MAGICAL INSTRUMENT OF HEALING

The curative properties of music were known even in antiquity. Ancient scholars believed that every beat of the pulse corresponds to a particular disease... According to medieval Italian musicologist Giuseppe Zarlino, a musician by the name of Xenokrates healed the insane by playing the karnay (the karnay is a wind instrument popular in Uzbekistan and the Middle and Near East: a straight or curved brass pipe with a mouthpiece). Another musician averted the plague by playing the cithara (the cithara was one of the most common stringed musical instruments in ancient Greece). The prophet David cured a Biblical king of severe depression with his beautiful voice and the playing of the cithara. With his magnificent voice, Orpheus not only delighted the souls of people, but subdued wild animals and birds. The physician Asclepius used music to resolve conflicts and played the karnay to restore hearing to the deaf. With his excellent singing, Damon, a disciple of Pythagoras, brought young addicts of drinking and lust back to the way of truth. In the Odyssey, Homer refers to the treatment of Odysseus. His wounds stopped bleeding when music was played and he heard singing. Homer also says how an angry Achilles found solace in singing and playing the lyre.

According to the ancient Greeks and Romans, listening to the zither (the zither is a stringed musical instrument) improved digestion. The Italians sought salvation from a poisonous tarantula bite (the tarantula is a large genus of venomous spiders of the wolf-spider family) by dancing to fast music to exhaustion. They believed that dancing to a rhythm could clear the body of tarantula venom.

Democritus recommended listening to the flute to prevent the spread of fatal infections. Plato considered it useful to sing magical songs while using herbs to treat headaches. He believed that without singing and music medicines lose their medicinal properties.

 In the Middle Ages, the practice of music therapy was linked closely to the theory of the passions which was widespread in those days. This theory was designed to investigate the effect of the harmony of different rhythms and melodies on the emotional state of man. It was established that melancholics liked music based on a continuous, sad harmony. Hot-headed, sanguine people preferred fast dance music. Cholerics also reacted to such harmonic stimulation. They respond to the impact of a soft female voice.

Every event in the universe is a consequence of vibrating motions, i.e. a certain combination of vibrations. The individual organs and systems of a healthy body have a special characteristic of harmonious movement or, in musical terms, notes. In this sense, every person is a very complex piece of music. The relationship between sound vibrations and the body is a proven fact. Low frequencies are associated with the lower part and higher frequencies with the upper part of the body. Modern astrologers have established a close relationship between the signs of the zodiac and the sounds of notes. Here is a list of the sounds which correspond to each of the signs: Aries - C and the key of C major; Taurus - C sharp and D flat; Gemini - D; Cancer - D sharp; Leo - E and the key of E major; Virgo - F and the key of F major; Libra - F sharp; Scorpio - G and the key of G major; Capricorn - A and the key of G major; Sagittarius - G sharp; Aquarius - A sharp; Pisces - B and the key of B major.

These data make it possible to evaluate the influence of music on a specific person, taking into account the time of his birth, and to develop the correct treatment. When a person falls ill, "extraneous" notes covertly penetrate the "tuning" of his body, damaging the healthy body vibration and producing disease. Health is restored by regulation of the body's harmonic consonance. When the tones of the heart, liver, spleen, bones and muscles are harmonized, people feel cheerful. Scientists believe that the mechanism by which music impacts on the human body remains one of the most complex mysteries.

Every nation has its own music. It helps people to live and it creates the conditions for procreation. It has long been known that, even in his mother's womb, a child senses music and falls under its influence. This occurs through the auditory nerves in the brain. Scientific studies show that this biological system begins to operate three months before birth. Previously, it was believed that before a child begins to speak its brain is poorly developed, and his perception is developed through the sense of touch. A baby's brain tries to identify the sources of sounds and acts like a sound recording device - recording and analyzing sounds. It is now known that infants have the ability to learn music, its rhythms and power, the upper and lower notes. Research has shown that the auditory system of the foetus' brain begins to function in the 26th week of pregnancy. First, the embryo learns the sound of the parent body. External sounds cannot be heard in the mother's womb because the body protects it against external effects. At the same time, the sounds of rhythmic Azerbaijani mughams, as well as some works by great composers, such as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, overcome this barrier. The child in the womb responds to these rhythms with movements and an acceleration of the pulse. Slow and melodic music calms the heartbeat, while loud, rhythmic sounds force the heart of the foetus to beat faster. Thus, the sounds, on the one hand, increase the locomotor activity of the foetus and, on the other, contribute to information about the world before birth. At the end of pregnancy, the embryo is already accustomed to the sounds of the parent body, such as the heart and stomach, and reacts immediately to any change. Research shows that music heard by the embryo before birth speeds up its development. The embryos of mothers who listen to music in the 28-36th weeks of pregnancy react to sounds faster than others, they develop their ability to distinguish melodies and their memory improves. Music affects the development of man's brain and motor function. 

Music plays an important role in the development of analytical thinking. Children engaged in music study all subjects, especially geometry and physics, better than their peers who do not receive music lessons. Scientists have found that children who study music and spend most of their time with their parents are better developed mentally. In the USA, Dr. Logan has invented a corset for pregnant women, which expectant mothers are encouraged to strap on their belly. With the help of micro stereo speakers mounted in the corset and connected to a player, special music recorded on 60 audiotapes is played. Tests on all (1,200) embryos who listened to these melodies revealed that they are four times quicker on the uptake than ordinary children.

Dr. Schulman of the United States treats patients by letting them listen to the sounds of various internal organs - the heart, lungs, stomach, liver and so forth. The doctor believes that by "listening" to the harmonious sounds of healthy organs, the body begins to cure itself. China and Japan produce music albums with strange names - "Digestion", "Insomnia", "Migraine", "Liver", "Light" and "Heart". The Chinese and Japanese are happy to "take" such pieces of music as they do pills or medicinal plants. Even music therapy to cure baldness is known in the United States.

Several medical institutions in Moscow have conducted experiments to examine the influence of acoustic vibrations on internal organs. It was found that the 12 sounds which make up the octave are connected to the 12 systems of the body. For example, the heart responds to one note, the liver to another, the nerve endings to a third. When music is used for direct impact and during loud playback, the target organ reaches a state of maximum vibration. This effect is called resonance. As a result, it strengthens the immune system, restores and improves metabolism, activates anti-inflammatory processes and thereby leads to recovery. Various musical instruments have different effects on the human body: the violin and the piano calm the nerves, the sounds of the flute and cello placate people and regulate the rhythm of the heart, while the clarinet activates or calms the liver, depending on the time of the day. The resonant frequency of the gastrointestinal tract is consistent with the note F; this high frequency clears toxins from the body. The note C develops spatial awareness. It helps in the treatment of psoriasis. The union of B, G and C facilitates cancer therapy.

Plants also respond to music. One Chinese biophysicist invented an audio-frequency generator which facilitates photosynthesis and plant growth. The United States and France produce albums with recordings for plants. The plants which "listen" to music contain more vitamins and nutrients. Domestic animals are not indifferent to music either. Cows fed to the accompaniment of music provide twice as much milk. The Japanese have found that in bakeries in which Mozart's music is played, dough proves 10 times faster. In short, music is a healing balm and a magical means of healing.