Music as Medicine for the Soul

While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”  Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

                                          Matthew 26: 26-30 NRSVue

1 When in our music God is glorified, and adoration leaves no room for pride,

it is as though the whole creation cried Hallelujah! 

2 How often, making music, we have found a new dimension in the world of sound, 

as worship moved us to a more profound Hallelujah! 

3 So has the church in liturgy and song, in faith and love, through centuries of wrong, 

borne witness to the truth in every tongue, Hallelujah! 

Daniel Levitin is a respected neuroscientist and cognitive psychologist who has written a lot of books,on a variety of subjects including aging and lies. If he wanted to combine his expertise in one volume he might consider a book about a certain aging liar who aspires to be president of the United States.

He has also written fascinating books on music including This Is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs, and he even got an endorsement from a Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney.

Levitin has turned to a Canadian musical icon, Leonard Cohen for the title of his latest book, I Heard there was a Secret Chord: Music and Medicine. The title comes from the song Hallelujah, covered by just about everyone, proving that even a secular society likes a good hymn. I've put the book on hold at the library and I'm looking forward to his latest insights about the medicinal value of the music we make. 

On the weekend I read an article in the Globe and Mail newspaper about music from a different perspective. It was about music producer Eddie Kramer, born in South Africa, now living in Prince Edward County here in Ontario, who worked with some of the greats of rock music including Led Zeppelin and the Beatles. He had a special relationship with Jimi Hendrix, the guitar god who died in 1970 at age 27. Kramer offered an intriguing insight into how Hendrix processed music: 

Jimi and I had this instinctive connection. He didn’t talk about music in technical terms; he used colours. He’d say, “I need more purple,” or, “Let’s add some green here.” For him, reverb was green, distortion was red and each song had its own palette. It wasn’t just about notes or chords – it was about creating a feeling, painting a picture in sound. I haven’t really found that same language with anyone else. With Jimi, I’d just know what he meant. It was a kind of shorthand that made our sessions incredibly dynamic.

I think this is called synesthesia and I imagine Dr. Levitin has offered a scientific perspective on this phenomenon along the way. 

Music has been a powerful part of worship through the centuries and the Judeo/Christian bible has a whole section of musical pieces called psalms, many of which have instructions for the music leaders and the names of appropriate instruments that no longer exist. According to Matthew's gospel, Jesus and the disciples left the Last Supper singing a hymn. 

Lots of us can remember days of powerful singing in larger congregations when the music lifted our spirits into joy or comforted us in sorrow. Even in this day of meagre church attendance in many denominations we still chose to sing our faith as spiritual medicine and I hope we always will. Do we sing in colour? Rock on!

4 And did not Jesus sing a psalm that night when utmost evil strove against the light? 

Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight: Hallelujah! 

5 Let every instrument be tuned for praise! Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise! 

And may God give us faith to sing always Hallelujah!

Eddie Kramer at Electric Lady Studio. The South African-born, Ontario-based producer and engineer worked on some of rock's greatest moments over six decades, from the psychedelic fervour of Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced to the thunderous power of Led Zeppelin’s early albums.