Oliver Sacks on music and the brain
We engage in creative expression out of many circumstances: a passionate calling to make life more meaningful, or in response to emotional or mental turmoil, or simply a need to earn a living, to survive.
In his book “Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain,” neurologist Oliver Sacks describes many of the personal and mental aspects of making and appreciating music.
He relates the story of a physician who was struck by a bolt of lightning, and then experienced an obsession with learning to play classical piano music, something that had never interested him.
Sacks also talks about cases such as autistic children “who could make no contact except nonverbally, with music.
“People have said I romanticize things and put too benign a face on them, and I wouldn’t underplay the symptoms of, say, Tourette’s syndrome for a moment.
“It’s often intrusive, annoying, frustrating and sometimes tormenting — but still can have potentially positive aspects. The distinguished composer Tobias Picker, who has Tourette’s, says he harnesses that energy for his composing, and his body often stops ticcing even while studying a musical score.”
Continued in the article Here to take note.
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