The Awesome Power of Music

Music has been a part of my life for as long as I've been alive. My mother was a pianist and let us plonk around on the piano from a very early age. She loved to settle my sister and me on the piano bench, one on either side of her, and she'd play the piano and we'd sing Disney theme songs and Christmas carols.

My dad was a "jack of all instruments," loving the thrill of picking up something new. He liked the standards - guitar, violin, trombone- but favored the more unique, folksy sound of instruments like the zither, ukelele, and dulcimer. 

When instruments weren't being played and experimented with, the record player was always active, especially during dinnertime. So music was a strong part of my childhood, but became even more personal to me when I turned six and started learning to play violin (I played until I was a sophomore in college, but that's a story for another day).

Regardless of what role music has played in my life, though, there's always been one constant - the way I use music as a kind of therapeutic device. Music has a great deal of power. One can become energized or depressed, joyful or morose...all by listening to music. 

In recent years, I've formalized my therapeutic music, via my iTunes playlists. I have "Bring Me Up" playlists for when I'm feeling blue, "Time For Bed" playlists for when I need to relax for sleep, and "Energize Me" playlists for when I'm heading into a speaking engagement. 

Basing my theory of music therapy on my work in neuro-linguistic programming, I've always used a "pace and lead" method of building a playlist - start the first song where my mood is, and gradually bring my mood up through music. 

For example, if I'm feeling angry, I don't start with a happy song; I start with Motley Crue and work my way through Bon Jovi, and gradually work my way toward lighter and happier songs until I've achieved a gentle peace. If I'm feeling blue, I've created playlists based on why I'm feeling blue - any of these might start with Sarah MacLaughlin, Rufus Wainwright, Kelly Clarkson, Jimmy Wayne, Sister Hazel, or Bonnie McKee, but it's usually more about the tempo and the feel of the music than the lyrics. 

And for a romantic evening with Leo, as we're cooking dinner and dancing round the kitchen, you'd be likely to hear Andrea Bocelli, Ben Folds, Chris Rice, John Mayer, Kate Bush, Marva Wright, Lizz Wright, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, or Josh Kelley. Heck, I even have playlists for power walking, precisely calibrated by metronome, for the exact pace that I like to walk, including a warm-up and cool-down.

Of course, music is highly subjective stuff. I highly doubt, for example, that most people get quite as upbeat and optimistic as I do when I hear my personal theme song, "MMMBop," by Hansen. People think I'm joking about that, but I'm not. Whenever I hear that song, I just feel happy. And I think everyone should have a personal theme song that makes them happy when they hear it.