As the COVID-19 pandemic brought mental health to the front page of every newspaper in the world, music psychotherapist and pianist SarahRose Black—also, Editor-In-Chief of Canadian Journal of Music Therapy—and her husband, cellist Andrew Ascenzo, realized there was an opportunity to create more awareness around the potential impact of music within communities. Through reflection, they thought, “why not bring information about the tangible ways music impacts us to accessible public spaces?” Their series—Pulse Music Media—brings real-life accounts of how music changes physical, cognitive, and mental health to high schools, libraries, arts organizations, and medical professionals. By making information about the health benefits of music accessible, and by offering people a space to listen to music differently, they found themselves able to “shine a different light on music and show that it is a resource to create healthier communities”.
It is well documented that empowering people to actively engage with music they love in new ways brings these music-lovers a host of music—the music they listen to, the music they sing to themselves, the music they grew up listening to with their parents—with others makes them feel heard and feel important. It makes them feel like they deserved to be listened to. It also makes them feel more connected to the people close to them.
