How could a song be dangerous? Here's is what this newspaper article has to say:
It slows your breathing and reduces brain activity to such an extent that "Weightless," written by Manchester band Marconi Union, is said to be the 'most relaxing song ever'. The eight-minute track is so effective at inducing sleep, motorists have now been warned they should not listen to it whilst driving.
Here's the proof, by the Axis of Awesome:
Here's what happened when pop singer Jewel went to a karaoke bar incognito. You'll enjoy watching this prank, which was all in good fun. The fans recognized a good voice when they heard it. It's a different result from when concert violinist Joshua Bell played in the subway station. BTW, here's Jewel performing "Who Will Save Your Soul?"
New study on the pleasures of music reported by Discover Magazine:
[M]usic can activate the same reward circuits in the brain as food and sex. Participants listened to their songs of choice in a PET scanner, which detects the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine, and again in an fMRI scanner, which measures brain activity. The scans showed that just before feeling enjoyable chills in response to the music, listeners experienced a dopamine rush near the frontal striatum, a brain region associated with anticipating rewards, followed by a flood of dopamine in the rear striatum, the brain’s pleasure center. “It’s like you’re craving the next note,” Salimpoor says.Here's the study. I've also noted from my "anthropological" visits to Christian churches (here, for example), that people tend to sense the presence of Jesus during those emotional peaks that occur in the middle of religious music. You can tell, because people start waving their hands in the air during those emotion-inducing parts of the music. I've also noticed that Jesus becomes more intense when a song modulates to a new key. Seems that Jesus likes the same aspects of music as his human worshipers.
This video made me do a double-take. How are these children able to play such big guitars so well? The little girl in the middle is the one to watch extra closely. The music is certainly precisely played. For many years I taught guitar lessons, and I could never teach such a young child to confidently play a bar chord (you'll see a few of these in this video). I'm stunned and staggered and delighted to see and hear the music, but a little wary about how hard these children had to be pushed to reach this performance level. I'd love to know more about the teaching methods . . .