Recently I have been doing research on how music and neurology. I have become very interested in the mechanisms behind music therapy. Music is used to help many patients with diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and many more. These disorders have similar symptoms such as: memory loss, loss of movement and speech. Music is used in marvelous ways to correct these symptoms.
Music is played to help regain muscle memory. When a slow song is played the patient is challenged to move very slowly, helping those who jolt or are jerky. If the patient wants to move at a faster pace all they need to do is listen to a fast paced song. The same goes for a slower song, they will move slower.
A similar scenario goes on with re-learning how to speak. A patient listens to a song and memorizes the lyrics. Slowly they start singing along with the song, then they slowly start to take out the music and all you hear is their voice. Then over time, they start to transform their singing into speech. Then they slowly start adding their own words instead of the lyrics.
It's a great transformation these patients go through with music. It's inspiring and emotional. There are plenty of youtube videos that are on music therapy. I have cried watching some of these videos. This is something I would love to pursue. It combines two of my favorite things; music and helping others.
