Blame It on the Music!

Music makes us dance, cry, laugh, remember, and forget. It is the only language that can be feed to one person in a thousand dialects and make sense. While some people prefer one genre of music, there are many that just enjoy the vibrancy of a good bass line, the clarity in a guitar riff, the atmosphere of a piano, and the familiarity in the lyrics. When we listen to music we are not just hearing something beautiful; our senses are playing on a heightened plane of existence. Your Best Words Forward interviewed several music enthusiasts about some of their experiences with music. Please read their responses below.

INTRODUCTIONS:

Meredith Hamons
I started studying piano at the age of five and music was a huge part of my life growing up. I also was fascinated by the way music could affect people in ways no other medium could. I studied classical music and went on to major in Music Therapy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. After college, I completed my internship at the San Antonio State Hospital. I chose the field of music therapy as I love music, and I love being able to share music with other people. While research shows that music stimulates the entire brain in ways other things cannot and that music can affect the body in tangible ways such as lowering blood pressure, lowering breath rate and reducing a patient’s perception of pain, I also believe in music’s innate ability to touch people deeply and personally.

Sean McCormick
Hi. My name is Sean, and I’m a musiholic...... I’ve always liked listening to music, and have been interested in the inner workings of it - from how the instrument is making noise to how the producer puts final touches on it.

Amy Sciarretto
"Amy is a 15-year veteran of the rock music scene and one of the most prolific females in the metal scene who was recently profiled in the national trade magazine Radio & Records where she was dubbed “The Queen of Metal.” She’s a highly respected international rock journalist and bio writer who got her start when she was still in high school. She created columns (and wrote them for 5 years) when Revolver relaunched in 2001. She has written cover stories for international rock Bible Kerrang!, and through the years, her words have continuously appeared in the pages of Alternative Press, AOL Spinner, Guitar World, Decibel, Hit Parader (which she still co-edits), CMJ New Music Report (where she served as Loud Rock Editor for 8 years, in-house and freelance, taking the column for 1 page and 1 chart to 5 pages and 2 charts), Spin.com, VH1.com, CMJ New Music Monthly, FMQB, Chord, Sucker, Outburn, Amp, Hails & Horns, Ruin, Teen People, music.com, Metal Maniacs, Aquarian Weekly, Rockpile, ARTISTdirect, Ultimate Guitar, Rebel Ink, Urban Ink and LAX, to name a select few. She was a weekend DJ on Sirius Satellite Radio’s 24/7 metal channel Hard Attack for 2 years, hosting two radio shows per weekend. A consummate multi-tasker, she also served as Roadrunner’s Director of Hard Rock Radio and Video Promotion for 6 years before being promoted to Director of Publicity/Media/Artist Relations in 2007. She has expanded into the mainstream women’s journalism field, writing cosmetic and fashions stories for the hugely popular blog, www.beautynewsnyc.com as well as writing about Fashion and Beauty trends as the Fashion/Beauty editor of the recently launched LAX Magazine. She has guested on countless radio platforms throughout the past decade and has been covering film and movies for a variety of the aforementioned publications for the past year. She is also a lead blogger on AOL's newly launched metal blog, Noisecreep.com."

Jason Haitkin
"Jason Haitkin, former producer of Uranium and Headbanger's Ball, also director of music videos and toured with several bands throughout the world as an interested observer and roadie. I hold degrees in communications and psychology from Widener University in Pennsylvania. I currently work in real estate."

Kaila Tailor
I hail from San Diego, CA. My passion for music began at a young age, maybe 8. My father has a massive record collection, and I used to love going through them and playing one after the other. Even now, I listen to a record occasionally just to hear the hisses and crackles. I was a Deadhead, Phishead, Metalhead… I love music, especially live music.

Juan Garcia
Hello. My name is Juan Garcia. I’m 23 years old and live in Marion, IN. I've been playing the guitar for almost six years. Currently I play in a local band called LateNightJam. Other members of the band include Kyle Beck (Lead Guitar), Todd Bradley (Drums), and TJ Williams (Bass).

MUSIC AS THERAPY:

Sean McCormick
What is better for a bad mood - being able to sit in your car and yell with an angry song or sitting and talking to a counselor?

Jason Haitkin
Music can be good for therapy for different reasons for different people. For some people music can remind them of a happy experience when they're feeling down, it can raise their spirits through upbeat rhythms. It can also distract them from whatever problems are bothering them.
Meredith Hamons
Music stimulates the whole brain, which makes it uniquely effective for therapy. Many other attributes of music make it an ideal approach for therapy, such as rhythm which is beneficial for synchronizing and coordinating motor movements, its repetitive nature, which makes it ideal for learning (music serves as a background for learning),as well as the way music can touch people emotionally and be an effective and less threatening vehicle for self-expression.

Amy Sciarretto
I think music has a universal healing quality. When you listen to music, there is usually something in the sound or lyrics than can be a comfort or make you feel like someone else has been where you are, gets it, understands or endured it. Music is therapy for the person who makes the music and the person who listens to it, and it can be interpreted in different ways, so it means different things to different people and that's beautiful!

Kaila Tailor
When those headphones are plugged in, there is just me and the music. The day, good or bad, is simplified. For me, music is isolating, understanding, and without judgment. It allows me to detach myself from everything and take a breath of new air. At the end of a song, I may have found peace, a burst of creativity, and/or comfort.

Juan Garcia
I feel that a lot of musicians have been through a lot in their lives, and it's easy to connect with them, on a personal level, when their lyrics relate to the situation you're experiencing. Knowing you're not the only one who's been in that that type of situation makes it easier to cope with your problems.

APPROACHES AND THEORIES OF MUSIC THERAPY:

Meredith Hamons
There are many different approaches and theories of music therapy. Nordoff-Robbins technique focuses on improvisation and allowing the client to lead. Neurological and biological music therapy focuses on the scientific aspects of music and how music affects parts of the body and the brain, to name a few.

Jason Haitkin
I'm not personally familiar with any specific approach, but sometimes exercising while listening to music can be doubly therapeutic because you get the rush of endorphins from the exercise, but you also get the positive feeling of enjoying the music you love. Just listening to music sometimes can relax your feelings and help take the focus off your problems.

Kaila Tailor
If I am studying or reading, I prefer instrumental music for better concentration, and if I am working in the office I like to listen to metal or something more upbeat to help me stayed focused at my desk. I don’t know any specific approaches, but it seems that for every emotion there is a song, for every movement there is rhythm.

Juan Garcia
Well you can go into a quiet room, and put on your favorite music, or you can pick up whatever instrument you play and jam it with as much feeling and emotion you're experiencing. Guaranteed to feel better after a good jam session!!

THE FUTURE OF MUSIC THERAPY:

Meredith Hamons
I don’t think anyone can accurately predict the future; however, the field of music therapy is definitely growing as more and more people become aware of how effective it can be.

A ROUND OF MUSIC THERAPY FOR EVERYONE:

Jason Haitkin
In my opinion music therapy is only helpful to those who love music. If music is just something that has no value to you, and you just listen to whatever is on, then the most it can do for you is remind you of something. But there are other forms of therapy that would probably be more effective in this aspect.

Sean McCormick
It depends on how into music the individual is.

Juan Garcia
I believe it can be, if you truly enjoy music and all aspects of it!!

MUSIC ENHANCEMENTS FOR HUMANS:

Jason Haitkin
...I think it depends on how much you let it. Any therapy will ultimately fall onto the shoulders of the person seeking the therapy in the first place, and if there is no inherent love of music in the first place the therapy is useless.

Amy Sciarretto
Each person's experience with music is different than the next. You can take away something different than the person next to you, and music is also created through notes and that is something that a person has to use cognitive skills to understand...

Meredith Hamons
Yes! Music definitely enhances our abilities to learn, cope and develop across a wide spectrum of areas.

Amy Sciarretto
... I definitely believe there is a connection between music and our movement. Music is made of beats and beats inspire the toe to tap, the blood to flow, the bones/muscles to move. A lot of these movements are emotionally driven, too, and can be dictated by music!

Jason Haitkin
Coordination, rhythm, memory, writing all essential useful tools for communication and accomplishing goals and tasks which are present throughout music structure.

Kaila Tailor
Absolutely! Music can enhance a wide array of things! I believe it even enhances our ability to communicate and critically think.

Juan Garcia
I believe it makes whatever you're doing more enjoyable. As far as human skills and processes, like making you drive faster or slower.... I think if a person feels like they want to drive fast, then they're going to drive fast! If they want to drive slowly, then they're going to drive slowly! I don’t think music has anything to do with it. But that’s my own personal opinion!

Sean McCormick
Sometimes it helps to listen to something at work.

Amy Sciarretto
Pleasure, art, comfort, entertainment. You can experience different emotions EVERY time you listen to a piece of music.

Jason Haitkin
I believe it varies from person to person. But I believe music to be an art form, and therefore it is meant to be of entertaining value first and foremost.

Kaila Tailor
Personal enjoyment, group entertainment, comfort, artistic expression…

Sean McCormick
Anything could be applied, at least used as background most of the time.

Juan Garcia
Everything! From the people you have in your group, to the breakdown in a song.

REASONS TO LISTEN:

Sean McCormick
Some people have new TV shows they like to watch; some don’t. I listen to music.

Amy Sciarretto
Whatever feels good, I listen to. Mostly rock and hard rock, but if something lightweight or popular tickles my ears, sure, I listen to it. I am much more open minded about music than when I was young and wanted the music I loved to be mine and would be disappointed when "everyone" else would discover it, latch on and make it feel a little less mine. I listen to music because I always like to hear something in the background. Because it feels good. Because it makes my adrenaline flow and either stimulates or supplements or enhances my mood, even if it's not a good mood that I am in.

Jason Haitkin
I listen to music, because I enjoy it. I like the way it makes me feel. I mostly listen to heavy metal because it offers a different type of energy that is more primal and angry, which I like to tap into and feel in touch with my inner caveman so to speak.

Kaila Tailor
It feels good. I prefer to have something playing in the background at home, in the car, at work, and most places. I don’t sit in silence very often.

Juan Garcia
I listen to music, because I love everything about music, and it makes me feel good!! I listen to about everything - from bluegrass to Hip Hop. About 85% of the time you'll catch me listening to my favorite band Ekoostik Hookah.

"THE SILENCE IN A SONG IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE MUSIC."

Sean McCormick
Agreed to an extent. On beat and not long – perfect. Otherwise, don’t keep us waiting on something forever.

Amy Sciarretto
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Every PART of a song, even the silence, gets you to the next part. It can be a bridge.

Jason Haitkin
I think it’s ambiguous and too open to interpretation. If what you want to say is that what a band chooses not to do in a song is just as important as what they choose to do, then just say that.

Juan Garcia
I believe this statement is a true statement! When a band is playing and it get's quiet, then they come back into a killer jam. That gives me goose bumps!! The silence makes you anticipate what’s going to happen next! That’s the good thing about music! You never know what’s going to happen next!!

"FOR THE MUSICIAN IT'S MORE THAN A PERFORMANCE... FOR THE LISTENER IT'S MORE THAN A SONG... IT'S A WAY OF LIFE, A LANGUAGE WITH NO BARRIERS, NO CODE TO DECIPHER."

Sean McCormick
Listen if you want. Create if you feel. Everyone has a different degree on which they "get into it". You'll rarely talk someone into liking something more...let it be and it will fall into place.

Amy Sciarretto
100% wholeheartedly agree!

Jason Haitkin
Sounds good. Pass the whiskey and turn up the Slayer!

Kaila Tailor
Yes, I agree.

Juan Garcia
I find this statement to be very true!! For a performer his performance is a short glimpse of his true emotions, and for the listener, a song may be something he's using as a scapegoat from his problems! So like you said it's more than a performance or a song. It's a way of life! Music is life!!
A SONG FOR GUARANTEED SMILE:

Sean McCormick
“One Week” - Barenaked Ladies

Amy Sciarretto
“That's Amore.” LOVE IT!

Jason Haitkin
Crotchduster - "Mammal Sauce" & Bloodhound Gang - "I hope you die."

Kaila Tailor
“The Bantam Cock” by John Thackray

Juan Garcia
Ekoostik Hookah's "Good Time" (Mary Go Round.) It makes me think of a big party where everyone you know is at, and everyone is having a Good Time, like a little kid on a Mary Go Round!

A SONG WITH A DEFINITE TEAR:

Amy Sciarretto
Aimee Mann's "Wise Up"

Jason Haitkin
Alice in Chains (unplugged) - "Down in a Hole"

Kaila Tailor
Stevie Wonder’s “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”

Juan Garcia
"Goodbye To Romance" by Ozzy Osborne. It makes me think of a good friend of mine who passed away last year.

NAME YOUR SONG:

Amy Sciarretto
I'd write it myself, first of all. As for the title, it'd be I Heart You.

Sean McCormick
Life's life, then you Die.

Kaila Tailor
I would use the Rolling Stones “Get Off My Cloud”.

Jason Haitkin
"My Way" - Frank Sinatra (written 50 years ago)

Juan Garcia
"Through The Eye's Of A Good Man"

RECOGNITION:

Meredith Hamons
Thank you so much for your interest in the profession of music therapy. I hope my answers increase your understanding of this exciting field. Unfortunately I am unable to address these last few questions as they are of a more personal nature, but I wish you the best of luck with your article. Also, I would highly recommend checking out the American Music Therapy Association’s website and their FAQ for more information. www.musictherapy.org