Classical Music:

Not Just for Entertainment Anymore

Research! Yes, scientific research over the past thirty years has finally concluded what we, as classical music performers, have known all our lives:  classical music is powerful!  We have always known that it draws out emotions and inspires us.  We have known that it has healthy effects on the body, mind, and spirit.  It has now been postulated by very serious scientists that classical music is actually healthy for us!  Some scientists are saying that it makes us smarter, kinder, and more efficient.  Some of the findings are still mixed, but virtually no research has been done on the subject before the 1980s. It is not surprising that this baby field is a little slow to get to the point that is so obvious to us.

We also know that not everyone likes classical music, just like not everyone likes broccoli, but there is no denying the body is hard wired to accept the edifying, healing, inspiring effects of classical music. However, not all music is alike. Listening to some music can actually make a person dumber, like eating Twinkies actually makes a person less healthy.  Other music incites violence in the listener, just as some food is actually poisonous.  It is true that our species can exist at a basic level without any music, but classical music allows us to thrive at high levels of efficiency and functionality due to its ability to touch our hearts, to organize our brains, and to call out our ideal selves. We have scientific evidence! Here’s just a few examples from the vast body of existing research:

http://www.barbershop.org/news-a-events-main/291-health-benefits-of-singing.html

Unfortunately, classical music continues to carry of stigma of being a snobby diversion– “auditory cheesecake”, as Steven Pinker has stated. Yes, it has been difficult for science to detect and measure exactly how music lifts us up or brings us down.  Still, we cannot deny the growing body of evidence that music has implications for our health and well-being.  And classical music is coming out on top!  Due to new super-sensitive measuring instruments and the thousands of studies being done, new things are being discovered every day.

Think of the headlines when the truth finally comes out:  Classical Music is Part of a Healthy Life! The FDA will recommend a daily minimum requirement for cantatas.  Maslow’s hierarchy will have Mozart sonatas on the bottom building to Shostakovich for self-realization. We, classical music performers, will be trained in the effects of certain scales or tempi on the listener’s heart rate or neurotransmitter speed.  We’ll program concerts for specific healthful purposes, like a Heart Healthy Concerto Concert or Attention Deficit Cure Requiem, so going to the concert will be like going to the spa or to therapy.  Our health care plans could even cover it! Ah, what a world that will be!

Sensational (adj)  1: of or relating to sensation or the senses  2: exceedingly or unexpectedly excellent or great —