MUSIC AS A CURE FOR NERVES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12765, 17 June 1911, Page 12 (Supplement)

MUSIC AS A CURE FOR NERVES.

PI\NOIA OR STREET ORGAN ANTIDOTE TO NEURASTHENIA.

If you have ah attack of nerves and can play any land of musical - lnstrurr.fint; from the organ to; the, papercovered comb, play it;,, if ,ypu are not a musician and have, not got a pinaola oj other, mechanical.player^go out and iisten to a barrel-organ. For the(luting strains of the "Chocolate Soldier" waltz or the lively swing of By the ijght of the.- Silv'ry ,M«on'' or the ilmnder of Dr. Strauss's "Elektra''will Lave a wondrously .soothing eftect inon yon. just as - music will soothe the savage beast, so ; will it soothe your """Music-na.i cure for neurasthenia has b3en tried with very satisfactory results in many cases/ said a wellknown doctor recently. . . . , '•People with an car T for music and an attack of neives should try -it, it can't do them any harm, and it may do them a jzrtat deal of good. ; - . <:B'ut there" vare certain things to be observed in employing the. music ewe: For instance, I do not.. thmk it at all recessary to copy the method -which. 1 hear a certain Danish musician ad\»cates and be lulled to sleep <while lying on the top of a grand piano. "Even a, soft lullaby in such a position would easily be very aggravatUl^'\ far better plan is to listen to music being playod at a distance, to into ono room while a piano .is being l>lav** in the next, and the effect is (ft(:n very soothing and 'comfortable. "\nd a* wise discrimination must be exo'rriscd in the choice of the music selected as a cure. Choose your music to suit your temperament. "If your disposition is generally a lively one. listen to a good military march, a selection from the latest musical comedy, or a 'goey' pantomime or iTUsic-hallsony. The lively melody wil -nako you forget about your 'nerves, f:ijd bring you back to your normal lively self. . <:lf, however, you are of a phlegm?tic. serious disposition, go in for music of a more sober sort. Classical or church music may easily cure a sori-ous-miuded person of a fit of neryes. "And not only see that your melody suits your temperament, but see that the execution of it does not irritate you. The best musician for a man sufferinf from 'nerves' is himself, and for a man who suffers thus, but who lias no musical skill, a pianola is a good investment."