Music soothes the savage beast

Patty here…

Research has shown that music is tied to the emotional circuitry of our brains and therefore affects how we feel, both positively and negatively. Sometimes music produces more than simple emotions. It triggers something primal. A executive friend of mine once admitted there was one note in a song from the musical Les Miserables that made him sob every time he heard it. I find this intriguing, so lately I’ve been doing a little field research of my own.

Case Study Number One: Jersey Boys

Last Friday night I went to see Jersey Boys at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. For those of you who don’t already know, it’s the story of the rise and fall of The Four Seasons singing group, the talented guys who brought us “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” Walk Like a Man,” “Let’s Hang on to What We’ve Got,” and many more hit songs. Maybe it was Frankie Valli’s high notes that got to me. His music made me feel happy (I was one of those people dancing in the aisles as I left the theatre) and sad (one more story of young people with talent and grit who scratch their way to the top only to see the trappings of fame rip them apart). Seeing what was happening in their lives and the songs those events inspired made for a rich and rewarding experience.

You’ll see what I mean when you watch the real Four Seasons singing “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” allegedly inspired by a young Gaudio’s first sexual experience, which took place on the road in—what else—December, 1963.



Erich Bergen, Michael Ingersoll, Christopher Kale Jones, and Deven May are the four talented guys who star in the show. They made me fall in love with them, with The Four Seasons, and with whole theatre experience. See for yourself. Here they with Jay Leno.



Case Study Number Two: Toning

Some years ago a friend invited me to a toning concert at a psychic woo-woo alternative church. Being game for anything, I agreed to go. I didn’t know at the time but toning is an ancient and powerful healing sound used to release tension and balance the mind, body, and spirit. Here's a Web site I found in which Don Campbell describes toning as, "Simple and audible sound, prolonged long enough to be identified. Toning is the conscious elongation of a sound using the breath and voice."

Shortly after we arrived at the church, a dozen average-looking people walked onto the stage dressed in outfits that were only slightly outlandish, nothing your nerdy cousin wouldn’t wear. They all took one collective breath and began toning. Simple and audible? Hmmm. It sounded more like an alien giving birth. I must have had a lot of pent-up tension because almost immediately I started to laugh. I mean HYSTERICALLY. I couldn’t stop. I was sitting in a chair, bent over at the waist wheezing, barely able to breathe.

At one point I glanced at my friend. Her eyes were wide with panic. I knew what she was thinking—I’m with a total lunatic. I would have left the sanctuary and spared her the embarrassment of having dozens of disapproving gazes aimed at her, but I was laughing too hard to stand much less walk.

Okay, you gotta know I’m laughing at my computer as I write this because just thinking about toning sends me to a dangerous place. I’m not sure my brain has ever recovered, which could explain an awful lot. Make me feel good and tell me this has happened to you.


On a serious note, on this Memorial Day I'm wishing for the world to know peace, forgiveness, and remembrance. And to you and yours, the best always.