Bad Vibrations

The History of the Idea of Music as a Cause of Disease

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Theory & Criticism, Ethnomusicology
Cover of the book Bad Vibrations by James Kennaway, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James Kennaway ISBN: 9781317176466
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: April 15, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: James Kennaway
ISBN: 9781317176466
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: April 15, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Music has been used as a cure for disease since as far back as King David's lyre, but the notion that it might be a serious cause of mental and physical illness was rare until the late eighteenth century. At that time, physicians started to argue that excessive music, or the wrong kind of music, could over-stimulate a vulnerable nervous system, leading to illness, immorality and even death. Since then there have been successive waves of moral panics about supposed epidemics of musical nervousness, caused by everything from Wagner to jazz and rock 'n' roll. It was this medical and critical debate that provided the psychiatric rhetoric of "degenerate music" that was the rationale for the persecution of musicians in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. By the 1950s, the focus of medical anxiety about music shifted to the idea that "musical brainwashing" and "subliminal messages" could strain the nerves and lead to mind control, mental illness and suicide. More recently, the prevalence of sonic weapons and the use of music in torture in the so-called War on Terror have both made the subject of music that is bad for the health worryingly topical. This book outlines and explains the development of this idea of pathological music from the Enlightenment until the present day, providing an original contribution to the history of medicine, music and the body.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Music has been used as a cure for disease since as far back as King David's lyre, but the notion that it might be a serious cause of mental and physical illness was rare until the late eighteenth century. At that time, physicians started to argue that excessive music, or the wrong kind of music, could over-stimulate a vulnerable nervous system, leading to illness, immorality and even death. Since then there have been successive waves of moral panics about supposed epidemics of musical nervousness, caused by everything from Wagner to jazz and rock 'n' roll. It was this medical and critical debate that provided the psychiatric rhetoric of "degenerate music" that was the rationale for the persecution of musicians in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. By the 1950s, the focus of medical anxiety about music shifted to the idea that "musical brainwashing" and "subliminal messages" could strain the nerves and lead to mind control, mental illness and suicide. More recently, the prevalence of sonic weapons and the use of music in torture in the so-called War on Terror have both made the subject of music that is bad for the health worryingly topical. This book outlines and explains the development of this idea of pathological music from the Enlightenment until the present day, providing an original contribution to the history of medicine, music and the body.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Developing Evaluative Judgement in Higher Education by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Cultural Studies by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Being in Time by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Selves, Societies, and Emotions by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Europe's Troubled Region by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Internationalized State-Building after Violent Conflict by James Kennaway
Cover of the book China in Symbolic Communication by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Modern Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Shawn's Fundamentals of Dance by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Architectural Design and Ethics by James Kennaway
Cover of the book (Un) Civil Society and Political Change in Indonesia by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Ending Campus Violence by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Feminist Perspectives on Family Law by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Perspectives on Violence and Violent Death by James Kennaway
Cover of the book Military Ethics and Virtues by James Kennaway
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy