✍ Join my free newsletter and tell me where to tour! www.maryspender.com/tour Also not sponsored, but if you'd like to read more on the subject, I recommend The Psychology of Music: A Very Short Introduction by Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis. It's published by Oxford University Press and includes references to all the studies mentioned. uk.bookshop.org/books/the-psychology-of-music-a-very-short-introduction/9780190640156 p.s. please avoid the scammers in the comments section! If I comment - I have a verified tick next to my name and I'll never ask you to join Telegram :(
I had a TA in college that had been struck by lightning. It wiped his brain of many memories. He didn't recognize his wife, kids, friends or family. Speech was gone. Motor skills messed. He was essentially a vegetable sitting in his own world. One day....someone played a piano...he looked up...walked over and started playing...just as he always had done before the injury. The really odd part...he sang in Spanish..a second language...not his native which was still lost to him. Over time, they were able to re-teach most of what he lost. He still has no memory of family and kids...but he has pictures so he knows they are his...so he fakes it the best he can...loving in the moment. That is the power of music
Love, love, love - this why music should be taught as a fundamental skill like math and language - as a matter of fact music is ALSO a unique combination of math and language ... such a loss when music stops being taught in school
My dad was diagnosed with dementia in 2010. He couldn't remember what he had for breakfast, but he would light up and remember every single word when I broke out the guitar and started playing Johnny Cash or Hank Williams. He would bring me to country circles when I was younger and learning guitar to help me learn how to play. It hit hard when I would see him remember those times.
My sweet grandmother had Alzheimer’s, but had formerly been a church pianist for many decades. Towards the end, she couldn’t even recognize her own daughter, but would sing hymns in full when we took her out for country drives.
My Mum had very aggressive Alzheimers-towards the end of her life, she would only recognise me when I sang to her, alll sorts but her favourite was 'The Way You Look Tonight'
Please do! My abuelo had Alzheimer’s for 15 years and the music never really left him. Even when names, faces and language failed, playing tunes from his childhood NEVER failed to bring light to his eyes and joy to his face. It was such a gift.
Music engages every part of the brain. I was an Activity Director in a nursing home for ten years. I used music every single day for interacting with my residents. Every genre. My group loved the Black Eyed Peas for exercise! I once had to add rock music to a care plan because one of my residents tapped his feet and hands whenever a rock song played, a nurse told me he was old and couldn't possibly like rock music....She failed to realize that yes he could like rock music, but as we age our hearing changes and the rock beat is easily heard. One of our entertainers commended that of all the nursing homes he visited the residents in my building were the most alert. Yes, they were thanks to music!
I was a saxophonist and guitar player for 25 years, before I suffered a Grand Mal epileptic seizure while raking leaves in Nov. 2018. I underwent six (6) frankly omg brain surgeries and suffered a stroke, which paralyzed my left limbs. I got a piano in my room and make sure to play at least 30 min. every morning. Not only have I learned thepiano, but I think that "exercising my brain every morning has " rewired" some of the connections in my brain that were damaged by my injuries. Music is a truly magical thing! 🤗
In the morning if I’m feeling lousy, I place my head down upon my classical guitar and play. At first I thought I was a little crazy placing my cheeks upon the body of the guitar but the benefit is tangible. After a few minutes I will be feeling much better. Music is a gift from God.
And this is why I think music and music education programs are essential in the school systems...but are unfortunately one of the first programs in a school system to be cut? And IMO that hurts both that community, and society as a whole.. Music is one of "vehicles" that knit a society and its people together (and even keeps the individual Whole..).... Fantastic video, Ms Mary! )))
My Grandad had dementia and in the later severe stages when he recognized no one of his family, he still loved to play the piano and played all the songs flawlessly, much to the joy of the people around him.
Mary, I would like to present a couple of examples of how music is perceived by the brain. First of all, during the production of the record “Love For Sale”, Lady Gaga shared a video of Tony Bennett, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. During the related show where Tony is backstage just before they went onstage and the first notes of the first song they would preform are played, Tony underwent a transformation to the “old” Tony Bennett. He then went onstage and gave a performance that gave no hint of his mental degradation due to Alzheimer’s. It was his last performance. Another example… while watching this video and listening to you, the radio was playing the Habanero from Bizet’s Carmen and I found myself listening, and fully understanding both simultaneously. Proof, to me at least, that music and speech are processed independently in different parts of the brain. Finally I remember as a small child sitting on the floor of my home with my mother, listening to the Jelly Roll Morton song “Goodnight Irene” as performed by The Weavers (it was on the charts at that time…).
This is s really interesting and informative comment. Mary's audience are obviously very intelligent and genuinely nice people. I do sense an audience of "creatives" here. I like it.
I suffer from severe chronic debilitating pain in both my legs/feet, severe depression and anxiety, music has become in the past couple of years of years an extremely important part of my life. I have started playing my old alto sax for the first time since 1984. I love listening to music and now want to learn more about it. This video is SO spot on. Thank you!!!
Please keep on playing and loving music, and I genuinely hope it brings you joy and happiness even in the face of struggle. Please also know that you are not alone in battling depression. I'll pray for you, brother.
This strikes a chord (lol) for me. I have similar health issues. I have been listening to more music over the past few years, and listening deeply. It's very important to me, and also helps me keep as active a possible, so that I can be as independent as possible.
@@Garek_George The band Kansas. ALL of their albums, but I really go back to their first 6 albums from the 1970s. They are the sound track of my life, always have been and always will be. Listen to the song Lonely Wind from their very first album that came out in 1974.
Brilliant presentation! It reminds even the most, “scientific” nerd that music is just as important (perhaps more so) as all the “stem” stuff that is typically extolled as so crucial to a decent education. Thank-you Mary!
I'm sure you heard of this kind of scenario before, but my music teacher in grade-school had a severe stammer (over 50 years ago), couldn't string two words tutututu............gether. But when he put his hands on the piano that completely disappeared.
Music’s ability to heal the brain is real! I floundered for years after my brain injury. After I determined that I was going to relearn to play guitar and sing no matter what I started making real progress with healing my brain. Now making and producing music helps me keep going as I continue my healing journey.
Yes! My mom is 94 and about to pass away from dementia. I loaded up a "music box' with her old favorites and although she is not conscious most of time, she opened her eyes. I could see the curiosity in them until she figured out it was familiar music. And her eyes smiled.I asked her I she liked it and she said "yes". She hadn't spoken in weeks. So remember kids- MUSIC is good medicine. PS Good work Mary. Thank you for all you videos. I enjoy them very much.
You are so right, Mary. My mother, during the late stages of her dementia, could sing "you are my sunshine" with perfect pitch, and more importantly, smiling joyously throughout the song.
I had a severe injury then was misdiagnosed multiple times, music truly got me through it all. The weird thing is during those horrible times I listened to really obnoxious sounding stuff really load, which is not my norm, but it really helped me. I can't even stand what I was listening to back then anymore but it holds a very dear place to me to this day. Now if I ever find myself yearning for that obnoxious stuff I recognize I'm going through a hard time. I don't know music just blows my mind
Glad it was such a help for you! When I'm having a bad time, I sometimes listen to things that I don't think to, otherwise. Music with a more aggressive mood...
Thx for the beautiful content! I can’t live without music. I listen to music 24/7. I wake up to music. I go thru the day with music. I sleep with music. My mom is my muse! ALOHA!!! 🤙🏾😎🤗
Thank you Mary, I am a Board Certified Music Therapist. I was involved in one of the studies you mentioned. Music is so powerful because so many areas of the brain are effected at the same time. I have seen this work time and again. All the best and Keep playing!
Fantastic video!!! After researching and watching *all* the videos I find over the past 6 years, this is incredibly informative! Absolutely well done! (Also, those medical terms are *incredibly* difficult to say!!!)
Excellent video Mary. I saw a video of a musician having an MRI scan when he was playing a piece, difficult to do inside an MRI. I remember the doctors going, wow, look, as every region of the brain became active, they said this was the only activity that did this, they had done the same (an MRI) with other activities such a mathematics, reading etc. So the connection of the individual via music is possibly the deepest connection to ourselves that we can make and the deepest connection we can make to others. Students who have music as part of their curriculum often improve/perform better in many other subjects.
Music is something I've always known was powerful, it's what drove me to being a musician, I suffer from a rather extreme mood disorder, and music is one of the most effective things to keep me at a decent baseline, without it I go through violent mood swings. It seems kind of amusing to me, that I lean toward metal because it goes from zero to 100 and back constantly it shifts violently and decisively. It mellows me right the hell out though. That and darker music like that of Woods of Ypres, when I hit the crushing lows associated with my disorder it connects in a way where nothing else does, in a way that makes me feel like I can get through it. Music is exceptionally powerful, and personal. The way I equate my own music is "This is me putting something out there I don't have words for, a part of me that's deeper than that, and hoping someone will understand it, knowing that their interpretation will never be what I experienced when I made it." I am not a lyricist, I just play guitar and piano, and make things that aren't always pretty, but are definitely what I felt in the moment lol
Mary, Thank you for the video. I have suffered from anxiety since I was a small child, I am 72 now. A friend of mine suggested that I should learn to play music, as it would help with my problem. I tried to play guitar, but it was too difficult because of my arthritis in my left hand. I then came across the mandolin, and it was much easier to play. I started when I was 60 and playing music has made my life much happier. I still get an occasional attack but playing music lessens the effects. George in Montana.
Music ALWAYS triggers memories for me... the way I felt when I heard a song, where I was when I heard it, and what was going on when I heard it. I love that aspect about the human brain!
My wife is a nurse and works with the elderly. They may forget almost everything but music will still light up their brain. They remember every single word :) I enjoy your channel; I'm an engineer and gigging guitarist/singer at tiki bars in Florida. Keep up the good work - your attention to quality shows in everything about your channel.
Am reading Iain McGilchrist’s The Master and His Emissary which is all about the brain. He spends significant time looking at how music informs about the brain. He is among scientists who believe music came before speech. Great timing of your video for me.
Loving this new type of video. Your channel combines all of my favourite parts of music; the theory, science, and guitars. Also love the songs, vlogs, and your other self-development videos. Thanks for encouraging me to keep learning.
Human brains evolved to recognize patterns. It’s how we process our environment and manage the input that floods our senses. Music is patterns. The relationship in vibrations between tones that make up scales, and the rhythm in which they are assembled are a feast for brains that are geared to find patterns. I think what is fascinating psychologically is while of course there is no universality, clearly based on the varying levels of popularity there are some basics to the arrangements of these patterns that are pleasing to brains.
This is such a beautiful video, Mary. My Nanna is my favourite person in the whole world. She was diagnosed with Dementia around ten years ago and in that time she has lost her license, her independence, her home and she's even lost the memory of my grandfather dying thirty years ago. It's the most heartbreaking thing I've ever seen. But I still visit every week and we sit and listen to Charley Pride. As we listen, her memories of being young and healthy and dancing with my grandfather to these songs returns momentarily. I have to admit, It's terrifying to watch my idol slowly fade away, but I still visit her every week because if it's scary for me, imagine how she feels, my most wonderful, sweet Nan.❤
I enjoyed this very much. If you touch on the psychology of music again, you might address the finding that you can change your mood by listening to music that matches your current mood, then gradually changing the mood of the music to the mood you want to achieve.
It is my belief that music can help one get over serious phobias. I used music, like a play list of my absolute favorite music, to get over my fear of great heights.
My piano teacher would take a small group of us students to the memory care wing of a local assisted living facility for monthly performances. The residents faces always lit up when Ellie would play and sing show tunes from their younger days.
This was an absolutely superb segment, Mary. I was brought to tears watching your friend talk about how singing "Happy Birthday" immediately helped her recovery. Likewise, watching the aged ballerina moving intuitively to "Swan Lake" was heartwarming. As always, thank you for sharing. BTW - I was lead to your channel by your collaborative work with Rick Beato. :) Steve
I am so glad I saved this video back. I'm in tears and just have to say that this is amazing. Music, playing guitar in particular, saved my life a few years ago and it damn sure keeps me alive now. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this.
One of my music jobs, especially over the last few years, is performing for Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes. I quickly realized that the more memory difficulties each population had, the further back their musical connections went. Most people are highly attached to the music of their teens and twenties, when they really were able to form their own musical tastes. For groups with memory issues the attachments seem to be more the songs of their earlier youth. In any case, they are all great populations to perform for! 🎶🎸🎹
🤗🤗🤗 that was fantastic I too had a stroke I suffered from severe headaches from time to time but I'm not a stroke victim I'm a survivor thanks to music it helps with the headaches and speech impairment thank you very much Mary
thanks for mentioning the Parkinson's connection. i regularly accompany a Dance for PD class, supporting people with Parkinson's Disease. Originating at Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn, there are now Dance for PD classes all over the world. very rewarding work.
Mary, what an awesome video. I started playing guitar two years ago, when I retired. It's been a difficult road because I suffer from essential tremors. This video has inspired me to keep practicing and playing my guitar. You're an amazing young women, thank you for what you do.
Music is so many things.... it is healing... it is emotion... it is mathematics... it is a time machine... it is the miracle language that all humans understand.
Thank you Doctor Mary! LOL Love those big words. Very informative. Music is great and I have heard many of the points you shared today. How cool is it that pre-natal infants do better with music. They eat and sleep better and get out sooner.
Outstanding video! I am a retired registered nurse and still active musician. As part of my gigging palette for the past forty years (!) I have always performed in hospitals, nursing facilities, assisted living and dementia care centers. I have seen some remarkable responses to music. Hendrix was talking about exploring the healing power of music back in the '60's. He was truly onto something but sadly never got to see it all the way through. Keep up the good work! Your stuff is consistently excellent.
Ever since you made your trip to the states…. I really like the way your channel is going. I really love how you’re evolving. You’re such a smooth reader and easy to listen to. Thank you for the effort!
Both my wife and I benefit from music in the ways you described here. I've a chronic pain disability, and she suffered a serious brain injury. There's a reason why listen to so much music, and watch shows like The Voice. The benefits are absolutely noticeable. Great video, Mary.
My grandmother has Alzheimer's. She'll still sing to herself sometimes. And up until recently, she was able to sing along with her old records. Music is so incredibly powerful and moves us so deeply. I'm really glad we can bring that with us, even if we deteriorate to the point of most other faculties failing. Really appreciate this video, Mary.
I'll be 60 years old next May. I had a stroke in March 2019. Four bleeds on the left side of my brain. They couldn't wake me for four days. They thought I might be comatose. Then, suddenly, I woke up, not knowing anything about what happened to me. With everything the doctors and nurses told me at the hospital, I should not have lived...but I did. Now, 3½ years later, I have all but concluded that my brain, having been wired as a musician my entire life, I am quite sure that being a musician had to have played a significant roll in my very quick recovery. I was already playing the piano and the guitar only a week after I woke up, and that was on the physical therapy floor of the hospital. Music has saved my life more times than I can count. Thank-you for the very interesting video. I'm a huge fan. Dave
Hi Mary! I want to thank you for the way you explain the neuroscientific basis of music in this video. I'm a neuroscientist myself and I always get nervous when 'lay' persons talk about neuroscience since there are so many myths online (to be fair I was quite triggered by your 'left-brain-right-brain' thumbnail, that myth just won't die...). But you've done an amazing job at being entertaining, interesting, ánd accurate! So thanks a lot for sharing this with us. Also, the bloopers were hilarious 😆
Awesome video. I worked at a language-focused college for a few years. Most of the students who learned the fastest, or who retained new languages best, were musicians of some sort. Thanks for sharing some specific science about it. 😊
What a fascinating video. I tend to be somewhat stoic in my daily life. Few things make me emotional. But music, music will bring tears for no apparent reason.
Music and rhythm have an amazing effect on the brain. I use a lot of music and rhythm to assist children with movement disorders, and it has a profound effect when combined with other therapies. When a group of people play music together, there is a synchronization of certain waves in all the participants.
Thank you , Mary, for presenting this topic and bringing awareness to this subject. I,as many people have commented, also had a 'brain event'. 5 years ago, i was in a car accident and suffered a mTBI (mild Traumatic Brain Injury). I lost the ability to read, type and I forgot how to chord a guitar. Music (playing) helped in my recovery (loved re-learning songs of my youth), but even more so was my study of music theory. A deep dive into the Circle of Fifths and finally beginning to understand modes stimulated neuroplasticity - the ability of the brain to form new network connections. Also just the sound of certain chords or progressions fed me (I don't know how else to describe it) I felt nurtured and energized. I still got a way to go, but I encourage anyone with cognitive troubles to look to music, at any level, as a brain recovery aid.
Really authoritative, great work, thanks. When the older ballerina with Parkinson's danced perfectly from her chair it sent shivers up my spine and put tears in my eyes. Great moments in music are experienced profoundly in common across ability, culture, politics and health. I am a dyslexic which gives me unique right brain dominant abilities with music and music theory. Sure it takes me forever to learn the basics but once I have them my brain simple explodes with possibilities of what is possible. We are where we are mentally and physically but with music we can be lifted up and become gods.
You really outdid yourself on this one Mary! I was not expecting to hear a a Congolese lullaby. I just got caught off guard by a huge wave of nostalgia. Am I the only Congolese here ? Boza wapi ?🇨🇩
I recall a story about treating some people who stutter using the method of "singing" what you want to say. For some, just having the mindset of "I am about to sing" made the stutter go away. Then some recent studies where listening to music caused many parts of the brain light up, as you have described, but playing music turbo-boosted that even further. I've taken up guitar (again) at 50, as something to do to cope with the last few years of lockdowns etc - it has helped with my mental state and will remain as one of the pillars of my health routine going forwards. Something to keep my brain working/learning and hopefully slows down/prevents some of the impacts of ageing.
Fascinating information! In my study of music and psychoacoustics, I was familiar with some of the topics covered in the video. You did an amazing job of bringing it all cohesively together, not to mention some pretty difficult pronunciations! Many thanks for all the work and effort you put into these videos. Greatly appreciated.
Music is vital to the survival of the human race. Dinosaurs didn't have music and look what happened to them. Thanks Mary, music helps us in infante ways. When i was healing from an injury in 2016 i shared a room with 2 gentlemen who both suffered from Parkinson's and when i played music for them it always helped them. Thank you for including the outtakes you are a good sport.
Mary, I am 68 and have always had the belief that music can be so useful in life. I watched you at the Louisiana last week, and thought you were brilliant, absolutely loved it. Unfortunately didn't get chance to talk with you. So you are not just a musician youtuber, you also make videos like this that I know will be helpful and informative to many people, and I will share it. Thanks - keep posting, and come back to Bristol again soo. x
I loved this, Mary. I found myself trying to figure out where Linda Ronstadt fits into the debilitating ailment spectrum, remembering seeing a clip of her on TH-cam struggling to feed herself and carry on a conversation with a TV reporter. I came back to that, especially after watching the ballerina's response to the music played for her here. My own personal piece of music is Eric Clapton's 40-second solo (from 8:00 to 8:40) on "Wonderful Tonight," from Disc 2 of his "24 Nights" album. It's strictly instrumental, and I can't begin to play it on my own guitar, but it brings me to tears for reasons I can't articulate, and does so almost every time I hear it.
Mary, thanks for a nice breakdown of a really big thing. ❤❤❤Music is life. Life would be a barren wasteland without it. My 62 year old brain prefers it to conversation, and it has been the most cathartic therapy, always bringing me back to myself, as well as connecting me to other people in extremely profound ways….even on You Tube 😄
Loved this video! I just started reading the book 'This is what it sounds like' by Susan Rogers and have always been fascinated by how we process our love of music. Again, huge thank you and keep up the great work!
I would never have read an essay like that, but somehow watching you deliver it in your unique way was fascinating. Keep it up Mary, have loved the channel for years and continue to enjoy each new video as you go.
Mary, your videos (and you, too) are becoming more and more fascinating because you pay attention to many aspects of music beyond the obvious. This entry is a prime example.
Very interesting video Mary. I have studied cognitive psychology for over 40 years and use it daily in my own corporate training business. We use a left brain, right brain tool to determine the different archetypal profiles of people in business. In music, I would suggest that 'cadence" plays a big role as well. It is the metronome of how we speak, and important so we sound more 'interesting' and 'musical'! Great video, and one of the best explanations of psychology in music on YT. As soon as I saw the picture, I knew what you were going to talk about!!
Brava Mary! Brilliant! I was going to get my Masters/Post Graduate degree from Berklee in Music Therapy (before someone decided to assault me and put me in bed for the last 4+ years). Still pushing for that, but in the meantime if _anyone_ is looking for a field of study to persue - Effects of Music _Improvisation_ on the Brain: The brain lights up like a Xmas tree; and so I was hoping to teach Music _Improv_ to people with brain injuries, pathologies, etc., in hopes of increasing neuron activity, etc. This must be further studied!!! Best wishes!
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Also not sponsored, but if you'd like to read more on the subject, I recommend The Psychology of Music: A Very Short Introduction by Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis. It's published by Oxford University Press and includes references to all the studies mentioned. uk.bookshop.org/books/the-psychology-of-music-a-very-short-introduction/9780190640156
p.s. please avoid the scammers in the comments section! If I comment - I have a verified tick next to my name and I'll never ask you to join Telegram :(
Tour anywhere in the UK and I promise I'll be there on time this time!
From the guy in the hat who rocked up to The Louisiana over an hour late 😅
I would also suggest the book "This Is Your Brain On Music" by Daniel Levitin.
Mary…. please please tour San Francisco… I know it's far but it would be worth it!
Yes, I reported them. Annoying.
@@Novalarke you beat me to it. A brilliant read.
I had a TA in college that had been struck by lightning. It wiped his brain of many memories. He didn't recognize his wife, kids, friends or family. Speech was gone. Motor skills messed. He was essentially a vegetable sitting in his own world. One day....someone played a piano...he looked up...walked over and started playing...just as he always had done before the injury. The really odd part...he sang in Spanish..a second language...not his native which was still lost to him. Over time, they were able to re-teach most of what he lost. He still has no memory of family and kids...but he has pictures so he knows they are his...so he fakes it the best he can...loving in the moment. That is the power of music
Is it possible he selectively forgot the wife and kids. It can be traumatic.
@@merkules2001 nah...everything was wiped. He couldn't originally speak or even walk.
@@merkules2001 I thought the very same thing. I could easily selectively forget my family.
wow
@@bluzedogg 😆
Love, love, love - this why music should be taught as a fundamental skill like math and language - as a matter of fact music is ALSO a unique combination of math and language ... such a loss when music stops being taught in school
My dad was diagnosed with dementia in 2010. He couldn't remember what he had for breakfast, but he would light up and remember every single word when I broke out the guitar and started playing Johnny Cash or Hank Williams. He would bring me to country circles when I was younger and learning guitar to help me learn how to play. It hit hard when I would see him remember those times.
What a beautiful story to share. This warmed my heart so much. ❤
My sweet grandmother had Alzheimer’s, but had formerly been a church pianist for many decades. Towards the end, she couldn’t even recognize her own daughter, but would sing hymns in full when we took her out for country drives.
A relative of mine suffers from dementia. I hadn't considered bringing music into the picture until now. Thank you once again!
My Mum had very aggressive Alzheimers-towards the end of her life, she would only recognise me when I sang to her, alll sorts but her favourite was 'The Way You Look Tonight'
@@richardridings7511 I'm sure it made her day to share that connection with you.
Please do! My abuelo had Alzheimer’s for 15 years and the music never really left him. Even when names, faces and language failed, playing tunes from his childhood NEVER failed to bring light to his eyes and joy to his face. It was such a gift.
That elderly woman listening and reacting to Tchaikovsky was spine-tingling! Another fascinating music class by you, Mary!
Music engages every part of the brain. I was an Activity Director in a nursing home for ten years. I used music every single day for interacting with my residents. Every genre. My group loved the Black Eyed Peas for exercise! I once had to add rock music to a care plan because one of my residents tapped his feet and hands whenever a rock song played, a nurse told me he was old and couldn't possibly like rock music....She failed to realize that yes he could like rock music, but as we age our hearing changes and the rock beat is easily heard. One of our entertainers commended that of all the nursing homes he visited the residents in my building were the most alert. Yes, they were thanks to music!
My son-in-law is a Ph.D neuropsychologist and I am definitely going to share this with him!
The comments here might also be of interest to him.
I was a saxophonist and guitar player for 25 years, before I suffered a Grand Mal epileptic seizure while raking leaves in Nov. 2018. I underwent six (6) frankly omg brain surgeries and suffered a stroke, which paralyzed my left limbs. I got a piano in my room and make sure to play at least 30 min. every morning. Not only have I learned thepiano, but I think that "exercising my brain every morning has " rewired" some of the connections in my brain that were damaged by my injuries. Music is a truly magical thing! 🤗
In the morning if I’m feeling lousy, I place my head down upon my classical guitar and play. At first I thought I was a little crazy placing my cheeks upon the body of the guitar but the benefit is tangible. After a few minutes I will be feeling much better. Music is a gift from God.
You had it right in the outtakes: the pre-funkal cortex! Also known as the primary dance motor.
My son has just started his dual honours degree in music & psychology, so I am definitely sharing this with him
And this is why I think music and music education programs are essential in the school systems...but are unfortunately one of the first programs in a school system to be cut? And IMO that hurts both that community, and society as a whole.. Music is one of "vehicles" that knit a society and its people together (and even keeps the individual Whole..)....
Fantastic video, Ms Mary! )))
My Grandad had dementia and in the later severe stages when he recognized no one of his family, he still loved to play the piano and played all the songs flawlessly, much to the joy of the people around him.
Mary, I would like to present a couple of examples of how music is perceived by the brain. First of all, during the production of the record “Love For Sale”, Lady Gaga shared a video of Tony Bennett, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. During the related show where Tony is backstage just before they went onstage and the first notes of the first song they would preform are played, Tony underwent a transformation to the “old” Tony Bennett. He then went onstage and gave a performance that gave no hint of his mental degradation due to Alzheimer’s. It was his last performance.
Another example… while watching this video and listening to you, the radio was playing the Habanero from Bizet’s Carmen and I found myself listening, and fully understanding both simultaneously. Proof, to me at least, that music and speech are processed independently in different parts of the brain.
Finally I remember as a small child sitting on the floor of my home with my mother, listening to the Jelly Roll Morton song “Goodnight Irene” as performed by The Weavers (it was on the charts at that time…).
This is s really interesting and informative comment. Mary's audience are obviously very intelligent and genuinely nice people. I do sense an audience of "creatives" here. I like it.
That's so true. I can hold a conversation while playing guitar or keyboard simultaneously!
I suffer from severe chronic debilitating pain in both my legs/feet, severe depression and anxiety, music has become in the past couple of years of years an extremely important part of my life. I have started playing my old alto sax for the first time since 1984. I love listening to music and now want to learn more about it. This video is SO spot on. Thank you!!!
Please keep on playing and loving music, and I genuinely hope it brings you joy and happiness even in the face of struggle. Please also know that you are not alone in battling depression. I'll pray for you, brother.
This strikes a chord (lol) for me. I have similar health issues. I have been listening to more music over the past few years, and listening deeply. It's very important to me, and also helps me keep as active a possible, so that I can be as independent as possible.
What kind of music, y’all?
@@Garek_George The band Kansas. ALL of their albums, but I really go back to their first 6 albums from the 1970s. They are the sound track of my life, always have been and always will be. Listen to the song Lonely Wind from their very first album that came out in 1974.
Brilliant presentation! It reminds even the most, “scientific” nerd that music is just as important (perhaps more so) as all the “stem” stuff that is typically extolled as so crucial to a decent education. Thank-you Mary!
I'm sure you heard of this kind of scenario before, but my music teacher in grade-school had a severe stammer (over 50 years ago), couldn't string two words tutututu............gether. But when he put his hands on the piano that completely disappeared.
I might be going out on a limb here but I think Mary Spender LOVES music!
If I could hit the like button 1M times I would... LOVE FROM SOUTH AFRICA ❤️❤️🔥
Music’s ability to heal the brain is real! I floundered for years after my brain injury. After I determined that I was going to relearn to play guitar and sing no matter what I started making real progress with healing my brain. Now making and producing music helps me keep going as I continue my healing journey.
Yes! My mom is 94 and about to pass away from dementia. I loaded up a "music box' with her old favorites and although she is not conscious most of time, she opened her eyes. I could see the curiosity in them until she figured out it was familiar music. And her eyes smiled.I asked her I she liked it and she said "yes". She hadn't spoken in weeks. So remember kids- MUSIC is good medicine.
PS Good work Mary. Thank you for all you videos. I enjoy them very much.
You are so right, Mary. My mother, during the late stages of her dementia, could sing "you are my sunshine" with perfect pitch, and more importantly, smiling joyously throughout the song.
I had a severe injury then was misdiagnosed multiple times, music truly got me through it all. The weird thing is during those horrible times I listened to really obnoxious sounding stuff really load, which is not my norm, but it really helped me. I can't even stand what I was listening to back then anymore but it holds a very dear place to me to this day. Now if I ever find myself yearning for that obnoxious stuff I recognize I'm going through a hard time. I don't know music just blows my mind
lol
Glad it was such a help for you! When I'm having a bad time, I sometimes listen to things that I don't think to, otherwise. Music with a more aggressive mood...
Thx for the beautiful content! I can’t live without music. I listen to music 24/7. I wake up to music. I go thru the day with music. I sleep with music. My mom is my muse! ALOHA!!! 🤙🏾😎🤗
Thank you Mary,
I am a Board Certified Music Therapist. I was involved in one of the studies you mentioned. Music is so powerful because so many areas of the brain are effected at the same time. I have seen this work time and again. All the best and Keep playing!
Fantastic video!!! After researching and watching *all* the videos I find over the past 6 years, this is incredibly informative! Absolutely well done! (Also, those medical terms are *incredibly* difficult to say!!!)
Thanks so much for being part of it Aubrey. You made it so special!
Excellent video Mary. I saw a video of a musician having an MRI scan when he was playing a piece, difficult to do inside an MRI. I remember the doctors going, wow, look, as every region of the brain became active, they said this was the only activity that did this, they had done the same (an MRI) with other activities such a mathematics, reading etc. So the connection of the individual via music is possibly the deepest connection to ourselves that we can make and the deepest connection we can make to others. Students who have music as part of their curriculum often improve/perform better in many other subjects.
Music is something I've always known was powerful, it's what drove me to being a musician, I suffer from a rather extreme mood disorder, and music is one of the most effective things to keep me at a decent baseline, without it I go through violent mood swings. It seems kind of amusing to me, that I lean toward metal because it goes from zero to 100 and back constantly it shifts violently and decisively. It mellows me right the hell out though.
That and darker music like that of Woods of Ypres, when I hit the crushing lows associated with my disorder it connects in a way where nothing else does, in a way that makes me feel like I can get through it. Music is exceptionally powerful, and personal.
The way I equate my own music is "This is me putting something out there I don't have words for, a part of me that's deeper than that, and hoping someone will understand it, knowing that their interpretation will never be what I experienced when I made it." I am not a lyricist, I just play guitar and piano, and make things that aren't always pretty, but are definitely what I felt in the moment lol
Mary, Thank you for the video. I have suffered from anxiety since I was a small child, I am 72 now. A friend of mine suggested that I should learn to play music, as it would help with my problem. I tried to play guitar, but it was too difficult because of my arthritis in my left hand. I then came across the mandolin, and it was much easier to play. I started when I was 60 and playing music has made my life much happier. I still get an occasional attack but playing music lessens the effects. George in Montana.
Music ALWAYS triggers memories for me... the way I felt when I heard a song, where I was when I heard it, and what was going on when I heard it. I love that aspect about the human brain!
My wife is a nurse and works with the elderly. They may forget almost everything but music will still light up their brain. They remember every single word :)
I enjoy your channel; I'm an engineer and gigging guitarist/singer at tiki bars in Florida. Keep up the good work - your attention to quality shows in everything about your channel.
So heart-warming to see the old lady - so heart-warming I got a bit of dust in my eye.
Am reading Iain McGilchrist’s The Master and His Emissary which is all about the brain. He spends significant time looking at how music informs about the brain. He is among scientists who believe music came before speech. Great timing of your video for me.
I was really moved by the interview section and deeply fascinated by the rest of the video, thank you so much!
Loving this new type of video. Your channel combines all of my favourite parts of music; the theory, science, and guitars. Also love the songs, vlogs, and your other self-development videos. Thanks for encouraging me to keep learning.
Human brains evolved to recognize patterns. It’s how we process our environment and manage the input that floods our senses. Music is patterns. The relationship in vibrations between tones that make up scales, and the rhythm in which they are assembled are a feast for brains that are geared to find patterns. I think what is fascinating psychologically is while of course there is no universality, clearly based on the varying levels of popularity there are some basics to the arrangements of these patterns that are pleasing to brains.
Music is wonderfully complicated. Only a musician can make a video just talking about music and still move other musicians...Bravo
This is such a beautiful video, Mary. My Nanna is my favourite person in the whole world. She was diagnosed with Dementia around ten years ago and in that time she has lost her license, her independence, her home and she's even lost the memory of my grandfather dying thirty years ago. It's the most heartbreaking thing I've ever seen. But I still visit every week and we sit and listen to Charley Pride. As we listen, her memories of being young and healthy and dancing with my grandfather to these songs returns momentarily. I have to admit, It's terrifying to watch my idol slowly fade away, but I still visit her every week because if it's scary for me, imagine how she feels, my most wonderful, sweet Nan.❤
I enjoyed this very much. If you touch on the psychology of music again, you might address the finding that you can change your mood by listening to music that matches your current mood, then gradually changing the mood of the music to the mood you want to achieve.
It is my belief that music can help one get over serious phobias. I used music, like a play list of my absolute favorite music, to get over my fear of great heights.
My piano teacher would take a small group of us students to the memory care wing of a local assisted living facility for monthly performances. The residents faces always lit up when Ellie would play and sing show tunes from their younger days.
My favorite thing in the world is listening to music on psychedelics. The way the mind decodes the frequencies in music is just awe inspiring
This was an absolutely superb segment, Mary. I was brought to tears watching your friend talk about how singing "Happy Birthday" immediately helped her recovery. Likewise, watching the aged ballerina moving intuitively to "Swan Lake" was heartwarming.
As always, thank you for sharing.
BTW - I was lead to your channel by your collaborative work with Rick Beato. :)
Steve
I am so glad I saved this video back. I'm in tears and just have to say that this is amazing. Music, playing guitar in particular, saved my life a few years ago and it damn sure keeps me alive now. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this.
One of my music jobs, especially over the last few years, is performing for Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes. I quickly realized that the more memory difficulties each population had, the further back their musical connections went. Most people are highly attached to the music of their teens and twenties, when they really were able to form their own musical tastes. For groups with memory issues the attachments seem to be more the songs of their earlier youth. In any case, they are all great populations to perform for! 🎶🎸🎹
I have to say your videos keep getting better and better, Mary! ❤
🤗🤗🤗 that was fantastic I too had a stroke I suffered from severe headaches from time to time but I'm not a stroke victim I'm a survivor thanks to music it helps with the headaches and speech impairment thank you very much Mary
thanks for mentioning the Parkinson's connection. i regularly accompany a Dance for PD class, supporting people with Parkinson's Disease. Originating at Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn, there are now Dance for PD classes all over the world. very rewarding work.
Mary, what an awesome video. I started playing guitar two years ago, when I retired. It's been a difficult road because I suffer from essential tremors. This video has inspired me to keep practicing and playing my guitar. You're an amazing young women, thank you for what you do.
It's true about tapping along. I even catch myself tapping along to tunes I absolutely detest, like it's primal or something.
Music is so many things.... it is healing... it is emotion... it is mathematics... it is a time machine... it is the miracle language that all humans understand.
Thank you Doctor Mary! LOL Love those big words. Very informative. Music is great and I have heard many of the points you shared today. How cool is it that pre-natal infants do better with music. They eat and sleep better and get out sooner.
I chill out to Metalcore. The transition from screaming verse to clean chorus gives me a massive Dopamine hit. 🔥🤘💜
Outstanding video! I am a retired registered nurse and still active musician. As part of my gigging palette for the past forty years (!) I have always performed in hospitals, nursing facilities, assisted living and dementia care centers. I have seen some remarkable responses to music.
Hendrix was talking about exploring the healing power of music back in the '60's. He was truly onto something but sadly never got to see it all the way through.
Keep up the good work! Your stuff is consistently excellent.
Music is amazing. Its universal appeal crosses all boundaries.
The honorary neuroscience doctorate goes to Mary Spender. This was amazing!
That was a beautiful trbute to sound and music. I loved it!
Ever since you made your trip to the states…. I really like the way your channel is going. I really love how you’re evolving. You’re such a smooth reader and easy to listen to. Thank you for the effort!
Both my wife and I benefit from music in the ways you described here. I've a chronic pain disability, and she suffered a serious brain injury. There's a reason why listen to so much music, and watch shows like The Voice. The benefits are absolutely noticeable.
Great video, Mary.
My grandmother has Alzheimer's. She'll still sing to herself sometimes. And up until recently, she was able to sing along with her old records. Music is so incredibly powerful and moves us so deeply. I'm really glad we can bring that with us, even if we deteriorate to the point of most other faculties failing. Really appreciate this video, Mary.
This is my favorite of all time on TH-cam. This is what I know. Well done. My guitar absolutely saved my self.
Mary, if you read this you might also be interested in Melody Gardot.
I'll be 60 years old next May. I had a stroke in March 2019. Four bleeds on the left side of my brain. They couldn't wake me for four days. They thought I might be comatose. Then, suddenly, I woke up, not knowing anything about what happened to me. With everything the doctors and nurses told me at the hospital, I should not have lived...but I did. Now, 3½ years later, I have all but concluded that my brain, having been wired as a musician my entire life, I am quite sure that being a musician had to have played a significant roll in my very quick recovery. I was already playing the piano and the guitar only a week after I woke up, and that was on the physical therapy floor of the hospital. Music has saved my life more times than I can count. Thank-you for the very interesting video. I'm a huge fan. Dave
Thank you for taking the time to do this, Mary.
In reading comments, I see this video seems to "strike a chord" with many folks. I appreciate what you have done here.
Hi Mary!
I want to thank you for the way you explain the neuroscientific basis of music in this video. I'm a neuroscientist myself and I always get nervous when 'lay' persons talk about neuroscience since there are so many myths online (to be fair I was quite triggered by your 'left-brain-right-brain' thumbnail, that myth just won't die...).
But you've done an amazing job at being entertaining, interesting, ánd accurate! So thanks a lot for sharing this with us.
Also, the bloopers were hilarious 😆
KEEP THIS UP MARY!!!
Great intro! Many of us has Zero music education growing up so yourself along w Rick Beato have taught me SO much!! Thnk U
Awesome video. I worked at a language-focused college for a few years. Most of the students who learned the fastest, or who retained new languages best, were musicians of some sort. Thanks for sharing some specific science about it. 😊
This video is outstanding, Mary! It moved me to tears. I will be sharing this liberally. Keep up the great work!
Fantastic video, very well researched.
You did very well in the pronunciation of terms that even people who work in neurosciences struggle with.
Mary your videos are flabbergastingly fine!
What a fascinating video. I tend to be somewhat stoic in my daily life. Few things make me emotional. But music, music will bring tears for no apparent reason.
Music and rhythm have an amazing effect on the brain. I use a lot of music and rhythm to assist children with movement disorders, and it has a profound effect when combined with other therapies.
When a group of people play music together, there is a synchronization of certain waves in all the participants.
I love what you do Mary.
Massive thanks to you @MarySpender for going above and beyond putting these videos together 🙂
2:58, 4:51, 5:14, 9:06 Speech and movement; Floating intentionality.
Thank you , Mary, for presenting this topic and bringing awareness to this subject. I,as many people have commented, also had a 'brain event'. 5 years ago, i was in a car accident and suffered a mTBI (mild Traumatic Brain Injury). I lost the ability to read, type and I forgot how to chord a guitar. Music (playing) helped in my recovery (loved re-learning songs of my youth), but even more so was my study of music theory. A deep dive into the Circle of Fifths and finally beginning to understand modes stimulated neuroplasticity - the ability of the brain to form new network connections. Also just the sound of certain chords or progressions fed me (I don't know how else to describe it) I felt nurtured and energized. I still got a way to go, but I encourage anyone with cognitive troubles to look to music, at any level, as a brain recovery aid.
I like music, so that explains the psychological part of it.
Really authoritative, great work, thanks. When the older ballerina with Parkinson's danced perfectly from her chair it sent shivers up my spine and put tears in my eyes. Great moments in music are experienced profoundly in common across ability, culture, politics and health. I am a dyslexic which gives me unique right brain dominant abilities with music and music theory. Sure it takes me forever to learn the basics but once I have them my brain simple explodes with possibilities of what is possible. We are where we are mentally and physically but with music we can be lifted up and become gods.
You really outdid yourself on this one Mary! I was not expecting to hear a a Congolese lullaby. I just got caught off guard by a huge wave of nostalgia. Am I the only Congolese here ? Boza wapi ?🇨🇩
I recall a story about treating some people who stutter using the method of "singing" what you want to say.
For some, just having the mindset of "I am about to sing" made the stutter go away.
Then some recent studies where listening to music caused many parts of the brain light up, as you have described, but playing music turbo-boosted that even further.
I've taken up guitar (again) at 50, as something to do to cope with the last few years of lockdowns etc - it has helped with my mental state and will remain as one of the pillars of my health routine going forwards. Something to keep my brain working/learning and hopefully slows down/prevents some of the impacts of ageing.
Absolutely spot on. I've always been connected to all forms of music on a very deep level. This explains why!! Thank you Mary!! Grrrrreat video!!💞
Fascinating and very informative video Mary!! Thanks for sharing ❤
Fascinating information! In my study of music and psychoacoustics, I was familiar with some of the topics covered in the video. You did an amazing job of bringing it all cohesively together, not to mention some pretty difficult pronunciations! Many thanks for all the work and effort you put into these videos. Greatly appreciated.
Music is vital to the survival of the human race. Dinosaurs didn't have music and look what happened to them.
Thanks Mary, music helps us in infante ways. When i was healing from an injury in 2016 i shared a room with 2 gentlemen who both suffered from Parkinson's and when i played music for them it always helped them.
Thank you for including the outtakes you are a good sport.
The dinosaurs fell foul of Hard Rock.
@@ChrisPage68 bad um Tish 😊
Actually, the dinosaurs were around for the Stones' first few farewell tours.
Mary, I am 68 and have always had the belief that music can be so useful in life. I watched you at the Louisiana last week, and thought you were brilliant, absolutely loved it. Unfortunately didn't get chance to talk with you. So you are not just a musician youtuber, you also make videos like this that I know will be helpful and informative to many people, and I will share it. Thanks - keep posting, and come back to Bristol again soo. x
I loved this, Mary. I found myself trying to figure out where Linda Ronstadt fits into the debilitating ailment spectrum, remembering seeing a clip of her on TH-cam struggling to feed herself and carry on a conversation with a TV reporter. I came back to that, especially after watching the ballerina's response to the music played for her here. My own personal piece of music is Eric Clapton's 40-second solo (from 8:00 to 8:40) on "Wonderful Tonight," from Disc 2 of his "24 Nights" album. It's strictly instrumental, and I can't begin to play it on my own guitar, but it brings me to tears for reasons I can't articulate, and does so almost every time I hear it.
Music is what Color sounds like
Music is real magic. I think you just helped confirm that.
Mary, thanks for a nice breakdown of a really big thing. ❤❤❤Music is life. Life would be a barren wasteland without it. My 62 year old brain prefers it to conversation, and it has been the most cathartic therapy, always bringing me back to myself, as well as connecting me to other people in extremely profound ways….even on You Tube 😄
I remember when I was a child I used to cry when my relatives were singing the Russian lullaby (I'm from Russia)
Outstanding as always.
The research you put into this was phenomenal.
The ballet piece in particular was fascinating.
Wonderful presentation. I just know I love music.
Loved this video! I just started reading the book 'This is what it sounds like' by Susan Rogers and have always been fascinated by how we process our love of music. Again, huge thank you and keep up the great work!
I would never have read an essay like that, but somehow watching you deliver it in your unique way was fascinating. Keep it up Mary, have loved the channel for years and continue to enjoy each new video as you go.
LOL, I LOVED those outtakes! Good fun. Thanks for putting them in. :)
Mary, your videos (and you, too) are becoming more and more fascinating
because you pay attention to many aspects of music beyond the obvious.
This entry is a prime example.
Music is very powerful.
Very interesting video Mary. I have studied cognitive psychology for over 40 years and use it daily in my own corporate training business. We use a left brain, right brain tool to determine the different archetypal profiles of people in business. In music, I would suggest that 'cadence" plays a big role as well. It is the metronome of how we speak, and important so we sound more 'interesting' and 'musical'! Great video, and one of the best explanations of psychology in music on YT. As soon as I saw the picture, I knew what you were going to talk about!!
Brava Mary! Brilliant! I was going to get my Masters/Post Graduate degree from Berklee in Music Therapy (before someone decided to assault me and put me in bed for the last 4+ years). Still pushing for that, but in the meantime if _anyone_ is looking for a field of study to persue - Effects of Music _Improvisation_ on the Brain: The brain lights up like a Xmas tree; and so I was hoping to teach Music _Improv_ to people with brain injuries, pathologies, etc., in hopes of increasing neuron activity, etc. This must be further studied!!! Best wishes!