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Exploring the Healing Power of Music and the Value of Listening for its Own Sake
Classical music, an integral part of my upbringing, was always perceived as inherently valuable. From my father’s guitar practice encompassing both classical and jazz genres, which formed the backdrop of my childhood, to recorder, violin, cello, trombone, and piano lessons at my rural state school, music was omnipresent. Even an ocarina ensemble featured among after-school activities. Music, for me, was synonymous with art, and art, I believed, was the fundamental essence of life, the core purpose beyond basic necessities. This conviction led me to pursue a career first as a classical musician and subsequently as a music historian.
The Impact of Grief on Musical Appreciation
However, the unexpected loss of my father in 2019 profoundly altered my connection with music. Suddenly, listening became unbearable. It evoked too much pain, or simply irritated me, sparking anger. This experience prompted me to question the significance and purpose of music in my life. As I gradually rediscovered my appreciation for it, I began to contemplate how music, in turn, might offer solace and care.
Music and Wellbeing: A Cultural Trend
This contemplation is not unique. The potential of music to foster wellbeing and healing is currently experiencing a surge in cultural recognition. A wave of recent publications, including works by Alice Vincent, Daniel Levitin, and Renée Fleming, alongside the launch of BBC Radio 3 Unwind, underscores this focus. Radio 3 Unwind, utilizing primarily classical music, aims to “enhance wellbeing” by creating a relaxing soundscape. The station’s promotion emphasizes wellness, promising listeners an “escape from the pressures of modern life.”
Radio 3 Unwind: Programming and Presentation
Unwind features minimal spoken content and prioritizes slow musical movements and natural sounds like birdsong. Its programming consists largely of curated playlists with titles like “Mindful Mix” and “Classical Wind Down.” These selections showcase familiar choral, piano, and instrumental pieces from renowned composers such as Chopin, Purcell, and Mozart. The station also highlights contemporary compositions and works from diverse musical backgrounds.
Presenters on Unwind often possess credentials in psychology or mindfulness, and invariably employ soothing vocal delivery. Upon tuning in, one might encounter an authoritative voice encouraging contemplation of “the grandness of the natural world” against a backdrop of gentle woodwinds, majestic strings, and resonant horns, accompanied by affirmations like, “You breathe, as nature would have you breathe. You are alive.” This approach, however, feels more akin to a spa treatment than the intensity of a Shostakovich symphony.
Classical Music as a ‘Gateway Drug’
Nevertheless, the concept of mindfulness and the appeal of spas are not without merit. Any initiative that encourages new audiences to explore a particular genre of music, especially classical music, deserves consideration. Serving as a “gateway drug,” particularly for classical music, is crucial, especially in the UK where it has unfortunately acquired an undeservedly stuffy image.
To be clear, listening to Unwind can be pleasant, and engaging in breathing exercises is undoubtedly beneficial. It offers genuine relaxation.
Concerns about Devaluing Music
However, numerous activities offer relaxation, such as taking baths or using aromatherapy candles. Is music fundamentally different? The concern arises that Unwind might inadvertently devalue music, reducing its perceived worth to its functional utility. Could it foster the notion that classical music is simply bland background noise, lacking intrinsic artistic merit? Criticisms have emerged from various quarters, accusing the BBC of commercial compromise, oversimplification, soothing listeners into passivity, and relegating classical music to the category of mere “ambient” sound. These critiques underscore a renewed plea for recognizing the inherent value of music, advocating for “music for music’s sake.”
Historical Perspectives on Music’s Value
This debate is far from novel. The potentially soporific qualities of certain music have been subject to scrutiny for a long time. Historically, this has taken on political dimensions. German playwright Bertolt Brecht, for example, criticized Wagnerian Romanticism for allegedly inducing a state of stupor in listeners, thereby diminishing their critical thinking and revolutionary zeal. Conversely, there is a distinguished tradition of defending music’s intrinsic value. Figures like Theodor Adorno, the critical theorist, famously pushed this argument to its extreme in the mid-20th century. Adorno contended that popular music was inherently compromised by its commercial nature. For Adorno, “true music,” often exemplified by the challenging compositions he himself created, deliberately rejected market appeal.
The challenge with Adorno’s notion of “true music,” exemplified by the often jarring dissonances of composers like Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern, was its demanding listening experience.
Intrinsic Versus Instrumental Value of Music
I tend to concur somewhat with Adorno’s perspective. I resist the idea that music must justify its worth by being linked to external benefits, whether financial gain, enhanced focus and productivity, or improved health. Shouldn’t music be valued simply for its own sake?
The Undeniable Health Benefits of Music
Yet, acknowledging the apparent health benefits of listening to and performing music is essential. Consider musician and broadcaster Clemency Burton-Hill’s poignant BBC documentary, “My Brain: After the Rupture,” which chronicles her recovery from a severe brain hemorrhage in 2020 that severely impacted her speech centers. Neurologists propose that musical training can increase the likelihood of language functions being distributed across both hemispheres of the brain, potentially explaining the accelerated recovery of her speech.
While this is a dramatic case, Daniel Levitin, in “Music as Medicine,” persuasively argues for music’s therapeutic potential in addressing conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and pain management. He points to the role of music in ancient shamanic healing rituals, underscoring the long-standing recognition of music’s properties across cultures. We all instinctively utilize music for self-regulation. “Most people know what music to choose when they aim to maintain or alter their mood state,” he observes.
For Levitin, music is not external, a tool to optimize health. It is demonstrably interwoven within the brain and deeply ingrained in our fundamental human experiences, permeating all aspects of attention. “Music lives inside each of us who listen,” he asserts.
Alice Vincent, previously a pop music journalist, whose book recounts her return to music following her young son’s serious illness, believes music’s power stems from its capacity to create feelings of recognition and understanding. “Ultimately, that’s the most fundamental form of therapy one could desire,” she explains. Having spent her early career navigating the male-dominated hierarchies of music journalism, Vincent rediscovered music by redefining it as something far broader: encompassing resonance, reverberation, and shared experience.
“I now derive immense joy from singing nursery rhymes with groups of women and their young children in community libraries. From a traditional, patriarchal pop music perspective, this may not be considered ‘cool,’ but it fosters community and resonance. It cultivates a powerful sense of shared identity.”
My personal reconnection with music following my father’s passing involved discovering joy in creative exploration. Experimenting, improvising, playing spontaneously on the piano, and finding satisfaction in incremental progress became crucial. My early exposure to music through school lessons was my “gateway drug” to classical music; for others, the initial motivation might stem from seeking relief from stress.
Finding Common Ground: The Essential Role of Music in Society
The “art-for-art’s-sake” advocates and the “music-for-healing” proponents find common ground in recognizing society’s diminished appreciation for music’s importance. The UK has witnessed a significant decline in arts subject enrollment among sixth-form students over the past decade, influenced by governmental emphasis on STEM fields. However, music is not merely an optional addition to a life dominated by science, technology, and economics. It is, in fact, an integral element, deeply interwoven into the fabric of our existence. We are inherently auditory beings, interconnected through sound and resonance.