responses for Blaw and humanities *****Professor Anthony ONLY****

1

As a parent of a child with bipolar disorder, I decided to research music among those with mental illness. Specifically I was looking for how music can help those who are suffering through this. Music therapy has become a popular form to therapy among those with mental illness over the years. According to the American Music Therapy Association, the earliest mention of music as a form of therapy happened in 1789 in an article called “Music Physically Considered” (American Music Therapy Association, n.d.). While this focused on the physical, interest in music therapy has continued over the years. Today music therapists use music to help those with mental illness learn to communicate and express themselves. In an article titled “Can Music Tame Your Inner Beast? Music Therapy for Mental Health,” one of the interventions that was mentioned was listening (Arora, 2013). This section seemed to reiterate what Dame Evelyn Glennie said in her video broadcast (Glennie, 2003). They both refer to listening with more than just the ears, using your whole body to really listen and feel the music. The article also discusses improvisation as a way for those with mental illness to express themselves. By using improvisation, those with mental illness can experiment with meter, rhythm, and beat to show how they are feeling at any given time. For example they might use a duple meter (where the strong beats are closer together) with a disjunct melody (where the melody changes quickly) to show agitation or anger while using a quadruple meter (where there is one strong beat per three week beats) and a conjunct melody (where the melody changes slowly) to show depression or sadness. Music can help those with mental illness to express themselves, give them a way to relate to others, and provide them with an opportunity to interact with others. There is a quote that I cannot seem to find an author for that seems to really sum this up – “Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul” (Thinkexist.com).

American Music Therapy Association. (n.d.). History of Music Therapy. Retrieved from American Music Therapy Association: http://www.musictherapy.org/about/history/

Arora, S. (2013). Can music tame your inner beast? Music therapy for mental health. Psych Central. Retrieved from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/06/21/can-music-tame-your-inner-beast-music-therapy-for-mental-health/

Glennie, E. (2003, February). How to truly listen. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/evelyn_glennie_shows_how_to_listen

Thinkexist.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://thinkexist.com/quotation/music_speaks_what_cannot_be_expressed-soothes_the/337859.html

2

I decided to look at any symphonies by my new location in DC, and I found the National Symphony Orchestra. Their schedule can be found here:

https://www.kennedy-center.org/nso/schedule.html

There are mostly classical performances with a lot of variety instrument-wise. We have, for example, Bach played on the organ, Haydn on violin, Mozart on piano, as well as full Beethoven symphonies. Other than classical, they have a symphony performing the "Home Alone" soundtrack while the move plays which, in all honesty, I'm a little bummed that I'll miss. Also on the agenda, various broadway shows and "Boyz II Men" performing.

They offer special ticket prices for the elderly (65+), military (E1-E4), students, low income, and people with disability.

I saw a few shows that I would like to go to, but unfortunately, I won't be home until next year. Home Alone sounds like a great experience, Boyz II Men just to say I went, and I would like to check out Bach on organ. I've enjoyed Bach and wish I stayed with piano longer to recite some of his works.