Uhhhhh.... I wonder if my neuro at Kaiser will prescribe a harp AND harp
lessons for me as PD treatment? SOMEHOW, I just cannot picture THAT being on
the Kaiser pharmacy's formulary! <giggle>
Hmmm... (thinking) .... does it HAVE to be Mozart or can I play some
country-western on that harp? You know... Garth Brooks accompanied by a harp
puts a whole new twist on that type of music! <grin>
Barb Mallut
[log in to unmask]
----------
From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of Ron Reiner
Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 1997 2:05 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN
Subject: Music To My Neurons
Recently while rummaging through the personal belongings of a neighbor for
whom I was cat sitting, I stumbled on a book called the Mozart Effect. This
book advocates the use of music to cure various ills. Naturally, I tried
the standard litmus test for a self-help book and looked up Parkinson's in
the index. Lo and behold, the excerpt below was referenced. Just our luck,
PD'ers require harps which are very expensive. I guess I'll hold out till I
find a book that describes a Kazoo cure.
[] enclose my comments.
Ron Reiner (50/2 or so)
--------------------------------------------
Excerpted from The Mozart Effect - Tapping the Power of
Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock
the Creative Spirit.
by Don Campbell
Parkinson's Disease
Ronald Price, Ph.D., a music professor at Northern Illinois
University, was struck, in his mid-twenties, with
Parkinson''s disease, a degenerative neurological disorder.
His doctors, who feared for his recovery [big surprise there] , also found
that he
suffered from cerebral palsy. Although he played the
French horn, Price was intriqued by the harp, an ancient
healing instrument, and discovered that plucking the strings
for several hours caused his symptoms to go away.
Determined to take his "medicine" more seriously, he
became a professional harpist and developed the stamina to
play several hours daily. The harp has kept him relatively
free of symptoms, but when he does not play music for
several days, the symptoms return. His speech becomes
garbled, one side of his face slackens, and he loses control
of his left arm and leg.
It is clear to medical researchers that harp playing greatly
improves the motor skills of those suffering from
Parkinson's Disease. The pattern of neuron firings is
inherently musical, as we have seen in earlier chapters. In
plain English, the harp music helps the Parkinson patient to
retune.
With this in mind, Price has formed Healing Harps, an
ensemble that includes other performers with disabilities.
The group works actively with medical clinicians to help
gain insight into the therapeutic process.
