Music As A Motivator

Whether it is Haydn's string quartet no. 66 in G major or a single off the new Dave

Mathews album, music, inherently, has the ability to alter the state of our mind and body. Music

can make us joyful or sad, it can make us want to move our body, it can stimulate our imagination,

or even heal us. The aforementioned has the ability to change one's state of mind at any given

time. This essay will examine music's many disciplines and how they motivate our creativity,

imagination, health, and culture. Whether listening to your favorite piece of music or going to a

music therapy clinic, music motivates us profoundly.

        In the past decade, the practice of music therapy has, generally, gained a wider acceptance.

It has been used to treat stroke victims dealing with depression, used on children with autism, and

with people who have suffered spinal injuries to help them walk again.

It is not necessarily a cure

for there ailments, it rather motivates their mind allowing other methods to be more successful.

Music therapy has, also, been successful in treating children with learning disabilities. Obviously,

this is not used to cure these children of their problems rather it is to stimulate their minds thus

enriching their lives, 'Singing can be an experience of arousal for the handicapped child, of

freedom from the many of confusions and restrictions of pathology. He becomes able to use

personal capacities with greater consciousness and can experience, as a result, direct, substantial

fulfillment.' In a research project done at a special education school in Philadelphia the out come

of music therapy was enlightening. The researchers examined three children at the school, Eddie,

Denise, and Dianne. All three children were observed as being self conscious, shy, and socially

dysfunctional. The researchers gave each...