Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1892-11-08
NUMBER As.
MUSIC AS MEDICINE.
INSTEAD o. roNlko UP A SICK
MAN nc NAY eG TUNED UP"

A
MAN Nc NAY eG TUNED UP"
Dissa..i.. .f /. sahJsss That Hss Bees
Suggested by sn Emiss~s rhysisiss ss
NJ. Ps,srsbars-soms Tusss That wssit
Ne I~.pprepr,.is Zoe Css,.is Iiia
Professor Tarchanow. OF ~. Peters-
burg. lectured recently on The infiu-
ense ~ Music on the Human Organism.
and affirmed that music IL ~ the great
eet service In the treatment OF diseass.
and that. by the proper nse of music,
the system can h. tuned" like musical
instrument. Sufferers from nerve dis
orders can, he state, b. soothei by
music. bu, the remedy must L. employed
with discrimination. NJ In some cases 10
produces an effect contrary 20 that
which IL intended.
Well. opium will do that. and - will
many other drugs when they are not
used with discrimination" 80 that n
no disparagcment 20 the therapeutic vir.
tue ~ music. soif Professor Tarchanow
IL right-and he il scientific mantle
d-gre. Of musical doctor. such A. Wa.
conferred on Sir Arthur Sullivan. Il
very likely 30 have q new significance.
The subject opsns up rather broad
view.
Where will college for such musical
doctors H. lccatedi Where can q man
studying musical medicine learn the
effect Il some heroic remedy. like the
trombone, without originating n scourge
of nervous diseaseS II IL possible. how.
ever, 20 build the college In the middle
of some vast. uninhabited tract, where
professors. students and patients can
literally wrc-tle with the problem.
There are u course only . certais
number ~ muacl instruments. Will
q musical doctor nse all % them In his
practice. will they make up his pharma-
copria, OF will he become . specialist
on one instrument. . frst yiolinis,. 20 20
speak. In the grand orchestra of the pro-
fe~ioni II he becomes q specialist he
must treat different diseases by admin
istsring different tunes. The swan sons
from "Lohengrin" would naturally have
one effect upon man In . ft: Tan
ra-toom- decay another. Professor Tar.
chanOw attributes the frequent failure
of music % cure diseases 90 its b~ing
used nj the wrong time and In unsuita-
ble cases ~ % oours. the young must
cal practitioner will exercise the incest
judgment. lie can lay down soins
standard rules like Wagner la cass u
stupor." or "ofYenbaeh In melancbslia,"
bat he will never dream % giving IL
Owe Ten Dollar- % oGrsdy." when an
unfortunate has taken arsenic with sui.
cidal intent, or u prescribing the newest
ballet music for girl suffering with ~.
vitus dance.
The Russian saSant expressed the con.
viction that q time will come when mu-
.ic ''in the hands u scientifically trained
physicians" will h. acknowledged to 10
an agent u great power for the relief of
suffering. II would h. now II u wer.
''in the hands % scientifically trained
physicians" Their training has taught
them 10 detect human suffering. They
can se. q man vince when his ear u
shocked, they can zee him squirm and
twi.t-smiling al the hme-while sems
one ring. The Last Roe u sumner
out % tune. They can In fact hear his
teeth CRATE when his fayOrits air IL
playei false. Can the ordinary young
person at the piano do that; can the
leader II the German hand. can the fel-
low with the hand organi
How can music fail % relieve en-.
claims Tarchanow. when q ssries u
cases has proved tha, u Il the the most
powerful regulator Of mems moods AMI
feelings which dominate many sides of
the p-ychicaI and physical life of tho
organi.my' A profane critic might sus-
gest that musicians A. elias do no, En-.
emplify that perfect regulation" of
their emotions which might h. expected.
The professor Ia. doubtless never seen
two bandmasters pulling each ether.
hair In fight about the proper tempo
u the Dead March In Saul. II u even
po-sibls that he has never heard ~ rival
primA dOnnas scratching and cls~ing.
but this failure to regulate the emotions
u musicians may H. the result of the
tolerance b-gotten % oyeruse. The same
thing happens In the medicine % thu
present day. An old morphia hend can
take enough % the drug to Kill dozen
ordinary men. Then there are % courS@
those Styrians who. beginning 90 takear.
ssnic when they ara young. are In year.
able 10 eat u ~ -)me people do garlic.
However AL this may be, the sedstiye
effect % music on patients In whom the
instrument Of mind IL "liks sweet bells
tangled out of tune and harsh" II uni.
yersally admitted Canon Hartford, an
Englishman, hAs reported clinical Ell.
pertinent. made by the St. Cecilia guild
that show that II has q distinctly bsne-
fetal effect In certain cases u insomnia
Here. too, one would think the tune
employed would have 10 lie chosen with
very nice Judgment.
Music doubtless will relieve pain.
not by acting on the nerve centsr-, lot
by distraeting the sufferers attention.
This IL the true field for music ~ .
therapeutic agency. and IL is improbable
that Il ever can do more. 0rpheus made
trees and mountains dance 10 HE luts,
and the Pied Piper's music purged
Hanelin of rats. but IL u very doubtful
whether Canon Hartford will ever
charm away q tumor or nd tubercu.
lous lung VI bacilli. Within limits,
however. music may BE- most useful
handmaid-n 20 medicine. and In this age
Of nerves II might possibly b. made 10
play All important part In the prevention
Of the many diseases which are fc>tsred
n not actually engendered by depression
and fatigue. Canon Hartford and his
colleagues may IL encouraged 10 perse-
we're in their efforts 10 pres the most
spiritual of the ine arts into the service
Of suffering humanity. - New York
World.