Book Review: Healing at the Speed of Sound
Healing at the Speed of Sound: How What We Hear Transforms Our Brains and Our Lives by Don Campbell and Alex Doman (2012)
Note: This post contains affiliate links.
What Amazon says:
At this very moment, you are surrounded by sound. Pause for a minute and try to listen to it all: the chatter of a passing conversation, the gentle whoosh of air vents, noise from a nearby street, someone turning the pages of a book, birds chirping in the trees.
We rarely pay attention to everything we hear, but every noise in our environment has the ability to change our mood, decrease our productivity, even affect our health. While sound can heal, both emotionally and physically, it can also hurt us.
In this engaging audiobook, bestselling author and music expert Don Campbell (The Mozart Effect®) teams up with Alex Doman, a specialist in the practical application of sound, to show how we can use music and silence throughout our day to not only change how we feel but alter how we physically function.
The authors delve into more than a decades’ worth of research, from studies on aging to groundbreaking brain science, in order to illustrate how noise affects us for better and for worse. Walking listeners through every aspect of their daily lives—from the morning commute to getting a restful night’s sleep—Don and Alex provide practical advice and exercises so you can create perfect soundtracks for every task, combining music you already love with new favorites. In addition, the authors share nearly one hundred active links to music, video, and downloads in the audiobook that help support their advice and show how others use the inspiring force of music to improve their lives.
Combining the joy of music with the strength of science, Healing at the Speed of Sound™ will set you on the path to a full, rich, and truly harmonious life.
What I say:
This was a very empowering book for me to read as a board-certified music therapist because it packs in tons of research and best practices from around the world. Even colleagues I know well are cited in this book! In addition, I was exposed to lots of great ways to use music that wasn’t covered in my own clinical training.
We all know that music is powerful, but we have to back it up one step to the concept of sound. Music is organized sound. That organization is pleasing and therapeutic for us. If we then consider that noise is disorganized sound, we need to be aware of its impact on us as well. Neither are inert. They both exert influence on our minds and bodies, so it’s best to appreciate both with a healthy dose of respect.
Let’s use food as an analogy. The food you put into your body can have either a positive or negative effect on you. Sound is the same way. You intuitively already know this, of course. The game of life is often about taking what’s happening subconsciously and bringing conscious awareness – mindfulness – to it.
So, pay attention to what you put in your ears as much as what you put in your mouth. This book is the perfect read to elevate that consciousness and give you tons of tips for how to apply mindfulness to the realm of sound.
CLICK HERE to go check it out on Amazon.
