Big

ISSUE 10 JUNE 2009

MUSIC, MIND
AND MEDICINE

Picture
BRINGING CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE INTO THE CLASSROOM

Moved
by music
How music affects
mind and body

■ Music and emotions

■ Evolution of music
FREE ■ Music and medicine
Alexandru/Shutterstock

r
resource fo
teachers ■ Creativity and music
Big
Picture

Big Picture on music

Magical mystery tour
It is hard to imagine a world without music. Most of us
hear some form of music every day. It is a popular leisure
activity and it accompanies many of the most significant
points of our lives: our infancy, our marriages, our
funerals. It is a powerful trigger of emotional memories.
Often, we can tell the story of our lives in songs
and music.
Even so, music remains one of life’s great mysteries.
How can it have such a powerful impact on us? What
exactly is it for? When in human history did it appear
and why? Do other animals experience music?
And what exactly is music anyway?

Music always involves combinations of pitch, timbre, rhythm, loudness, tempo, melody and harmony.
It’s a These elements can be combined to create a huge diversity of music – from African drumming to
Johann Sebastian Bach, Inuit throat singing to Razorlight.
beautiful
noise TONE:
A regular sound of
distinct pitch; musical
OCTAVE:
Musical interval of eight
HARMONY:
Combining notes of
different pitches to
full tones (e.g. from C
systems are based on to the C above it), over create new sounds
a discrete set of tones LOUDNESS:
which pitch frequency
halves or doubles The volume
PITCH: of sound.
o
Dependent on
D
How high or low
tthe amplitude of
a note is. Linked
a sound wave
to the frequency
of a sound wave

TIMBRE: TEMPO:
Why the same The speed
note on a at which
trombone a piece of
sounds different music is
to one played played
on a violin

RHYTHM: MELODY:
The organisation A pleasing
of musical arrangement
stresses of notes
over time

Harmony in my head SOUND AND VISION

In the inner ear, the cochlea converts
sound waves into the language of the
brain: nerve impulses. Within the organ
of Corti, tiny hair cells in the basilar
membrane detect sound vibrations.
Inner hair cells convert mechanical
stimulation to an electrical signal.
Their deformation opens ion channels,
triggering a series of cellular events that
ultimately generates an action potential
in the auditory nerve.
Because of the structure of the
2 Big Picture 10: Music, Mind and Medicine
basilar membrane, different parts of the The sound journey from ear to brain is
cochlea respond to sounds of different summarised at Big Picture Online.
pitch. At one end the membrane See how the cochlea is beautifully
is narrow and stiff and vibrates in structured to detect sound and
response to high pitches. The other transmit information to the brain.
end is wider and more flexible, The website also includes an
responding to deeper sounds. audio library providing auditory
But information doesn’t just flow one material to complement
the articles in this issue.
way. The brain can send signals that ON THE WEB
sharpen up responses of hair cells, so
we can concentrate on specific aspects
of sound in complex environments.
www.wellcome.ac.uk/
bigpicture/music
 Wired for sound
The brain has a complex interconnected
set of pathways for processing music.
Brain imaging shows that music
perception involves a wide range of brain
regions. Many are specialised: music
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Always on my mind Talking loud and clear

Our brains recognise octaves as special. How are music and also blurs the boundaries.
‘Happy Birthday’ is a well-known tune, written surprisingly recently (technically, language related? Similarly, the idea that
it is still in copyright). As with all songs, if its notes are all raised by an octave there are separate music-
(or multiple octaves) it remains instantly recognisable. A much smaller shift in Music and language have processing areas in the
frequency, if it does not match an octave, has a much more dramatic impact on much in common. Both brain has been challenged.
melody and makes the tune harder to spot. depend upon the brain’s Localised brain damage
Remarkably, our brains have an innate ability to spot the fact that notes an perception of structured can affect specific aspects
octave apart are the same. This capacity is even present in unborn infants, whose sound input. Links between of music perception, but
heart rate changes when they experience novel sounds. An octave shift, though, the two were noted by often disrupts both music
has a relatively small effect on heart rate. the ancient Greeks, and and language. An emerging
Perhaps even more remarkably, other primates share this ability. Rhesus Charles Darwin speculated idea is that there are brain
monkeys trained to distinguish ‘same’ from ‘different’ can spot the similarity about how they might be networks and areas for
between different versions of ‘Happy Birthday’ (and other simple songs) but only related. During the 20th music that overlap with, but
when they are played an octave apart. century, attention focused are not identical to, those
mainly on their differences, used in language.
with the idea that the brain So which came first? Did
had specific ‘modules’ for early humans chat or sing
decoding music, distinct round the campfire? One
from those that handled possibility is that rhythm
language. and early motherese-like
In reality, the lines communication provided
A Tibetan musical score from a Buddhist monastic ritual, circa late 18th–19th century.
between language and a common foundation
Abacab music are not always clear for both language and
Early music was passed on from when a single line represented a cut. ‘Talking drums’, used music. The two diverged
person to person. Oral tradition fixed tone and pitch varied above to send messages in parts as language became
remains the norm in many regions, or below this by set distances. of Africa, and the the principal tool of
including most of Africa. Generally, By the 12th century, staves had whistling languages communication,
though, some form of musical four lines with pitches on alternate of Africa, Asia and with well-defined
notation is used. spaces and lines. We now have South America structures and rules.
The ancient Greeks wrote five. resemble music but Music set off in a
melodies as lines of letters. But it In Japanese music there is no convey information different direction. Yet
wasn’t until eighth-century Church consensus notation because the as ‘normal’ their common ancestry
music that changes in pitches music is so diverse. The notation languages do. Baby lives on in the shared
were shown: diagonal lines for the Shakuhachi bamboo flutes talk (the cooing processing pathways
indicated rises or falls in the tune. is pictorial: a symbol for each note intonation of in our brains.
Photodisc

More precise changes in pitch with dots and lines for lengths and ‘motherese’
An African
were written in the tenth century, intonation. or ‘parentese’) ‘talking drum’.

JUNE 2009 3
Big
Picture

In the mood
The power of music is extraordinary. It can inspire, excite and influencee our mood
profoundly. It can send chills down our spines and raise the hairs on the
e back of
our necks.
How can something as simple as a coordinated set of noises have such ch
dramatic impacts on our mind and body?
dify
More controversially, perhaps, music is often used deliberately to modify
human behaviour – building on a long history of manipulation by music..

Second Emotions are associated with activity

ctivity
in a network of brain structures. Music
that emotion is very good at stimulating activity in
these areas – a sign of the tremendous
Emotion is fundamental emotional impact of music.
to the musical experience. Interestingly, emotional reactions
seem to be an innate aspect of music
perception. Dissonance, combinations
of notes that clash with one another, is
distressing. The phenomenon is often
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change from dissonant to consonant
tones is appreciated as a resolution of
tension in diverse cultures from Hindu
to Western.
The ‘Devil’s interval’ – two notes three
tones apart (e.g. a C and an F sharp),
played simultaneously or one after another
All the worst tunes: the ‘Devil's interval’ inspires dread. – automatically induces a feeling of dread.
In medieval times it was considered evil
and banned. More recently, it has been
a staple of horror films and heavy metal
(though it also appears in West Side Story
and the theme to The Simpsons).
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memories. In particular, one region of the
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music and ‘autobiographical’ memories
(those most relevant to us as individuals).
Listening to a song heard on a first date
can thus call up powerful recollections of
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Interestingly, this is one of the last
areas to be lost in Alzheimer’s disease,
suggesting that music could help people
to retrieve personal memories even at late
stages of disease.

Stirring, martial music may stimulate the My generation

Heartbeat
Music can trigger powerful
physiological responses.
Music can elicit a remarkable range of
emotions, from elation to the deepest
sorrow. As well as provoking a mental
response, it also has characteristic
effects on the body.
Music can give us the ‘thrills’, ‘chills’ and
‘shivers’. Heart rate and skin conductance
may change. The hairs on the back of our
neck (and elsewhere) really do stand up.
These effects arise from the action
of hormones, triggered by signals from
structures such as the hypothalamus.
NBCUPHOTOBANK/Rex Features
release of adrenaline; dance music can
trigger a burst of endorphins, associated A 2003 study found that sopranos tended
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an internal representation of how the androgens in men) are responsible for both
body ‘feels’. Music thus conveys a voice characteristics and longevity.
sensation that affects our whole body.
Might music even affect our immune
function? The nervous, endocrine and
immune systems are more connected
than once thought, so this is
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affect levels of the stress hormone
cortisol, which can influence the
immune system.

High-flying adored:
Big in Japan: Lesley Garrett,
Luciano Pavarotti, bass. soprano.

4 Big Picture 10: Music, Mind and Medicine

 Good
vibrations
What is quality music?

People from diverse cultures We are the world: diverse musical forms
from around the world.

Everett Collection/Rex Features

agree that certain pairs of notes
are harmonious (consonant) or
disharmonious (dissonant). The
discord comes from interfering
vibrations of the ear’s basilar
membrane, which lead to
conflicting patterns of activity in Clockwise from
the auditory nerve. top: Don Bayley/
iStockphoto, Nancy
Psycho killer: film scores can evoke powerful emotions. But most musical preferences Louie/iStockphoto,
are learned. They change over Lew Zimmerman/
history – sounds dissonant to iStockphoto, Neal

You shook As any Hollywood

soundtrack composer
medieval audiences might go
unnoticed today. And they vary
Preston/Corbis

been thought worth asking:

me all knows, music can be
used to manipulate
between cultures. Melodies that
inspire sadness in one country
Western classical music was
seen as innately superior. Colonial
night long people’s state of mind. may leave people from another
unmoved.
occupations imposed attitudes
and culture as well as armies.

Luis Sandovai Mandujano/iStockphoto

What accounts for individual Even today, classical music retains
Samuel Barber’s ‘Adagio for Strings’ has graced David
taste in music? Some research an association with social and
Lynch’s The Elephant Man, Oliver Stone’s Platoon and Jean-
has found a link between music cultural elites.
Pierre Jeunet’s Amélie. In 2004, listeners to Radio 4’s Today
taste and particular personality Even so, what is seen
programme voted it the saddest classical piece ever written.
traits (see below). We will also as ‘quality’ shifts over time;
A dance version by William Orbit (remixed by Ferry Corsten)
naturally be influenced by the composers come in and out
was a top hit in 1999.
music we experience as we grow of fashion. Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of
Soundtracks are vital to a film experience, tugging at the
up – both the prevailing musical Spring’ sparked a riot when first
heartstrings, stirring the soul or scaring the living daylights out
culture and the specific music our performed in 1913 yet is now
of us (think Jaws, Psycho). Film score composers are emulating
families listen to. Even factors such widely recognised as a classic.
classical composers, who used music to elicit an emotional
as socioeconomic status may be Moreover, there is a greater
response, from sombre requiems to Beethoven’s uplifting
significant (jazz tends to be more willingness to accept
‘Ode to Joy’.
popular among the well-off). musical plurality – that
Interestingly, even cognitive scientists exploit this
Our tastes will tend to change no one musical form is
phenomenon, using doom-laden works by Prokofiev to induce
over time. With experience, we ‘better’ than another.
low mood in experimental subjects.
may begin to enjoy more complex
More generally, bland, relaxing music (‘elevator music’ or
musical pieces. But we also lose
‘muzak’) is used in public places as a calming influence (and to
our initial range of hearing.
encourage customers to browse longer). In 2002, by contrast,
Changes to the brain can
loud classical music was introduced at Copenhagen’s main
radically affect musical tastes.
railway station to discourage drug dealers and sex workers.
Classical music lovers with
In 1989, loud music was also used during ‘Operation Nifty
dementia, for example, have
Package’, the US Government’s attempt to capture General
been known suddenly to acquire
Noriega, a military dictator in Panama. Loud music was blasted
a taste for pop music.
at the Vatican diplomatic mission where he had taken refuge.
So what about musical
Music has been used on captives by US forces, for example at
quality? A century ago the
Guantánamo Bay and in Iraq.
question would not have

Buy buy baby

Inevitably, business has also wised up to the
power of music. ‘Audio architects’ develop Like a rolling stone
L
soundtracks for shops that are as much
part of the brand as their visual identity. A global study of 36 000 people found a range
Sports events have abandoned of associations between personality traits and
marching bands in favour of musical tastes – some of them quite surprising.
booming popular music. O
Opera lovers tend to have high self-esteem
Music affects how fast and are creative and gentle; country and western
people drive and how dev
devotees are typically hard-working and outgoing;
they exercise in the gym. heavy metal fans tend to have low self-esteem
he
Music volume affects an are not so hard-working, but are gentle.
and
beer consumption. Style of Conversely, song choice can provide clues
Milan Darula/
iStockphoto

music can even affect wine Andy Hill/iStockphoto t personality. In one study, strangers were
to
purchases: when German music asked to judge what people were like (extrovert,
was played in an off-licence, adventurous, melancholic, etc.) based on a CD of their favourite
shoppers were more likely to choose music or other clues. The assessments based on the CD were
German wines, while French music significantly better matches than those drawn from looks, clothes
led them to prefer French tipples. or taste in films.

JUNE 2009 5
Big
Picture

Things can only get better

What does it take to be a good musician? Is it all down to natural
talent or can everyone become a virtuoso, given the chance?
And once learned, do musical skills help us in any other way?
Perhaps they could be applied to help heal the sick. For centuries
music was seen as integral to the healing arts. Now, it is beginning to
make a comeback – though hard evidence of patient benefits is scant.

Day after day I can

Is musical ability something you are make
born with or does it come with practice?
you feel
Could anyone, given the opportunity, become a concert
pianist or are there a select few with the potential to excel?
A would-be musician must learn a new set of skills: generic
good
skills such as reading music and specific skills associated with What role is there
a chosen instrument. Across many areas of human endeavour, for music in modern
after initial training, further improvements tend to be gradual, A book of popular songs produced by
medicine? Alka-Seltzer in 1937.
peaking after many years’ effort – exactly when depending on
the skill being learned. Typically, performance then declines Music has been marginalised in dementia, music reduces disruptive
slightly in later life. So an elite performer will generally take at medicine. Now, though, many behaviour at the time but has little
least a decade – and often much longer – to reach their peak. doctors are arguing for its wider long-term impact.
Enhanced skills seem to depend on deliberate practice – therapeutic use. That said, absence of evidence is
repeatedly attempting specified tasks, assessing performance Not surprisingly, given its power not the same as evidence of absence
and striving for improvement. The aim is to prevent playing to influence mood and behaviour, – it may just be that the right studies
becoming ‘automated’ – mastered to the point that it no its most popular uses are for have not been done to assess a
longer requires active cognitive thought. Although automation psychological and psychiatric clinically relevant effect.
is an important step in mastering an instrument, to develop disorders, as well as neurological
further a player must actively strive to enhance their conditions and pain control.
performance. So simply rehearsing a piece hundreds of times Music has proven value in situations
will not necessarily lead to improvements. likely to promote Wdn_[jo, such
Typically, reaching a level needed to win international as children’s medical and dental
competitions means devoting more than 10 000 hours to treatment (right) and cervical cancer

Mark Mortensen/iStockphoto
deliberate practice. screening. Other well-established
So is it all down to the right kind of practice? Possibly. On uses include interventions for people
the other hand, a genetic study of isolated Finnish populations with chronic pain or tinnitus and
found evidence for genes associated with musical aptitude children with migraine.
on chromosomes 4 and 8. This and other evidence suggests But the effects are often not great
that innate musical ability will vary between individuals in a and may not be long-lasting: in
population.
Shepard Sherbell/Corbis

Simply the best What does it take to be musically gifted?

Slice open the skull and a neuroanatomist could instantly

spot signs of a professional musician. Musicians typically
have an enlarged corpus callosum – the cables that pass
from one side of the brain to the other. Certain areas of
the cortex would also be well developed, particularly those
dealing with sound, motor coordination and hand–eye
coordination.
A violinist’s brain might show enhanced grey matter in
the motor areas specifically associated with the fingers of
the left hand (used for fingering). He or she might also show
greater activation in auditory areas in response to violin
tones than to trumpet tones.
There is also evidence that musicians use their brains
in a different way, engaging a more ‘analytical’ strategy
than non-musicians when listening to melodies.
Fiona Pragoff

So musicians’ brains are different. Studies are

now underway to see how the brains of musicians
@_c_
>[dZh_n$ change as they go through their training.

6 Big Picture 10: Music, Mind and Medicine

Rock me Amadeus
Does music make you smarter?
In 1998, the Governor of the US state of
Georgia, Zell Miller, decreed that all Georgian
children should be given a tape or CD of
classical music. He believed in the ‘Mozart
effect’ – that listening to classical music could
boost your brainpower.
In fact, Miller was overstating the case.
Listening to Mozart only stimulated spatial
reasoning – people got better at solving
mazes – and only for about ten minutes after
their dose of culture.
And not everyone is convinced that Mozart
is anything special. Some argue that the effect
is simply down to mood and arousal. One
study found a Mozart effect in young children
listening to pop music. It’s also been seen
in rodents navigating mazes. The biggest
I feel fine
Music has a long history in the healing arts.
Franz Mesmer (from whom we get the word mesmerise and, indirectly, hypnosis) developed a form of
therapy that aimed to improve the flow of ‘life forces’ (‘magnétisme animal’) through the body, often
using a glass harmonica in his therapies. The French King Louis XVI ordered a high-level enquiry – which
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no evidence for Mesmer’s supposed new fluid.
In ancient Greece, Apollo was the god of
both healing and music. Music was seen
to be a powerful influence over people.
It was divided into three forms:
● Phrygian: stirring, martial music
● Dorian: solemn and slow, noble
and pious
● Ionian: jolly and joyful.
The meaning of these terms has
changed somewhat since then.
Internal balance of the four bodily
humours (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm
and blood) was seen as particularly
important, an idea that survived until
modern times. Music could exert its
influence by acting on the humours.
Music was thought to be detected
in the ear by animal spirits, which
transmitted reverberations through the
body in the bloodstream. The 17th-
century German physician Athanasius
Kircher illustrated the concept by showing
how music affected vessels filled with
effect, though, has probably been on sales of
Mozart’s ‘Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major’
(K. 448).
digitalskillet/iStockphoto
Yet there is a widespread belief that music is
‘good for you’. Indeed, there is some evidence
that learning to play an instrument can
enhance abilities in other areas – the transfer
effect. For example, some mathematical
reasoning comes more easily to the musically
trained child. Other skills such as reading, Listen with mother: playing music to unborn babies.
motor coordination and conceptual reasoning
also appear to be improved by musical
education. ● In a recent study of keyhole surgery,
Despite the enthusiasm of some parents- surgeons who played a musical instrument
to-be for bombarding their babies with Mozart were significantly faster at suturing than
while in the womb, there is little evidence that those who did not.
any benefits result.
Crazy
Tarantism is a peculiar chapter in the story
of music and health.
In regions of Italy and Spain during the 16th and
17th centuries, some women periodically fell into a
stupor from which they could be roused only by music.
The condition was commonly blamed on the bite of a
spider (though not the tarantula of popular imagination).
Musicians travelled the countryside trying different
instruments and songs to rouse the ‘tarantati’. Rapid
repetitive tunes with increasing tempo would bring
patients to a dancing frenzy, often lasting several days.
Thereafter, they would spontaneously dance whenever
they heard a ‘tarantella’ (below).
Many physicians attempted to explain the condition,
drawing upon voguish theories. Today it would be
considered a mass delusion.
Many composers have drawn upon the Tarantella in
their works, and it also appeared in The Godfather and
inspired a jinx (‘Tarantallegra’) in Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets.
different kinds of fluid, representing the
different humours.
As more mechanistic views of nature
developed, the German scientist
Herman von Helmholtz linked the
physics of sounds and the anatomy of
human hearing. He proposed reasons
for perceptions of consonance and
dissonance and later showed how several
physiological factors were affected
by various aspects of music (pitch,
loudness etc.).
Music therapy has often been applied
in mental health. In the 18th century, the
singing of the castrato Farinelli reputedly
brought King Philip V of Spain out of
depression, and a daily dose of singing
kept him well until his death ten years
later. As treatments of mentally ill
people became more humane in
the late 19th century, music sometimes
formed part of therapy – either listening
or music making.
JUNE 2009 7
Big
Picture

The times they are a-changing

What is the point of music?
Perhaps the biggest mystery in music is what it is actually for. A
classical evolutionary perspective would argue that, as a seemingly
innate aspect of human behaviour, music must have some purpose
– provide some kind of survival advantage. But how would musical
ability have helped our ancient ancestors? Perhaps instead it is an
evolutionary quirk, a by-product of our advanced brains.

I heard it through with the ladies. ‘For,’ say the natives,

the grapevine
Why did music evolve?
There are two ways to explain the
evolution of music. The first, the
adaptationist view, is that music must
serve some purpose that has led to its
selection. An alternative argument is
that it has no direct purpose itself but
is a by-product of some other human
capacity (see below).
If we assume music has some survival
value, what might it be? Charles Darwin
suggested i[nkWb
i[b[Yj_ed might be at
work. Good singers or musicians might be
signalling their fitness to potential mates.
● In 1925 the anthropologist Malinowski
described a noted singer on the island of
Kiriwina: “Mokadayu, of Okopukopu, was
a famous singer. Like all of his profession
he was no less renowned for his success
‘the throat is a long passage like the wila
(vagina), and the two attract each other.’
‘A man who has a beautiful voice will like
women very much and they will like him.’”
There is some evidence to support Jump to the beat:
this idea (such as the renowned success did music unite
of pop stars at attracting mates). More early humans…
recently, symmetry – generally thought to
be a sign of ‘good genes’ – was found to
be associated with an attractive voice. On …or was it a love thing?
the other hand, music is typically a group
activity, and associated with rituals rather
than courtship.
The alternative view is that music acts
as a bonding agent and emerged as
part of the development of social groups.
Among primates, humans are intensely
social; much of our success has relied on
our ability to coordinate our actions and
communicate our state of mind to others.
A coherent collaborating group would have
been able to hunt better, see off enemies
and protect vulnerable infants.

Eat to the beat

Stephen Jay Gould popularised the idea that not all features of an organism are
necessarily adaptive (as classical Darwinian thinking would maintain). He used the analogy
of ‘spandrels’ – the spaces between the arches in cathedrals, which served no structural
function but were often filled with paintings by artists. They may have looked stunning but
they were only there because a cathedral needs arches to stop it falling down.
The writer Steven Pinker describes music as “auditory cheesecake”. We never evolved
to find cheesecake tasty – it taps into our innate fondness for energy-rich foods.

a flute player and a musician playing a triangular lyre or harp. By

She bangs the drums the time documented civilisations appear, all have well-defined
musical traditions.
When did music first appear? What of other human species? What may be a 43 000-year-old
Neanderthal flute was recently found in Slovenia, while Steven
Music is a part of essentially all human cultures,
Mithen has argued in his book The Singing Neanderthals that the
suggesting that it is very ancient and evolved early in
anatomy of their vocal systems would have allowed them to sing.
human history.
His proposal is part of a growing reassessment of Neanderthals
Early music may have relied on the human voice or
and their culture, suggesting that they were neither as brutish nor
basic percussion using natural materials. Some ancient
dim as once made out.
artefacts may have been used to generate sounds,
but the earliest unambiguously musical instrument is
probably a flute discovered in Germany, which is about Far left: An
early South
36 000 years old. American flute
Bone flutes 8000–9000 years old have been found made from a
in China and play notes in ancient Chinese musical bone. Near
left: Frieze
systems. depicting
Two 4000–5000-year-old marble statues show that well-defined dancing
musical forms had developed by the late Stone Age. They show figures.

8 Big Picture 10: Music, Mind and Medicine

 Norbert Elsele-Heln/imagebroker.net
All around the world

Don Klein/Superstock
Music, like language, shows much
regional variation.
Western music has tended to be polarised into ‘high’ and
‘low’ culture, with social elites favouring the classical
tradition. But this formal music has always coexisted
alongside informal music traditions – folk music. Towards
Above (left to right): Music from Nepal, Argentina and India.
the end of the 19th century, interest grew in European and Bottom: Two Circassian accordion players.
American folk music, with composers such as Béla Bartók
travelling widely in eastern Europe documenting songs and
incorporating traditional music into their own compositions. Pleasure and pain of heroes. Their aim was to soothe
In the UK and the USA, Cecil Sharp was influential in the and distract the patient and identify
Music plays a central role in healing with the heroes’ courage.
revival of interest in folk music, and did much to ensure that and medicine of the Circassian or
traditional music and dance was recorded for posterity. It was The roots of this rite are said to lie
Adyghe people of eastern Europe. in the treatment of Kodgeberduko,
probably Sharp’s interest that kept Morris dancing alive. A particular rite known as ‘Chapsh’
Interestingly, because many traditional songs were passed hero of the Caucasian war, who had
was used for injuries such as a bullet removed from his leg,
on from person to person without being formally written down, snakebite or bullet wounds. A violinist
they often varied from place to place. The ancient ballad with a folk tune acting
would play songs and children as anaesthetic.
‘Barbara Allan’ (mentioned by Samuel Pepys in his diaries) perform dances, often epic tales
exists in many different forms. Indeed, Cecil Sharp likened the
process to evolution by natural selection – whereby different
variants appear and those proving most popular in a particular
population thrive and are passed on.
In the 20th century, many efforts were made to capture
and document traditional music. In recent decades, a surge
of interest in ‘world music’ has seen many traditional forms
of music reach Western ears. New and old forms of music
have been combined in fusion music, including dance music
incorporating traditional sounds and modern electronic beats.
African musicians have absorbed Western instruments such
as the electric guitar, creating unique and distinctive new
forms of music.
Ozmen Ozturk

Nonetheless, creeping globalisation runs the risk of

swamping local and traditional forms of music, just as other
forms of Western culture threaten ancient ways of life.

● The song of the canyon wren is said to cascade

down the musical scale like the opening of Chopin’s
Leader of ‘subcultures’ often associated with
adolescence – the emos, goths, etc.
‘Revolutionary Étude’.
the pack Why is music so important in this
process? It seems to have a ‘special’
role, with characteristics – rhythms,
Music can be a
melodies, harmonies, sound and
powerful bonding agent.
words – that reflect the lives and
House of the rising sun Music is an individual experience. But
it also has a striking collective impact,
states of mind and body of those
who belong to the subculture.
helping to establish bonds that unite
Can animals make music?
individuals around a common identity.

Nonstock
Many species of animal – such as birds and whales – National anthems, enough to
produce sounds sharing at least some similarities to human reduce sports players to tears, can
music. Mice also sing, though at frequencies too high for inspire loyalty to a national cause.
humans to hear. Some countries have ‘national’
The highly evocative and complex sounds of humpback instruments (the bagpipes in
and blue whales are made during the mating season, Scotland, bouzouki in Greece).
suggestive of sexual selection. Humpbacks also appear to Several composers have been seen as
make feeding calls, suggesting a role for communication. personifying national values (Chopin
Sexual selection and communication also lie at the heart and Poland, Wagner and Germany).
of birdsong and gibbon song. Gibbons duet with one Particular musical forms characterise
another, and also use song to warn of approaching certain ethnic groups (reggae among
predators. African Caribbeans, soul music in
Birdsong has inspired numerous composers, old and new, African Americans) and are often a key
from Beethoven and Wagner to Pink Floyd and Kate Bush Music is central to
part of a population’s cultural heritage. youth subcultures.
(notably Olivier Messiaen). Indeed, it can trigger powerful Social identity theory suggests
emotional responses (beautifully captured that we draw upon external influences
in Keats’s ‘Ode to a Nightingale’). when developing a sense of who
Brian Kenney/Oxford Scientific

we really are – particularly during

magicinfoto/iStockphoto

The palm cockatoo is a proficient

drummer. A male will fashion a adolescence, as we begin to establish
identities independent of our families.
Emotive Images

‘drumstick’ from a twig it has broken

off a tree and, as part of a courtship Musical preferences are a way we
ritual, hold it in its foot and bang it can identify similar ‘ingroup’ members
against a hollow log. and distinguishing ourselves from
‘outgroups’. This may lead to the
JUNE 2009 9
Big
Picture

Sound of the crowd

Music may be near-universal but people’s
musical experiences may differ greatly. Some
people may struggle to perceive structures
in music that are obvious to others. Some
may experience music constantly playing
in their head while a few even ‘see’ music.
Understanding how unusual perceptions
come about can reveal much about how
the brain interprets music.

Bring the noise
Not everyone can hold a perfect
tune. Some can’t but don’t really
care, while some – tone- or tune-
deaf people – can’t actually tell
they are out of tune.
True tone deafness (or amusia) affects about
5 per cent of the population. Generally,
people with amusia cannot perceive music
normally because of an underlying deficit in
processing pitch and melody. It seems to be
linked to characteristic brain abnormalities,
including fewer ‘white matter’ connections
between different areas of the brain.
Some people with amusia still enjoy music.
For others, though, music is just a cacophony
– as one person put it, “like pots and pans
● Revolutionary icon Che Guevara may have suffered from congenital amusia.
Alvaro Leiva/age fotostock
falling on a stone floor”. Amusia may develop
after head injuries or strokes, but in most
cases people are born with it.
Perception of a bum note triggers two
characteristic types of electrical activity in the
brain. Interestingly, one of these signals is also
seen in tone-deaf people, suggesting that
their brains have spotted the discordant note
even though it does not register consciously.
Less often, people with amusia can hear
tones but cannot hear any meaning in a
sequence of notes – a melody. Others lack
only the ability to distinguish timbre. Some
specifically cannot perceive dissonant tones.
Intriguingly, these people typically have
lesions in the brain area involved in
emotional judgements.
Dr David Furness
Hairs on a sound-detecting hair cell in the inner ear.
Now you’re gone
Loss of hearing is an occupational
hazard for musicians – and a problem
for those who listen to them.
Loudspeakers and amplified music have
increased many people’s listening pleasure, but
at considerable cost. High-volume music may
be pleasurable at the time but it can store up
problems for the future.
The main problem is that sounds are detected
by physical deformation of fragile hair cells,
which can be damaged by loud sounds. The
first to go are hair cells sensing high-frequency
sounds in the first part of the cochlea.
Short-term signs of damage include ringing in
the ears (tinnitus) or temporary deafness. In the
long term, these can become permanent.
At particular risk are musicians regularly
exposed to loud music. In the early days of
rock, the dangers of loud music were not so
well appreciated, and many musicians now

suffer from impaired hearing (e.g. such as the

● A six-month-old baby from
Taiwan had epilepsy triggered
by loud music (musicogenic
epilepsy). She was particularly
sensitive to the Beatles.
Who’s Pete Townsend, who now works to raise
awareness of the dangers).
Why is loud music so appealing? There is
some evidence that loud music can stimulate
ear structures outside the hearing system –
creating a ‘physical’
‘p sensation as
well as an aural
a one. Indeed, part
● After collapsing in 2000, a 52-year-old radio
of the attraction of some
announcer recovered well but completely lost the forms of music, such as
‘shiver down the spine’ he had previously always reggae or bass-heavy
had to Rachmaninov – probably because of dance music, may lie in
damage to his ‘emotional brain’ areas. its physical impact.

I can’t get you out of my head

Imagine having a song on o as people who become deaf in middle to later
permanent play in your head. life, people with schizophrenia or some types
That is what people with of brain damage, and even as a side-effect of
musical hallucinations ha have to drug treatments. They are not always seen as
contend with. a nuisance – in one study, around a quarter of
We may all know the feeling of havinghav a song people found them pleasurable.
‘on the brain’.
brain’ But a musical hallucina
hallucination is They may arise because the brain mistakenly
different: it is just like actually hearing the song. characterises brain activity in musical
They are seen in a variety of groups, such processing areas as externally generated.
A study in Wales found that the condition
tended to affect older people with hearing
loss. They experienced all kinds of songs,
from ‘Three Blind Mice’ to ‘Don’t Cry for Me
Argentina’, though hymns were particularly
common among the religious. It appears that
songs from the past, with a deep emotional
connection, are those that bubble up in
the brain.

10 Big Picture 10: Music, Mind and Medicine


Red red whine
People with synaesthesia may experience music in radically different ways.
In most people, the auditory nerve
ferries signals from the ear’s hearing
apparatus to sound-processing areas
of the brain. In people with certain
forms of synaesthesia, however, these
connections seem to take detours. As
well as hearing music, they may also
‘see’ it or ‘taste’ it.
Sound–vision synaesthesia is relatively
common. Musical sounds generate
distinctive visual experiences. Particular
notes may be associated with specific
colours. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
is said to have had synaesthetically
coloured musical keys, while Franz
Liszt would startle orchestras by
asking: “Gentlemen, a little bluer, if you
please!” According to jazz pioneer Duke
HURT
Musicians are at risk
of a wide range of
conditions. Read
Ellington: “If Harry Carney is playing, about the dangers
D is dark blue burlap. If Johnny Hodges of tinnitus, repetitive
is playing, G becomes light blue satin.” strain injury and ‘cello
Perhaps even more remarkably, a player’s scrotum’
case recently came to light of a musician at Big Picture
with synaesthesia for musical notation. Online.
As well as seeing notes as particular
colours, she could also taste intervals
between notes (e.g. a major second
was bitter, a major sixth tasted like low-
fat cream). Interestingly, consonant tone ON THE WEB
intervals produce pleasant sensations,
dissonant ones unpleasant ones. Colour-coded keyboards developed
www.
Very strikingly, the ability to recognise Xo
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Scriabin (top) and Nikolai Rimsky-
wellcome.
musical intervals is something that has
to be learned, and so the synaesthesia
Korsakov (bottom). Rimsky-Korsakov
was a genuine synaesthete, but
ac.uk/
has ‘evolved’ along with her Scriabin’s system was an intellectual
attempt to identify the ‘natural’
bigpicture/
musical training.
colours of notes. music

● US singer Gloria Lenhoff, who has

Williams syndrome, cannot subtract five
from twelve or write her name legibly,
and has an IQ of 55, but has a repertoire
of hundreds of songs in a dozen
languages. She cannot read music but
has memorised each and every song.

● A severely deaf 86-year-old woman

had worked in the City for 40 years. After
developing tinnitus, she began to hear
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musical hallucinations and would try to
sing along with them, only complaining
when they broke up into short musical
Ian Knox

phrases (like a scratched record).

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Say hello, wave goodbye

Musical interests can fade away – or suddenly appear.

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chromosome 7, and have characteristic abnormalities in

knot of blood vessels removed from his brain. The operation was a
success but left Martino with severe amnesia. He had no memory
of his past life as a guitarist. Years later, he picked up the guitar
again and gradually revived dormant musical skills.
Car accidents and strokes can also instantly destroy someone’s
musical appreciation – or a highly specific aspect of it. Bizarrely,
some people actually gain musical obsessions and skills after brain
damage. In his book Musicophilia the neurologist Oliver Sacks
describes how a man struck by lightning developed a consuming
desire to hear and play music. He taught himself to play the piano
and now composes music.
A speculative idea is that damage to the brain is releasing (or
‘disinhibiting’) a block on musical processing in the brain. Normally,
brain structure.
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mentally disabled but with astonishing musical abilities. They
can play pieces of music almost perfectly after hearing them only
once. Musical savants are often blind and have perfect pitch.
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A, which evolved into “magnificent music, with instrument
of splendid resonance, the like of which has never been
heard on Earth before”. He worked
the tune into a violin concerto.
Michael Nicholson/Corbis

the brain dampens down music networks as it has so many other

tasks to attend to. If this inhibition is lost, music may flood
the brain.
An echo of this may be seen in people with unusual mental
abilities. Children with Williams syndrome are highly sociable
and have a natural affinity for music (though not necessarily high
ability). People with the condition have lost a set of genes on

JUNE 2009 11
Big
Picture

Making your mind up

Great composers and songwriters constantly innovate. But

Eric Gaillard/Reuters/Corbis
HultonArchive/iStockphoto
what do we know about human creativity and its application

Toby Jacobs/Lebrecht
in music?

Neal Preston/Corbis

Music & Arts/Corbis

New forms of music are often in the vanguard of social
change. Are they driving change or simply reflecting new ways
of thinking and behaving? And how much are they influencing
the way people act – perhaps in antisocial or undesirable ways?
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She blinded than others. Classical composers such as

me with science
What is this thing we call creativity
and how does it apply to music?
Artists of all forms are credited with ‘creativity’.
Although difficult to pin down precisely, it can
be seen as a mental process generating a new
idea or way of doing something, as opposed
to copying what has already been done before.
In that sense, creativity is not solely the domain
of the artist but covers all innovative thinkers –
including scientists.
All composers and songwriters are to some
degree creative, producing novel works. But
some are generally considered more innovative
Mozart, Beethoven and Johann Sebastian
Bach developed new forms of composition that
profoundly influenced those that followed. Louis
Armstrong pioneered innovations in jazz. Chuck
Berry, some argue, invented rock and roll, while
Kool Herc and others in New York created
rap music.
Do these disparate individuals have anything
in common? Some models of creativity
emphasise individual personality traits –
creative people may be more ‘complex’, in that
they can hold apparently paradoxical views in
their heads, or they may be better risk-takers,
or less worried about upsetting the status quo.
Neuroscientific perspectives emphasise the
importance of ‘divergent thinking’ – opening
up new possibilities rather than closing them
down. The prefrontal cortex, the high-level
‘thinking’ area of the brain, may be particularly
important. In a 2008 study comparing trained
musicians and matched controls, the musicians
showed greater divergent thinking and stronger
activation in this region of the brain.
Other work suggests that the ‘emotional
brain’ and dopamine-based reward pathways
are also important.
On the other hand, creativity does not operate
in a social vacuum. The musical expression
of creativity is rooted in the circumstances of
people’s lives – be it Mozart’s hothousing in
Vienna court life or rap pioneers’ urban
New York. Igor Stravinsky, arguably the
most influential classical composer of the
20th century, was part of a broader
‘modernist’ movement.

You drive me crazy A commonly hypothesised cause is bipolar

Musical geniuses: are they all mad?
An ability to see the world differently is a
feature of both the highly creative and the
mentally ill. Is creative genius one step
from madness?
Anecdotally, there is a fine history of
odd behaviour among musical geniuses.
Mozart was renowned for his eccentricity
(some suggest he had Tourette syndrome).
disorder (manic depression), where individuals
experience alternating periods of depression
and intense highs. The young Rossini was
astonishingly productive, writing 39 operas by
the age of 37 (but none thereafter), possibly
driven by mania. German composer Robert
Schumann attempted suicide and spent his
last two years confined to a mental institution
(at his own request).
Oddly, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
have a genetic component. Why are risk genes
not eliminated? One possible explanation is
that ‘mild’ forms, associated with enhanced
creativity, actually improve reproductive
success. A recent study of UK poets and visual
artists provided some support for this idea.
Corbis

Creative people are more likely to act outside

conventional norms of behaviour. On some
measures of ‘abnormality’, they rate as highly Ravel may have had an unusual form of dementia
affecting the frontal lobe of his brain, which could have
as people with schizophrenia. Ideally, they can influenced his compositions. People with this disorder
channel this instinctive non-conformity towards have a tendency to repeat acts over and over, which
positive ends. Unfortunately, with no suitable could account for the repetitive style of his most famous
work, ‘Boléro’). Curiously, Anne Adams, a scientist who
outlet, or when swamped with negative also had a form of dementia affecting one part of her
emotions, these ways of thinking can become brain, was overtaken by an urge to produce visual art,
highly damaging. including representations of music in paint, and became
obsessed with Ravel.

Let’s talk about sex

Martyn Goodacre

According to a recent study, the average US adolescent hears around

84 references to substance use (mostly positive) every day in music
(depending on what type of music they listen to). In 279 of 2005’s
Nikada/iStockphoto

popular US songs, more than a third contained references to sexual

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. A study found musicians
less likely to commit suicide than painters,
writers or sculptors.
activity (often degrading sex references). In this and another US study,
published in February 2009, adolescents’ sexual behaviour appeared
to be strongly influenced by their exposure to sexual lyrics.

12 Big Picture 10: Music, Mind and Medicine

 Rhythm
is a
dancer
Music is commonly accompanied by
dance – indeed, the two may have
evolved together.
Music and dance often go hand in hand and
it seems likely that their origins are closely
entwined. The brain’s locomotion systems
and auditory systems clearly interact. When
we hear a sudden noise, we may blink or
jump without intending to (the acoustic startle
response), which involves pathways running
directly from the ear to the spinal systems
controlling movement. Of relevance to music,
babies listening to six-beat rhythms can
perceive it as a march (three pairs of beats) or
a waltz (two sets of three) depending on how
they are bounced on someone’s knee.
Dance is often associated with rituals and
plays an important social role. An attractive
theory is that dance, like music, evolved to
strengthen social groups. Music and dance
would have provided a mechanism to reinforce
group identity – and to impress potential
enemies.
Later, music and dance were appropriated
by ruling elites to reinforce social structures
and promote conformism. Religious
movements in particular have used music and
dance as a form of group identity – from the
Kick over
the statues
Music has been used both to
suppress and to promote
dissension.
130 aastat eesti laulupidusid
● In China in the 1940s,
Communist authorities launched
a huge campaign using revolutionary
songs based on traditional folk
music to educate the illiterate
masses on Party goals.
Frédéric Soltan/Sygma/Corbis
Lesson of Kathak, a classical Indian dance.
hymns of Christianity, the Gospel music of Nataraja. A version of ritualistic dance
Southern Baptism to the Islamic adhan (call to survives today in the form of South Indian
prayer). Music has a special place in Tibetan Classical Dance.
Buddhism. Monks use music to recite sacred
texts and at various festivals.
● In The Jungle Book’s ‘I Wanna Be Like
Dance has fared less well, suffering You’, the orang-utan ‘king of the swingers’
from its association with pagan rituals and
King Louie wanted to know the secret of fire:
entertainment. Even so, it remains at the “Give me the power of man’s red flower”.
heart of many religions, including strands of Ironically, the syncopated ape and his cronies
Christianity and Islam. In Hinduism, the entire may already have had a key human attribute
universe is thought to have been conjured up – the ability to sing and dance together.
through the dance of the Supreme Dancer,
Dictators have been quick to apply music
to social control. Rousing anthems may be
Like the written word, song can
communicate powerful ideas, but can
used to cohere populations. And anything
seen as vaguely subversive has rapidly
also unite groups and appeal to deep
emotional forces in a way that books
been banned. Nazi Germany had firm cannot. Evolution has crafted our brains to
guidelines on the type of music that could be especially predisposed to music – and
be performed. Wagner, Beethoven and performers tap into this primeval instinct to
Bruckner were in; Mendelssohn, Mahler inspire, influence and inflame.
and Schoenberg (all Jewish) were out.
Conversely, it has also been a rallying
call for dissenters. Folk music has often
been a medium for commentary on social
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‘We Shall Overcome’ became strongly
associated with the US Civil Rights
Movement.
‘We Shall Overcome’ was also heard in
Europe during the collapse of the Soviet
Bloc. Particularly striking was the ‘Singing
Revolution’ of Estonia, marked by public
Left: A Soviet-era song festival poster, used in the
singing of patriotic songs, forbidden under 2006 documentary The Singing Revolution. Above:
Soviet rule. Aretha Franklin and Martin Luther King.
THE Are bands corrupting the young by coding messages into
their songs? Big Picture Online looks at the odd history
MESSAGE of ‘backmasking’ – messages supposedly audible when
songs are played backwards.
www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/music ON THE WEB
JUNE 2009 13
Big
Picture
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their personal interests and perceptions of music’s wider role – and to share with us their ‘desert island disc’.
Adrian North
What do you do?
I’m a music psychologist and Director
of Psychology at Heriot–Watt University,
Edinburgh.
How did you first get into music?
I started playing the guitar at age ten and still play now, although I
am absolutely terrible! A career as a musician was never
a possibility.
What part does music play in your life?
While lots of music psychologists study the process of making
music, I examine the listeners’ point of view. One thing I’m
exploring at the moment is the possible negative effects of rap
and heavy rock music on young people. I also research the use of
music in commercial environments such as restaurants and shops,
which is a multimillion-dollar worldwide industry.
My research means that I have become sensitised to the music
that we hear around us, and I’ve realised how prevalent music is
in our everyday lives. Also, I’m sure I’ll be monitoring what my son
listens to when he’s older!
Who has been the greatest musical influence
on you?
It has to be the Beatles: clearly the best band in the world! They
have wonderful melodies combined with wonderful musicianship
and wonderful lyrics. There’s also the cultural aspects: they were at
the forefront of the change that showed pop music could be art.
Why do we have music?
It’s clear that people use music as a badge of identity, but they also
use it as a medicine – dosing themselves throughout the day to
get what they want from a situation. Just think of the kind of music
used in gyms.
iPods and other technology are changing the way we use music.
When I was doing my A levels I’d walk around college with a bag
full of cassettes, which still only covered a tiny proportion of my
music collection. Now, people can take their entire collections with
them. For many young people today, listening to music is a much
more throwaway experience. There will be times when you really
get into the music, but sometimes it’s just sonic wallpaper, on in
the background.
What’s your desert island disc?
It has to be the Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour, the most tuneful
of the lot.
14 Big Picture 10: Music, Mind and Medicine
Troi ‘DJ Chinaman’ Lee
What do you do?
I’m a DJ and events organiser who was
born deaf. I founded www.deafrave.com.
How did you first get into music?
When I was about ten I got my first Walkman. I’d put the
headphones not over my ears, but over my hearing aids. People
would look at me strangely, but that’s how I listen to music. I went
to my first (hearing) rave when I was 17, and that really got me into
the rave scene. I found that deaf people didn’t really understand
raves though – it wasn’t in their culture.
When I was 20 I was involved with a pirate radio crew and got
my first decks. A deaf girl was having a house party and asked me
to DJ there. My cousin, a professional DJ, lived round the corner,
so I got a wheelbarrow and loaded his speakers in. It was a great
party and a turning point for my career. Afterwards, at deaf nights
in the pub, people kept asking me when the next party was. I
decided to host one for 700 and Deaf Rave was born!
What part does music play in your life?
For the last six years I’ve been putting on parties and raves for
deaf people. These events are really important as they give deaf
people a chance to get out and socialise. Nearly everyone at the
parties knows each other.
All people are welcome but I’d say around 95 per cent of people
that come are deaf. There are different levels of deafness – some
people have hearing aids or cochlear implants, but the majority
don’t. Some parts of the parties could seem strange to hearing
people, for example performers signing along to songs instead of
singing them.
Who or what has been the greatest musical
influence on you?
The people I grew up with made a massive impact. Musician-wise,
it has to be Public Enemy and Bob Marley.
What’s the point of music?
Music brings people together, and without music there’s no
energy. When I’m listening to music at home it makes me move,
makes me feel emotion. I can’t imagine life without basslines
and beats.
What’s your desert island disc?
‘Fattie Boom Boom’ by Ranking Dread, a Jamaican singer who’s
dead now. I play it everywhere I go.
 Jovana Cetkovic/iStockphoto

Oliver Burston
Jennifer Rohn

What do you do? Melodic

I’m a scientist studying the genetics of cell shape
and movement at University College London. marvels ONLINE ACTIVIT
Y

How did you first get into music? A series of student activities exploring auditory
effects has been developed to go with this
I started piano lessons when I was five years old and guitar lessons issue of Big Picture. A variety of downloads
when I was eight. I also played trombone in a band and sang in choirs. I relating to music, mind and medicine can be
had always wanted to be a musician but I was interested in science too,
found in an audio library at www.wellcome.
so it was a struggle deciding what to do at university. In the end I wasn’t
talented enough to be a professional musician, and I loved science ac.uk/bigpicture/music. Teacher and student
more. At university I fell out of music but started to get back into it when notes will guide you through exercises relating
I began working as a scientist. I’ve recently joined a band called Frank- to these mp3 files.
a-delic as the singer. We’re a bunch of ageing scientists, ex-scientists
and publishers – all in our 40s. J^[
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students will have the chance to learn about the nature
I use it a lot in work. Science is quite laborious and there’s a lot of of auditory illusion, the effect of music on our minds
manual labour in my job – the mindless moving of small amounts of and bodies, and the potential for music in medicine.
liquid from one tube to another. At those times I really appreciate music. A special homework activity lets students investigate
Music is very important to labs and it’s hard to find one where there isn’t the impact different types of music ic have
a CD player or radio on. on their mood.
wnload
The activities are all free to download
Who has been the greatest musical influence on you? and are relevant to the post-16
specifications in England,
I like all kinds of music. Playing the piano, I was raised with classical
Scotland and Wales. Everything
music, but my Dad is very eclectic. He has a huge record collection and
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loves everything: country and western, jazz, classical. I like most things
in school is available at www.
too, including pop music. The only stuff I don’t enjoy is some types of
wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/music. c.
jazz and modern music. Music has to make me want to move around.

Why do we have music?

I think it’s a way to bring us together. Other animals vocalise, birds sing. Education editor: Stephanie Forman
Editor: Ian Jones, Isinglass Consultancy Ltd
It’s all about finding a mate or warning somebody off, communicating Writers: Ian Jones, Harriet Cole
really basic emotions. I think we use music to communicate too. Illustrator: Glen McBeth
Fhe`[Yj
cWdW][h0 Jennifer Trent Staves
Advisory board: Nan Davies, Tim Griffiths, Peregrine Horden, Nigel Osborne,
What’s your desert island disc? Michael Reiss, Laurent Stewart, Michael Thaut

I’m a romantic; it would have to be Woodface by All images, unless otherwise indicated, are from Wellcome Images.
The Wellcome Trust is a charity whose mission is to foster and promote research
Crowded House. It’s not fashionable but it makes me smile! with the aim of improving human and animal health (a charity registered in England,
no. 210183). Reflecting the profound impact today’s research will have on society,
the Wellcome Trust also seeks to raise awareness of the medical, ethical and social
implications of research and promote dialogue between scientists, the public and
policy makers.

How exactly do deaf people experience music?
Hear more about Troi Lee's life and work at
Big Picture Online.
www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/music
ISSN 1745-7777
© The trustee of the Wellcome Trust 2009.
This is an open access publication and, with the exception of images and illustrations,
the content may unless otherwise stated be reproduced free of charge in any
ON THE WEB format or medium, subject to the following conditions: content must be reproduced
accurately; content must not be used in a misleading context; the Wellcome Trust
must be attributed as the original author and the title of the document specified in
the attribution.

MP-4388/7.6K/05–2009/RL

JUNE 2009 15
Big
Picture
● Music is part of all human cultures.
● It is thought to have appeared very
early in human evolution.
● Music may have appeared before
language but the relationship between
the two is uncertain.
● Early music may have involved the
human voice and rhythmic percussion
using natural materials.
● Many animals make sounds with
similarities to human music.
● The original purpose of music is not
known for sure.
● Its evolution may have been driven
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of group bonding.
● Alternatively, music may have no
adaptive value but be a by-product
of other human capacities.
● Music has a number of distinct
characteristics, such as pitch,
timbre and rhythm.
● Music is processed in the brain by
a number of interconnected areas.
● Damage to these areas can selectively
remove specific aspects of musical
appreciation.
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MUSIC, MIND
AND MEDICINE
● Music has strong connections
ons
he brain.
to the emotional areas of the
● Composers use music to
s.
manipulate listeners’ moods.
● Music was an important part
rt
ries.
of medicine for many centuries.
● Although music is now rare in
i medicine,
di i ● Music
M si is particularly
ti larl effective
effe ti att
it has been shown to be effective in establishing group social identities.
some areas.
● Musical preferences provide particularly
● Elite musical performance is primarily strong insights into individual identities.
the result of intensive practice.
● Abnormalities in musical perception
● Learning musical skills has spin-off are seen in a number of conditions.
benefits in some other areas.
● Enhanced musical appreciation and,
● Rituals involving music are an important occasionally, musical skills are seen
part of many cultures and religions. in some conditions.
● Music has been used as both a means ● Musical creativity may be associated
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with particular unconventional ways
a tool to suppress dissent. of thinking.
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