In my first column, I wrote about how much I love music, especially live music. That was before I found out how good it is for us.
The panelists at the Nate Chute Foundation and North Valley School of Music’s recent music and mental health event couldn’t say it enough: music affects people in special ways, whether they’re performing or listening.
Music therapist Kirsten Allen found that hearing familiar songs helped a client with dementia recognize her daughter. Brett Holmquist, co-founder of Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center and a professional musician, spoke about the practice of “singing” and reminded us that “we are here as instruments.”
Another musician, Emily Freudenberger, shared her personal struggles with mental health and her recent songwriting. Parent Nancy Thompson spoke about losing her son to suicide and quoted his notes: “Music isn’t just fun, it’s important.” Playing her son’s mandolin and listening to songs recommended by friends have helped her through her grief.
When people process music, “every part of our brain fires up,” Allen said, “especially the limbic system — our emotional center.” Scientists consistently find that hearing is our last sense.
I thought about my grandfather. He had spent part of his life in Shelby in a tent with his family and a piano (his wheelchair-bound mother gave music lessons). Before earning a business degree at the University of Montana, he performed in dance bands from Whitefish to Missoula and in the booming oil fields of Oilmont and Kevin, but played piano and organ throughout his life.
His last performances were perhaps the most satisfying. Despite macular degeneration, she organized a “girls” vocal group at her retirement home and performed, much to the delight of her fellow residents.
In the mid-90s, when his life ended, I was sitting with him last night and he was playing jazz pianist Roland Hanna on the boom box. He might not have been aware of me, but he could hear the music. His hand grew warmer, his breathing calmed.
“Music is who we are as human beings and always has been,” Holmquist said, referring to how we wake up in the world to the rhythm of our mothers’ hearts.
Connection and expression go hand in hand. Freudenberger finds that songs make it “easier to resist challenging emotions,” which can be a “safer way to communicate honestly.”
“Even if you can’t sing, sing,” he said. “Expression is beautiful, not a polished product.”
The benefits of music belong to us all. “We don’t just have to consume music from professionals,” Holmquist said. “Let’s be brave.”
I have long fantasized about a time when mental health professionals prescribe going to concerts, learning an instrument, or just jamming with friends and family instead of or in addition to routine treatment.
Last week I took my teenage son on a musical tour of the valley, from the banjo and ukulele duo at KM Bar and Jay Alm at Craggy Range to Colton C’s expertly hosted open mic at Bias Brewing and The Queens of Country” tour de force hosted by the Alpine Theater Project.
After that last one, my son and I got up to give out after the show and his face lit up with rich harmonies and songcraft. He said without being asked, “That was good,” though the smile said it all.
Margaret E. Davis, Director of Audience Development, can be reached at 406-758-4436 or mdavis@dailyinterlake.com
