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Don Campbell
is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the connection between music
and healing. He has written many books on this subject. He has also produced
a series of CDs called Music for the Mozart Effect. (See web site below
for details).
The Mozart Effect is a fascinating and inspiring
book about the effects of sound and music. Don Campbell says that music
is good for us, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Did you know that Gerard Depardieu; the
great French actor could hardly string a sentence together before he embarked
on a course of sound therapy?
Did you know that Ronald Parkinson PhD a
music professor at Northern Illinois University keeps his Parkinson’s
disease at bay by playing the harp? The disease struck him in his mid-twenties.
D id you know that students who sing or play
a musical instrument at school score higher in all other subjects than
other non-musical students?
Learning
The music
of Mozart assists both sides of the brain to work together overcoming
the left brain dominance of our Western society.
Scientists suggest that listening to Mozart
can help to improve concentration and enhance our ability to make intuitive
leaps. Mozart’s music does this by organising the firing pattern of neurones
in the cerebral cortex.
The music of Gregorian Chant can help students
to learn more effectively. The most in-depth use of music to accelerate
learning was developed by the Bulgarian psychologist, Geogi Lozanov.
Developed initially for adults studying
foreign languages, his technique known as ‘Suggestopedia’ has been incorporated
into curricula throughout Europe and the United States. He has proved
that slow baroque music improves learning.
Healing
Don’s book
has three hundred pages crammed with evidence of music’s healing powers.
Campbell lists fifty common illnesses that have all responded to sound
and music.
Campbell provides conclusive evidence that
music; particularly Mozart’s music can be used to reduce high blood pressure
and anxiety. Music can break up cancer cells in our bodies and can help
to heal mental illnesses.
Scientists concluded that preferred music
may produce a positive emotional experience that can release hormones,
which create a healing effect in the body.
The director of Baltimore hospital’s coronary
care unit says that half an hour of classical music produces the same
effect as ten milligrams of valium.
Don includes many inspiring stories of people
who have been given a new lease of life through music therapy who had
previously been written off by society.
Autism
The parents
of autistic children have found that music therapy can help their children
to interact with them in a normal way. Sam a seven-year-old child diagnosed
with autism at the age of two would be unable to tolerate any loud sound.
He had tantrums and when his mother sang to him he would say to her, “stop
singing.”
After sound therapy he said to his mother
“Hold me” Hum with me.”
Babies
The Journal
of the American Medical Association reported in that in a study of
expectant mothers, those who listened to music during childbirth did not
require anaesthetic. Listening to music releases endorphins and this decreases
the need for medication. It also provides a distraction from pain and
relieves anxiety.
In another study of pregnant mothers, babies
were found to prefer Mozart and Vivaldi to other composers in early, as
well as the later stages, of pregnancy. When mothers listened to rock
music, foetuses would kick violently and have increased heart rates.
Rock
Music
Researches
at the John Hopkins University have found that rock music causes people
to eat faster and to eat a larger volume of food, while slow classical
music makes people eat more slowly and consume less.
The book also contains practical exercises
to help the reader incorporate sound and music into their daily ritual.
The book also contains an excellent bibliography and section on sound
resources.
About
the Reviewer
Simon Heather is the author of the
book The Healing Power of Sound – How to Enrich Your Life Through Sound
and Music. Simon travels widely throughout the world lecturing and
running workshops on ‘Free Your Voice’ and ‘The Healing Power of Sound’.
He also runs sound healing training courses for healers and therapists.
UK
Sound Healers Association
The UK Sound Healers Association is a non-profit making organisation
dedicated to promoting sound healing in Britain. For more information
visit their web site at:
www.uksoundhealers.fsnet.co.uk.
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