When Language is Blocked, Music May Offer Detour
A therapy of singing and gestures has Tripp Black, 9, speaking at last.I seem to come across stories such as this one every few weeks. I love these news stories, because it strikes me that, in the grand scheme of things, music is so often seen as some soft, frivolous luxury that may be beautiful but certainly doesn’t deserve much serious focus…or funding. Students these days should really be focusing on important subjects, like hard sciences or mathematics. Or at least that’s what you read every day from writers like Thomas Friedman. I’m not saying that he’s wrong—in fact, I’m pretty certain that it would serve the average student well to take more math and science classes.
But let us not dismiss music. Particularly now that every few weeks there seems to be a new (scientific) study showing that music has all sorts of powers. As outlined in the story above, music can help autistic children learn how to speak. Music may help hospitalized patients heal more quickly. Music can do wonders for Alzheimer’s patients, causing them to sing along or dance (particularly if it’s music that dates from their formative years). Music can alleviate dementia.
Cautionary note: I haven’t taken the time to find references for all of these claims. I’m pretty sure I’ve read stories detailing all of them, but may be wrong: Caveat Emptor.
In a certain light, these are fascinating stories. But in reality, these results shouldn’t really come as a surprise to any music lover. Of course music is powerful. We are reminded of this every day that we listen, whether we are getting caught up in the grandiose narrative of a classical piece, or being dragged down into melancholic contemplation by a mournful acoustic tune, or being moved to dance by a particularly bumping beat.
I both hope and expect that, in the coming years, we will find an increasing number of ways in which to harness music’s power to help people. So people, keep listening!
Smokey Robinson - (Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need (YSI) (dropbox)
Strauss - Four Last Songs: II. September (YSI) (dropbox)
Paul Simon - American Tune (YSI) (dropbox)







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