Podcast 2 - Music & the Mind

Photo Credit: Lauren Burns (designed with Adobe)

Intro

• A “universal language”, music has long-been considered the world’s most popular art-form. With clear and abundant mental health benefits, it’s no wonder music is so universally loved and widespread.

• But what exactly is the link between music and the mind?

• I’m Lauren Burns, and in this podcast’s first episode, with the help of musicians Allyn and Isobel Knight and some anonymous listeners, I’m going to spend the next ten minutes exploring the link between music and the mind for listeners and artists.

• This episode will mix personal thoughts and musical experiences with a scientific backing. Essentially, to consider why our minds are so engaged with music and explore where the two connect.

• This podcast could turn into 8 30-minute episodes stemming from music and the mind. It would potentially cover the links between music and imagination, memory, dementia, confidence, expression, and relationships.

• However, in this particular introductory episode, I’ll begin by talking to the previously mentioned artists and listeners about what music means to their minds.

• We’ll discuss meaning, how music got them through the pandemic and how music looks after mental health day-to-day.

• All to question what happens to our brains when we listen to music and why it matters.

Content

1 – Science

• When broken down, a song is merely a series of vibrations which the brain hears and

• computes as music.

• As John Hopkins Medicine states, “Vibrations tickle the eardrum and are transmitted into an electrical signal that travels through the auditory nerve to the brain stem, where it is reassembled into something we perceive as music.”

• For the mind to simply hear music then, is a complex process in itself.

• Again, according to John Hopkins, music “provides a total brain workout.” And “Research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain as well as improve sleep quality, mood, mental alertness, and memory.” {https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/keep-your- brain-young-with-music}

• With this long list of both physical and mental health benefits, it is as important to exercise your brain with music as it is to exercise your body. And, as you’re barely aware of it happening, this type of workout is much easier than an hour-long exercise class.

• Music has even been proven to release dopamine, the feel-good chemical in your brain.

• According to Mind and the BBC, dopamine levels are up to 9% higher in individuals who listen to music they actively enjoy or attach fond memories to. Forging a strong link between music and mental well-being.

• It has even been used as a tool by therapists to partially treat various mental health problems, including depression and trauma-related conditions.

• Music therapy can involve lyric analysis, improvised music playing, active music listening and song writing itself. All work to aid mental unease or distress and are much-used elements of music therapy.

• Music is therefore a tool to process situations and emotions. It uplifts and calms mental state and mood.

• Although it is far from a complete antidote to serious mental health issues and should not be used as one, there is no harm in prescribing music alongside medication, fresh air, and exercise.

2 – Listeners

• To move on to the listeners themselves, how do they feel about this process? How much are they aware of it and, ultimately, what happens to the mind of the average music listener upon hearing music?

• What does music mean to them?

• On this topic, I compiled a short survey and sent it to people I know. Anonymously, they returned with answers like: “Music helps me connect to life and to other people.” Some said it helps them relate to the world and, ultimately, understand it better.

• But all said they were barely aware of the energy their brain was using to process music, highlighting that it’s an effortless activity.

• So that’s an example of what music does to the minds of music-listeners, but what about the people who make it, what about the musicians themselves?

3 – Artists & Pandemic

• According to the Musicians’ Union and a 2019 study by Swedish digital platform, Record Union, 73% of independent artists struggle with mental illness. {https://musiciansunion.org.uk/career-development/career-guides/musicians-wellbeing-guidance-pack/musicians-and-mental-illness-what-is-being-done-to-help}

• When applied to young people, those aged 18-25 specifically, the stat rose to 80%. Meaning that, staggeringly, musicians suffer more from mental ill health than the general population.

• I can’t help noticing the truth in this pattern and percentage.

• People with mental health issues may be attracted to music, they may need to turn to it. Or the harsh reality of the industry (with high financial pressure and unpredictability) may have worsened these cases. Most likely it is a combination of both.

• What happens in the minds of artists or creatives when they make music and, perhaps, by extension, why do they do it?

• In essence, what impact does making music have on the mind? And how was this process altered by the coronavirus pandemic?

• To find out, I spoke to Allyn and Isobel Knight, a couple of international female artists at various levels of their musical careers.

• The worldwide situation, like with so many artists and creatives, had a particular impact on Allyn and seeped into her writing and work.
  

Allyn

• Allyn Interview:

• Allyn: “I wrote ‘Overthinking’ in the midst of quarantine, and this was a time when I was overthinking everything and I didn’t know what was going on in life, or just with anything. The song means a lot to me because it was really vulnerable and it was just…honest. And I think it’s different from my other music just because of the things that I was experiencing during that time. You hear the different emotion that I have in this song versus my other music.”

• Here, Allyn highlights how quarantine impacted her mentally and how that experience changed the music she was creating. The mind and the music the artist produces are inextricably linked.

• So, while music has a particular role in helping the minds of its creators, it also, undeniably impacts the minds of listeners, through the artist’s intentions, and the meaning they inject into their words.

• Listeners gain lessons, wisdom, and reassurance through music, as Allyn hoped hers would.
  

• Allyn: “The core message that I want people to take away, because the project is called ‘Overthinking’ as well, is when people listen to it, I want them to, not necessarily overthink, but I want them to have a time of reflection when they listen to the music. Like, it’s okay not to be okay. Hopefully this music can help you get through whatever you’re going through.”
  

• Music is essentially, a way for listeners to relate and navigate their mental states in the knowledge that they are not alone.

Isobel Knight

• So that’s how the pandemic impacted the content artist’s were producing but what happens to the mind when the ability to perform and share music is taken away?

• The pandemic is something that also changed Australian singer-songwriter, Isobel Knight’s relationship with both music and the mind. Reflecting on the events of 2020, she said:
  

• Interview quote: “It was a very strange year for making things. I definitely had to mourn all the plans I had for this album release because everything was cancelled over the course of two weeks. Part of the creative process was just being like, ‘Okay. We mourn the fact it didn’t happen and that’s okay’.”
  

• That time brought loss. But music exists to uplift, express, and change perspectives. As Isobel found in her own creative process:
  

• Interview quote: “One of the things that’s been helpful about it being this album is that the whole thing is about hanging onto what you actually have and the things that matter and being able to start again at any moment. You always have that available to you. And looking to the future with hope, even when there are no signs that you should.”
  

• Listening to Isobel, reveals why music matters to the minds of artists and listeners. Music gets people through difficult situations and serves as hope.

• The right soundtrack can be just what’s needed to get you through the day.

• Music is good for the mind, ultimately, because it makes people feel understood and less alone, even offering company when needed.

• After all, humans invented music at some point. And, perhaps, it was for a specific reason. According to National Geographic: “Music was an attempt at social glue, and a way to bring early humans together into a close-knit community.” {https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/130824-invention-music-phish-stevie-wonder-blurred-lines-robin-thicke}
  

• Listening to and creating music makes people feel less alone, which can only be a positive thing for the mind

Outro

• Thank you to Allyn, Isobel Knight and our anonymous listeners for being part of this podcast and thank you for listening to it.

10 minutes