Saturday, July 7, 2012

Listen Up: Music Affects Longevity






David Ocker said...

Although it's a couple years old now, you might be interested in this overview from Psychology Today about studies on the (so called) Mozart Effect.

As for conductors' life spans - do you think maybe that they live longer because waving their arms in the air for hours on end strengthens their heart muscles? I suspect that anyone who waved their arms for say an hour a day even without listening to music would be prolonging their life. Just a thought.

Rodney Punt said...

David: Matter of fact I do believe anyone waiving their arms as energetically as the average conductor would tend to strengthen their heart muscles and improve their circulation system. But I also think there is more to conducting that prolongs life: the exertion of mental energy in the process, the other body movements associated with conducting, the engagement of the spirit and the satisfaction of the musical "journeys" through various works. It all adds up.

Thanks for the enlightening article on the (so called) Mozart effect.