Music Listening, Music Therapy, Phenomenology and Neuroscience

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Thou lovely art, in many a dreary hour

When life in all its dreaded toils surrounds me,

Hast thou my heart enkindled to new love,

And set me forth into a fairer world!

Whether the virtual world of music is really a better or fairer world,

remains an open and personal question. Music that evokes intense joy in

one person appears to be worthless, annoying or rage-provoking to

another person. Both kinds of reactions confirm the strong mental impact

of music.

Music listening activates and engages the sensitive, fast-working and

complex auditory perceptual processes essential for spatial orientation as

a means of biological survival, so the sound of music hits a powerful

natural potential of sensory experience.