It’s been a while since I wrote my last post (excluding occasional music reviews) but the documentary I’ve just watched triggered this urge of sharing something. Maybe because the whole topic relates to something which lays very close to my heart - music.
Google asked “What is music?” displays the following definition:
Vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.
Source: https://www.google.co.uk/#q=define+music
Before searching for it, I actually asked this question to myself and I gotta admit that I was struggling with giving a proper definition, despite the fact I’m very into music. Isn’t it ironic? I think it is an experience. I think for me it is ‘something’ that triggers our emotions as well as works heavily on our imagination. It helps me to stay focused when I’m working and relaxing before falling asleep. Makes me cry and release huge waves of nostalgia while sitting on a balcony during a colourful sunset. It brings my memories back... like a time machine. Every time I hear the soundtrack from Journey I see myself cycling around Cracow after my afternoon shift in the music store I used to work. Summer time, warm breeze, colourful city with its narrow streets, and that feeling of floating alongside with the music. I can almost feel it. On the other hand, when I hear Black Light Burns - Iodine Sky I am with my best friend in her flat in Prokocim (one of the Cracow’s districts). Rainy day, it is dark and cold, the fall already has started. We are sitting on the window ledge, smoking cigarettes and listening to this song in silence. I’m not going to list more examples, I’m sure that you have your own, similar experiences and you get my drift.
But coming back to the documentary I’ve just watched...It was one of this Sunday afternoons when a pile of washed clothes was waiting to be ironed. Usually this process ends up with me launching Netflix and watching something absolutely random. This time round it was Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory (2014) directed by Michael Rossato-Bennett who introduced me with the group of older people suffering dementia. Just to make sure we all understand what dementia stands for, I’d like to wheel out a definition:
The word dementia describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease or a series of strokes..
In the other words dementia slowly wipes out our memories and closes us up in our small empty world of... nothing. We start forgetting who we are, how our life was and gradually we get rid of our beautiful moments from the past. How sad is that?
It is hard to imagine that state, thus I wanted to show you that picture:
Imagine that what you can see above shows how a signature of the person suffering from Alzheimer changes over the years. You can clearly see how that person was gradually losing awareness. Just imagine that you end up in the bubble where you no longer know who you are.
Michael decided to do something with it and attempted to return people’s life by using music. He visited one of the nursing houses in America with bunch of iPods and he started asking questions such as: How was your life when you was young? What was your favourite thing when you was a teenager? etc. and unfortunately most of older people couldn’t remember anything, apologising with the sadness written in their faces until the music popped up in their ears...
Oh boi, the change was amazing, everything starting from their facial expressions and ending up on bringing back their memories. It looked like the life has been called in their bodies once again. To be honest with you I couldn’t stand it emotionally! Suddenly, I also found myself sitting on the sofa with jaw dropped on the floor and not being interested in ironing anymore mainly because what I saw on the screen was related to my own feelings, especially when music is a good friend of mine.
The movie was very appealing especially if I brought up that topic many many times in the past when talking with friends. It is extremely interesting how music can activate some deepest parts of your brain and literally move you in time. All of the sudden you see places, people, everything is so sharp and real that you almost can ‘smell’ that moment. It works perfectly especially with songs which I haven’t heard for a while. The whole effect is then even more enhanced. I am sure that anyone who is reading this post right now understands what I am on about. Keeping that in mind, getting old doesn’t seem that scary, music can safe us!
I started drilling into some research articles from all around the world. My starting point was to find out how music actually does work, what does it to our brains, from the science point of view. I have started pursuing and answering those questions as music has very powerful psychological impact on us, human beings.I have read few sources and gathered some interesting facts.
We are actually factorising music we are listening to. Our brains are trying to follow up downbeats of the drums, all while recognising the different octaves and notes of the horns and the voice.To put it simply, listening to music triggers some sort of multitasking in our heads (which sounds like something hard to process but actually it increases levels of optimism and pleasure).
Music serves as a background to help us focus on an activity, but it does not serve as a focus itself. Some research shows number of the best students are the one who don’t need music and can focus without it, whereas some students can’t concentrate on their work without headphones on their head (I’m certainly part of this group!)
Besides being a background or a mood enhancer, music can also be a person’s companion. According to McMahan, music can be our friend, especially during the times of loneliness.
It all do sound great, however let’s focus more on the biological aspect, what music does to us.
According to the research, music is nothing that an organised sound for our brain. Some smart people from Stanford University found that music is a consistent fashion across subject which means that participants during listening the music activated some parts of the brain which are responsible for movement, planning, attention and memory on the day-to-day basic. Going one step further it means that we don’t process music as a normal background sound. Music is way to meaningful than just any sound.
The auditory cortex is responsible for processing sounds in the brain, but music activates far more in the brain, including regions associated with emotions, movement, and memory.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music
I would like to explore more scientific aspect of music, definitely. I was initially thinking of including this information and my thoughts in that post, however the scientific papers I’ve found are very long. It will take me more time to read and digest the information than I thought. I’m also proud of myself that I’ve decided to write something and challenge myself, since I’m not the greatest post-writer, and hopefully I gave you an idea what sort of thoughts and emotions have been triggered when watching Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory (2014), which I wholeheartedly recommend to check out!
Local Filmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett Harnesses Deep Human Magic
As a film critic, every time I settle into a theater seat I prepare myself for an experience that I liken to tapping into memory. The images that unspool before me may not be lived and processed situations from my own life but they approximate the sensation, and depending on the film, can recall the cascading dream-like state I find myself in when caught up in my memories. And from a literal…
People were commenting, saying, 'this is what the internet's for, not pictures of cats and funny faces.' The outpouring of stories and connection - I was just making a film because it moved me.
Michael Rossato-Bennett
We chat with the filmmaker about making Alive Inside, a documentary about the use of music therapy as a means of revitalizing victims of Alzheimer's and dementia.
