service members transition to civilian life, the support system that is a part of being a warrior is gone. All of a sudden, a warrior -- who used to be part of the 1% -- is submerged in a culture that is no longer all for one and one for all. In that 99% culture, which is overly individualistic, the warrior is left to fend for herself or himself, surrounded by a civilian population with widely divergent opinions and preconceptions about Veterans. Added to that, there are laws "protecting" the "privacy" of "clients" who have been "identified" by the treatment community as "at risk" or "mentally ill" which themselves work to stigmatize the very issues that ought not be stigmatized in the public mind. This also works contrary to a more enlightened ability by the 99% to mentor Veterans into employment and civilian life, and even to re-create the kind of team structure that exists in the military work environment.

Folks, we are all unique and talented human beings, with individual secret wounds we struggle to overcome every day. Warriors' wounds won in battle are so much more significant and intense in may ways that those of civilians, the obvious difference being that the warrior has pledged their life -- and death -- to their job. I'm told by combat Veterans that we civilians can never fully appreciate that pledge, and the best we can do as civilians is to fully honor the warrior's commitment, regardless of how we feel about the war. On the other hand, as human beings, we are all brothers and sisters, and when we hurt, we need care. Let's construct better and more formal ways to deal with the issues above that also connect us more deeply and constructively as human beings -- so that those who wish to serve their military brothers and sisters have more effective ways to engage Veterans that are supportive and useful: mentors on the job, peer life coaches, friends. In this era of virtual friendships we need to remember that building real relationships takes time and trust, and it's really the responsibility of the civilian population to reach out with consistent integrity to Veterans -- one at a time -- to provide our warriors with confidence in the civilian community with whom they will spend the rest of their life as distinguished Veterans.

What is Connected!?

Glad you asked...listen here to experience Connected! for yourself.

Yes, since the last blog here, I've been busy:

• Guitars for Vets has grown from one location at Veterans Village of San Diego to three locations with a fourth on the way, with 70+ graduates and approximately 50 active students -- I'm honored to facilitate this amazing Milwaukee-based non-profit here in San Diego;
• San Diego Veterans Coalition continues to inspire partnerships in the region, now with more than 90 government agencies, NGOs, for-profit corporations, associations and dedicated individuals combining forces to better serve Veterans -- I serve as SDVC Treasurer;
• The San Diego Symphony military outreach program recently provided more than 500 tickets to a summer pops event featuring one of the best new pianists of this Century, Russian-American virtuoso Lola Astanova -- it's my pleasure to help connect Service members who want to attend such events with the generosity of the San Diego Symphony;
• Speaking to Rotary Clubs on the topic of functional music -- "music care" as I call it -- has taken me all over San Diego County over the last year...check out one great recommendation here.

Along the way, there have been so many opportunities to bring music care to a wider audience, including collaborating with HeartPower Performances, Resounding Joy, Music Worx and Combat Vet Productions. I've also been privileged to play on two tracks of the upcoming Veteran-produced CD "Coming Home" and in a cover band created by graduates of the Guitars for Vets program at VVSD called "The Cause." 

And the next few months will be very exciting indeed!

When you have a moment, use this Connected! link to experience for yourself how music can be used for transformation. By the way, we're not using some woo-woo new age stuff here -- you're going to learn that Bob Seeger, Fergie and Katy Perry are just as powerfully effective as Beethoven and Mozart, plus you'll being to understand how various types of music change us. And guess what? Your response is guaranteed. As Lady Gaga says, you "were born this way."

Enjoy!