Reflection #3 Music is Medicine, Music is Sanity by Robert Gupta
In this TED Talk, Robert Gupta tells the story of a paranoid schizophrenic whose life is completely changed by the simple act of listening and playing the violin. It may not sound interesting to some people but it is amazing how music can change a persons life in so many ways and if you listen to this TED Talk you will understand exactly why.
The man that I mentioned as being a paranoid schizophrenic is Nathaniel Anthony Ayers. This man was incredible at making music; he was a "Juilliard-trained double bassist whose promising career was cut short by a tragic affliction with paranoid schizophrenia". He ended up dropping out of Juilliard and having a complete break-down which lead him to living on the streets and playing s violin that only had two strings. In 2008, Robert Gupta met Mr. Ayers and after talking for a bit about music and other topics, Ayers requested a violin lesson from Robert Gupta. When the lesson first began Gupta described Ayers as being lost. He said that he "had a kind of manic glint in his eyes" and he was talking about things that weren't actually there. So Gupta was afraid, not for himself, but for Ayers. He was afraid that Ayers would fall back into a break-down state and lose the relationship that he had with his violin. So Gupta just started playing. Immediately, Ayers seemed more in focus with what was happening around him. The violin had done the amazing job of making the lost look in Ayers' eyes disappear.
The fact that one musical instrument could so strongly affect someone's mental health is amazing to me. Ayers went from lost to sane in a matter of a few notes that came from the violin. This shows just how strong music therapy can be. Sometimes just the sound of an instrument can bring you back to reality when you are having even a horrible episode.
I really enjoyed this TED Talk because, not only the actual talk was amazing but also the wonderful violin performance that Robert Gupta put on after his talk. I overall very much enjoyed the talk and I feel like I learned a lot from it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves music and how it can effect someone's life.
Until next time,
Kendall Robinson
In this TED Talk, Robert Gupta tells the story of a paranoid schizophrenic whose life is completely changed by the simple act of listening and playing the violin. It may not sound interesting to some people but it is amazing how music can change a persons life in so many ways and if you listen to this TED Talk you will understand exactly why.
The man that I mentioned as being a paranoid schizophrenic is Nathaniel Anthony Ayers. This man was incredible at making music; he was a "Juilliard-trained double bassist whose promising career was cut short by a tragic affliction with paranoid schizophrenia". He ended up dropping out of Juilliard and having a complete break-down which lead him to living on the streets and playing s violin that only had two strings. In 2008, Robert Gupta met Mr. Ayers and after talking for a bit about music and other topics, Ayers requested a violin lesson from Robert Gupta. When the lesson first began Gupta described Ayers as being lost. He said that he "had a kind of manic glint in his eyes" and he was talking about things that weren't actually there. So Gupta was afraid, not for himself, but for Ayers. He was afraid that Ayers would fall back into a break-down state and lose the relationship that he had with his violin. So Gupta just started playing. Immediately, Ayers seemed more in focus with what was happening around him. The violin had done the amazing job of making the lost look in Ayers' eyes disappear.
The fact that one musical instrument could so strongly affect someone's mental health is amazing to me. Ayers went from lost to sane in a matter of a few notes that came from the violin. This shows just how strong music therapy can be. Sometimes just the sound of an instrument can bring you back to reality when you are having even a horrible episode.
I really enjoyed this TED Talk because, not only the actual talk was amazing but also the wonderful violin performance that Robert Gupta put on after his talk. I overall very much enjoyed the talk and I feel like I learned a lot from it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves music and how it can effect someone's life.
Until next time,
Kendall Robinson