In this groundbreaking union of art and science, soprano, musicologist, and physician Patricia Caicedo explores the connection between music-its performance, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it-and health.
Drawing on the latest research and musical examples, Caicedo reveals:
- How the brain works when you listen and make music.
- The relationship between rhythm, movement, and health.
- The relationship between pleasure, emotion, and music.
- How music has been a crucial element of the human experience since the beginning of the species and how it is fundamental for maintaining communities.
- The importance of music in pain and death.
- How music increases your creativity and produces happiness and a sense of purpose in life.
We are what we listen to: the impact of music on individual health will attract readers of Oliver Sacks and David Byrne, as it is an unprecedented, transdisciplinary investigation that contextualizes the music and its effects on historical, scientific, and social levels. It is an essential book for music lovers and everybody seeking to improve their mental and physical health.
"This thoroughly researched written book results from a lifetime of careful study and wide experience. It contains revelations on virtually every page concerning the therapeutic benefits of music." Dr. Walter Clark, Professor of Musicology, University of California Riverside.
"I appreciate this book because it is written in a way that activates the reader's senses in a way that not only informs but efficiently urges us to participate creatively, letting the music do its magic to us." Alfons Karabuda, President International Music Council.
INDEX
Foreword by Dr. Tess Knighton
Prelude
Chapters
Music and Medicine: The history of a relationship
Music and cognition
The marvelous brain of musicians
Pleasure, emotion and music
Music, happiness and the meaning of life
Rhythm, movement and health
Music in pain and death
Voice, song, and the sounds of the body
Music and creativity
Global health, pandemic and the example of orchestras
Postlude - Exercise book
1. The soundtrack of your life
Autobiographical exercise
A. The music of your childhood.
B. The music of your adolescence.
C. Ten songs that have accompanied the most important moments of your life.
D. Music that has accompanied you in sadness.
E. Music that gives your pleasure.
F. Music that relaxes you.
G. The songs that you are passing on to your children.
H. The music you would like at your funeral
2. Song creation
A. Write the songs that express your essence.
B. Write a song that expresses your values and your vision of life.
C. Write a song in which you describe the person you want to become.
3. Soundscapes
A. The sounds that surround you every day
B. The sounds of your city
C. Walking in nature
Bibliography
About the author