Musicophilia - music & relationship to the brain

i am fascinated with the field of music therapy. I often say that it is my Prozac. More recently music therapy has been used in the speech rehabilitation of stroke patients with good success. I know in my case, after a long hard working day with lots of stress, coming home and listening to music gets me back to my (ab)normal self. Thanks for the post.

I like Newbee's analogy to books- they both can appreciated on many levels. As much as I appreciate the realism of LPs, the surface noise on any record that is not pristine, is distracting and reminds me that I am listening to a record. With all its faults, at least the CD is incredibly quiet. If I can't sit down and listen to the music, then the problem is not with the system, its with my brain. Just like performing music, for me it's the piano, it takes a relaxed and focused mind. Then the quality of the system only enhances the illusion. However, it will never be the same as live music. It would be an interesting experiment to reproduce classical music in a fine concert hall. The acoustics of the venues are so important to the auditory experience! My ramblings will now cease- I am going to go listen and play music to sooth my tortured mind!