The singer-songwriter from Poble Sec deserves many thanks. The author of the article does this on behalf of the music therapists who have used his songs to relieve the pain and suffering of so many patients.
Family vacations are coming. In addition to the cases, the cassettes are prepared so that the Mediterranean sounds during the journey, Aquellas pequeñas cosas, La mujer que yo quiero… It is Serrat’s latest album. The miles of landscape fade as the songs pass; the year is 1971.
Rituals like this have been repeated throughout many people’s lives, weaving an extensive fabric of memories around the work of the singer-songwriter from Poble Sec. Now, after more than fifty years dedicated to creating a soundtrack for what’s mine, for what’s yours, ours, decides to leave the stage.
When we like a piece of music, it catches our attention and that has a great impact on our psyche. We identify with it, that’s why we learn it, we put it on at different times of the day and eventually “we take the light and the scent with us everywhere”. Your message becomes part of us.
This is one of Serrat’s great values. His lyrics reflect common places, they depict everyday events, they illuminate everyone’s life. Listening to them or singing them is a binder to not lose sight of who we are and who we were. We can store pictures and objects, but the most direct path to memory is followed by songs.
A simple note transports us to a certain time. Over the years, their harmonies have become recognizable, a determining factor in reaching the general public. This does not mean that we are dealing with easy music; very few artists have performed his songs with the poise he gives them. The referential character has determined the degree of attraction and the emotional bonds that arouse us.
A good piece of music is a balanced modular system. The melody, rhythm, timbre or text remain imprinted and are accessible for years, even to people who show certain cognitive deficits over the years.
Neuroscientific studies show us the variables responsible for this permeability that songs provide. Our brain performs segmented processing, that is, it involves different regions in the analysis and recognition of musical input. It disintegrates the text from the melodic outline, separates rhythm, pulse and timbre, organizes tonality, intensities and dynamics, separating anything that is noise or non-musical signal.
In addition, it involves the motor cortex, that is, it prompts us to move in sync, so the really hard thing is not to remember. The greater the participation of neuronal regions, the greater the resources used and thus a deeper footprint.
On the other hand, we have the sensations and associated emotional states that it evokes in us and ensures that, if they also occur in a social context, their effect is amplified, because we see in others the same thing that we experience. It suffices to recall the contagion effect we experience during a concert.
For music therapists, these qualities of music are working tools and explain a large part of the usefulness of the intervention methods used. Our effectiveness starts with identifying those sound elements that are important to our patients. When we manage to reveal the so-called sound ISO, which is a kind of musical identity, we can determine the entryway to the person’s psyche and therefore guide the therapy sessions.
The songs of our lives give access to very special and relevant moments. With them we can rework situations and reconstruct emotional states with a positive frame and thus face the physical or mental difficulty of the present moment.
In this way, Serrat’s work has been a great ally for us. Its varied repertoire has served us to therapeutically guide the disease processes of hundreds of people, not only in Spain, but also in America, as it is part of the collective unconscious of several generations.
His long career has allowed us to build multiple therapeutics and “learn from his singing lips”. A few first bars are enough to recreate happy moments or rework situations of melancholy and sadness; they make us feel the impact of the first kiss again and give words to the unspeakable. When patients revisit those familiar places in difficult times, they feel comforted because what is close reaffirms us and therefore restores us.
His songs have been therapeutically helpful to people admitted to ICU, where life borders on borders, as well as transplant or oncology wards, where the uncertainty of time borders on the eternal. They have, of course, been relevant in nursing homes, where so much is remembered what we were. Their themes are always a perfect excuse to create a welcoming space.
Serrat has not only seen the dream of making songs come true, but also held on to many people’s memories, making them enduring. In this time of farewell, on behalf of all the music therapists who have applied your songs, I thank you for your artistic fruitfulness as it has enabled us to promote many benefits to people. His ability to transform what he looked at into beauty has made our work easier and the burden of disease lighter.
No doubt that “between this man and me is something personal.”
This article was published in The conversation.
Source: La Verdad
I am David Jackson, a highly experienced professional in the news industry. I have been working as an author at Today Times Live for over 10 years, and specialize in covering the entertainment section. My expertise lies in writing engaging stories that capture readers’ attention and deliver timely information about the latest developments.
