Hi there! As a student in psychology, i have a sort of survey to do about addictions; of course i tried to find something around music (he he)... So : Do you feel music is like a drug for you??? What makes you feel this?
What's the place of alcohol in traditional music (especially in ITM)????
Sorry about that... But by that way i feel good going often to sessions, playing music and spending time on that site; it's work! ) !!
Cecama, how are we defining addiction? Medically? metaphorically? Isn't addiction usually a negative thing? When people say, for example, I am addicticted to carrotts or broccolli or playing the fiddle, isn't that just being cute in the use of the word? Can you really be addicted to something that's good for you? I'm don't know actually, I'm asking you since you are studying it in school.
I have a passion for Irish music, for playing it and listening to it. Is that the same as addiction?
Alcohol definitely seems to be part of the culture, since most sessions are in bars and pubs, although there are a few in coffee shops these days, too. I don't drink or smoke, but still love going to sessions. I just grin and bear the cigarette (and cigar!) smoke and know it is just part of the package.
The music is not a drug for me. It is like sustenance--food or air or pure water--it keeps me healthy in body, mind, and spirit--no drug can do that.
Why ITM could not be seen as an addicitve drug or sect:
1. It does in no way point in the direction to shorten your life, kill you or being in any way unhealthy (I know there will be some protest - but smoking during sessions or drinking too much stout has absolutely nothing to do with the music..). 2. It serves what it promises (and even more) 3. If it does not serve what it promises anymore to you, you are able to quit and do something else ....
Why ITM looks like beeing an very addivtive drug or sect:
1. it becomes more and more the one and only center of your life and thoughts; 2. you tend to spend crazy amounts for more instruments, more tune collections, more cds -although you already have quite a lot (and more than reasonable...) 3. you get more and more brainwashed and see a very small cultural scene as a whole infinite universe...grinning like a stupid unworldly fool....
What's the place of alcohol in traditional music? Generally to the front of me and a little to the right, and not too far away from a lit cigarette, thank you very much!
Yes, I do believe this is an addiction. With further study, I think we'd find almost everybody here to be a little on the obsessive-compulsive side. How many 'perfectionists' are here today, raise your hand!
I like Crannog's points. Strangely, I believe I'm seeing everthing in a different light as I'm growing more comfortable with the music. Maybe that's the first step in the brainwashing process. I definately grin much more than I ever did. ;-\
If we distinguish between addictive substances and addictive behaviors, then I'll freely admit to being addicted to playing tunes, much the same as I used to be addicted to running. When I was young and fixated, I used to run 50 miles a week. If I skipped a day, I felt miserable--pent up, edgy, irritable, and guilty.
I get the same way now when I miss a day of tunes (of course, part of this is just an act so my wife will tell me to go play so she can stand to be around me . So now I'm old and fixated, which is why I'm posting in here instead of doing something productive.
Addicted? Ask yourself:
Do you often play alone?
Do you scurry to put the instrument away when your spouse comes home early?
Do you need tunes to feel sociable, to break the ice?
Are tunes interfering with your work?
Have you spent more money on instruments than your finances can stand?
Do you spend time on the internet looking for tunes, chatting about tunes, time that takes away from family relationships?
Can you not stand to miss a session, prefer to be at a session than doing anything else?
hmmmmm.... reminds me of an old joke about jocks anonymous. They realized at their meetings they had enough people for a team....
ITMusicians anonymous, met every week but realized they had enough at the meeting to make a session....
OK - between Will and Alice - I believe I'm in trouble. I also believe that admitting your problem is a large step in the healing process.
I play alone often which is not to say that I'm fiddling with myself. Fiddlers - isn't that 'clever little joke' getting as stale as the requests for the Devil went Down to Georgia.
I attempt to hide the evidence that I have been making music instead of Ironing the clothes.
Every Party needs a good Irish fiddler around to start it off right.
Tunes do not interfere with my work - just a moment ......Back the boss walked in.
We literally shelled out $827 for music related stuff in October. I still don't play any better!
My relationship is founded on a clear understanding that I'll get around to my family when there is not some super cool piece of music to learn.
I can define some of the best times of my life as being at sessions.
When I play by myself, I look at 12:00 Midnight as the time when I start telling myself 15 for minutes instead of 30 more minutes. I do that about 5 times before I say 5 more minutes for another half hour.
I am not hooked though - I could give it up any time. Yep (Is there an ITM patch? I can't bear going cold Turkey.) When my wife asked me if I loved my music more than Her, God forgive me, I hesitated. You all of course know what the answer is.
I had to laugh when I saw this discussion. I was about to post the same subject. I too, have wondered if it has an addictive quality to it. Has anyone else ever had these thoughts or feelings? Gotta learn another tune, gotta learn another instrument, gotta buy another instrument, gotta upgrade all my instruments, gotta try a different string gauge, gotta try a different tuning, gotta try this at next session, gotta find more sessions, gotta start a new session, gotta practice when I get home, gotta read this website daily, gotta quit my job so I can practice more, gotta sell my house so I can buy more instruments, etc. etc.
I've felt this with other music I've played over the years, but there is something different about this particular genre.
There are certain activities that "hook" people in because of the rush of good feeling we get from them. The same type of addiction we have to ITM can be found in people who are "hooked" on the rush they get from tango, opera, ballet, fly fishing, sky diving, running, horse racing... some activities that people do to excess develop what we would consider a positive quality like music, dance, sports, and other skills. Whether devoting enormous amounts of time, effort and money to our favorite passion is an addiction... I guess it is a matter of degree. How dependent do you become on your passion? (Where's that patch.....)
O.K. guys, you've all made me realize that I was kidding myselft with my previous post, which was all sweetnes and light. Subsequent postings have forced me to take a look at my dark side--the OCD side I didn't really see before, although the evidence was right in front of me all the time.
For example, all of the list making--a classic sypmtom. There's the list of tunes in order of when I learned them. The list of just jigs, just reels, just hornpipes, etc. The list of tunes I want to learn, the list of tunes I have to really work on . And I do this for both of my instruments.
But unlike most of you who have to hide your instruments from your spouses when they come home early from work--my spouse is an enabler--he encourages this madness and pushes me to work even harder. He is a musician too and is learning about ITM from me. Do we have a Co-dependant relationship??
I find learning an instrument to be very addictive. I always notice that once I have mastered a tune, I need be working on a new one. At present I have a good sized repertoire on my concertina, but I am always looking for new jigs, reels, etc... The idea of not working on some new tune or mastering a difficult ornament each day leaves me cold. It is also a lot of fun to become better on a particular instrument. Unlike other forms of addiction, this one doesn't have ruinous consequences in my life, save for the reduced bank account from purchasing new music or new instruments.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds this web site addictive.
Now, if I can just stop listening to Irish tunes on the computer long enough to get some work done . . . . At least the boss has a private office. Thank God for headphones.
My first music forum addiction is the Mudcat (lots
going on there), the second is thesession.org
because of the focus on ITM and the third that I
have to check is Chiff and Fipple ITM forum, which
doesn't have much action. The internet... the big
sucking sound of time being slurped up.
Thanks a lot! After i posted that discussion i thought it was kind of ridiculous (as some of you said, what makes difference between addiction and passion,...); I thought noone would be interested about this subject! But what you all said is really interesting!
OK, now i'll have to find another subject mixing up psychology and music... !
Any ideas??!
Wow. I'm not alone in being an instrument cleptomaniac! I have to be man handled away from music shops, websites and IRELAND by my spouse, even though he's a musician too.
It is SO addictive. I come home from work and play up to food time and then some more up to bed time. Plus two or three sessions a week. I thought I'd get over it when I'd been playing for a bit. It's got worse. But I JUST love it, like all of you.
Hey blowfly! Humm... For me, i've such a big trouble blowing in my flute, that it's not for the sound yet!!
I guess improving is reallly rewarding; in any ways... and that's a never ending thing!...
It's been a while since I've posted but this one caught my eye. Music, specificaly ITM, is like a medicine for me. After a crummy day there is nothing more relaxing to me than to sit and play music with friends for a few hours. I look forward to the sessions and band rehearsals. If I miss one for some reason I feel as though I've missed a meal.
As for alcohol and the music, I think it's different wherever you go. I enjoy a pint while playing, but some sessions or gigs I'm at are alcohol free. To me the playing music is just as fun with or without it.
-- Fiddler Kevin Burke said that when one plays this music it "frees the mind from the tyranny of conscious thought." [From "To Erin and Back," a video tape created by Joe Burke for McGurk's in St. Louis.]
-- I've been playing ITM for about 10 years, and I'm getting better every day. The more I play, the better I become. The better I become, the more I want to play. If I were not getting any better, regardless of how much I practiced [and knew it--a key issue ;) ], how long do you suppose I'd continue wanting to play? I.e., what's the relationship between success and one's level of "addiction"?
-- On the other hand, not all ITM addicts are players. A possibly interesting point of departure that speaks directly to your query..."The enjoyment of the feel of the instrument in your hands, and the action of playing the music, or....
the enjoyment of hearing the sound that is being produced."
Let me see,
"Addicted? Ask yourself:
Do you often play alone?" Yes.
"Do you scurry to put the instrument away when your spouse comes home early?" Yes (except replace "spouse" with "parents.")
"Do you need tunes to feel sociable, to break the ice?" Not always, but it definitely helps.
"Are tunes interfering with your work?" Yes (but replace "work" with "school" or "homework.") I often end up sticking my penny whistle in my pocket before I leave home and playing between classes when I should be doing things like Chemistry.
I would say I'm definitely addicted. I'll randomly start talking about ITM around some of my non-musical friends and only realize that they have no idea what I'm saying after five minutes of blank looks. And going to music stores with them is worse (for them I mean.)
As for what's most rewarding, I think it's the feel of the instrument, the action of playing, AND the sound. I think I have to add the taste too. (Anyone who has played a good wooden instrument will know what I mean.)
As for the alcohol, I always thought it was just a generalization that Irish musicians drank a lot. That is, until I actually had a chance to start going to a session and playing with them. (I've been listening to Irish music for years but only had a chance to start playing whistle and going to a session recently .)
Wow. Enough out of me for now. I think I'll go to bed. After I play some tunes.
And hear I had my spouse and the eight kids convinced that ITM was is really my therapy! ...and a whole lot cheaper at that! ... how much better I feel after the tension of work or family obligations by playing a few chunes, appreciating a chune that has been around for hundreds of years and played thousands of times ... there is a certain contentment, a return to civility and the ability to appreciate even the little things, a good run of hornpipes, even a barndance or two.... and then there is the the group therapy at least weekly that takes place with some of the nicest, most genuine and caring people who know the true meaning of the word brilliant.... wait until they all findout that its an addiction!
To my knowlege at least 3 brain areas are involved in remembering and making music - Heschl's Gyrus in the Superior Temporal Gyrus is where the nuts and bolts of the music is put together, the Hippocampus is where memory is potentiated, so where the memory of tunes are prompted, and I would imagine the motor cortex and even the Cerebellum have a large input in the actual action of making music. Doubtless there are many more areas where music making becomes a holistic thought process rather places that light up in a scan. Anyway my point is that the neural connections between these areas will be enhanced by repeated stimulation, hence they'll become like well trodden paths in your brain, (that's why you can "think" of tunes) and in this way those neuronal connections would resemble those of an addict. But it gets back to how addict is defined.
Interestingly, I've heard Irish players refer to knowing a tune as having "got" a tune - unbeknown to them, they would be physiologically correct in this useage of "got".
I hope this is helpful.
Great to talk about therapy... I was going to ask!
Thanks for the physiological explanation too! Do you think music has something to do with the same area (i don't know the name in english, sorry! and i don't have an english dictionnary with me, but in french this area is called 'zone de recompense') as when you do some sport ( you feel good only after having ran a long time -like Will used too; or when you eat chocolate, or smoke....)??
Pleasure centres & endorphin release, I think you mean. I don't know, and I envy you if you get that buzz. I play almost by compulsion, with no promise of reward.
ITM and addiction...
ITM and addiction...
Hi there! As a student in psychology, i have a sort of survey to do about addictions; of course i tried to find something around music (he he)... So : Do you feel music is like a drug for you??? What makes you feel this?
) !!
What's the place of alcohol in traditional music (especially in ITM)????
Sorry about that... But by that way i feel good going often to sessions, playing music and spending time on that site; it's work!
# Posted on October 27th 2002 by Cecama77
Re: ITM and addiction...
Cecama, how are we defining addiction? Medically? metaphorically? Isn't addiction usually a negative thing? When people say, for example, I am addicticted to carrotts or broccolli or playing the fiddle, isn't that just being cute in the use of the word? Can you really be addicted to something that's good for you? I'm don't know actually, I'm asking you since you are studying it in school.
I have a passion for Irish music, for playing it and listening to it. Is that the same as addiction?
Alcohol definitely seems to be part of the culture, since most sessions are in bars and pubs, although there are a few in coffee shops these days, too. I don't drink or smoke, but still love going to sessions. I just grin and bear the cigarette (and cigar!) smoke and know it is just part of the package.
The music is not a drug for me. It is like sustenance--food or air or pure water--it keeps me healthy in body, mind, and spirit--no drug can do that.
# Posted on October 27th 2002 by Andee
Re: ITM and addiction...
Why ITM could not be seen as an addicitve drug or sect:
1. It does in no way point in the direction to shorten your life, kill you or being in any way unhealthy (I know there will be some protest - but smoking during sessions or drinking too much stout has absolutely nothing to do with the music..). 2. It serves what it promises (and even more) 3. If it does not serve what it promises anymore to you, you are able to quit and do something else ....
Why ITM looks like beeing an very addivtive drug or sect:
1. it becomes more and more the one and only center of your life and thoughts; 2. you tend to spend crazy amounts for more instruments, more tune collections, more cds -although you already have quite a lot (and more than reasonable...) 3. you get more and more brainwashed and see a very small cultural scene as a whole infinite universe...grinning like a stupid unworldly fool....
# Posted on October 27th 2002 by crannog
Re: ITM and addiction...
What's the place of alcohol in traditional music? Generally to the front of me and a little to the right, and not too far away from a lit cigarette, thank you very much!
Yes, I do believe this is an addiction. With further study, I think we'd find almost everybody here to be a little on the obsessive-compulsive side. How many 'perfectionists' are here today, raise your hand!
I like Crannog's points. Strangely, I believe I'm seeing everthing in a different light as I'm growing more comfortable with the music. Maybe that's the first step in the brainwashing process. I definately grin much more than I ever did. ;-\
# Posted on October 28th 2002 by Caoimghgin
Re: ITM and addiction...
Hi, my name's Will, and I'm a tunaholic....
. So now I'm old and fixated, which is why I'm posting in here instead of doing something productive.
If we distinguish between addictive substances and addictive behaviors, then I'll freely admit to being addicted to playing tunes, much the same as I used to be addicted to running. When I was young and fixated, I used to run 50 miles a week. If I skipped a day, I felt miserable--pent up, edgy, irritable, and guilty.
I get the same way now when I miss a day of tunes (of course, part of this is just an act so my wife will tell me to go play so she can stand to be around me
Addicted? Ask yourself:
Do you often play alone?
Do you scurry to put the instrument away when your spouse comes home early?
Do you need tunes to feel sociable, to break the ice?
Are tunes interfering with your work?
Heh, heh.
# Posted on October 28th 2002 by Will Harmon
Re: ITM and addiction...
.... and ask yourself
Have you spent more money on instruments than your finances can stand?
Do you spend time on the internet looking for tunes, chatting about tunes, time that takes away from family relationships?
Can you not stand to miss a session, prefer to be at a session than doing anything else?
hmmmmm.... reminds me of an old joke about jocks anonymous. They realized at their meetings they had enough people for a team....
ITMusicians anonymous, met every week but realized they had enough at the meeting to make a session....
# Posted on October 28th 2002 by aliceflynn
Re: ITM and addiction...
OK - between Will and Alice - I believe I'm in trouble. I also believe that admitting your problem is a large step in the healing process.
I play alone often which is not to say that I'm fiddling with myself. Fiddlers - isn't that 'clever little joke' getting as stale as the requests for the Devil went Down to Georgia.
I attempt to hide the evidence that I have been making music instead of Ironing the clothes.
Every Party needs a good Irish fiddler around to start it off right.
Tunes do not interfere with my work - just a moment ......Back the boss walked in.
We literally shelled out $827 for music related stuff in October. I still don't play any better!
My relationship is founded on a clear understanding that I'll get around to my family when there is not some super cool piece of music to learn.
I can define some of the best times of my life as being at sessions.
When I play by myself, I look at 12:00 Midnight as the time when I start telling myself 15 for minutes instead of 30 more minutes. I do that about 5 times before I say 5 more minutes for another half hour.
I am not hooked though - I could give it up any time. Yep (Is there an ITM patch? I can't bear going cold Turkey.) When my wife asked me if I loved my music more than Her, God forgive me, I hesitated. You all of course know what the answer is.
Mark
# Posted on October 28th 2002 by Mark Cordova
Re: ITM and addiction...
It's this god damn web soite thats addictive!
# Posted on October 28th 2002 by ...
Re: ITM and addiction...
amen brother.
# Posted on October 28th 2002 by Caoimghgin
Re: ITM and addiction...
Sorry...too busy being addicted to music to post...
# Posted on October 28th 2002 by soft black stars
Re: ITM and addiction...
I had to laugh when I saw this discussion. I was about to post the same subject. I too, have wondered if it has an addictive quality to it. Has anyone else ever had these thoughts or feelings? Gotta learn another tune, gotta learn another instrument, gotta buy another instrument, gotta upgrade all my instruments, gotta try a different string gauge, gotta try a different tuning, gotta try this at next session, gotta find more sessions, gotta start a new session, gotta practice when I get home, gotta read this website daily, gotta quit my job so I can practice more, gotta sell my house so I can buy more instruments, etc. etc.
I've felt this with other music I've played over the years, but there is something different about this particular genre.
Maybe ITM is a synonym for OCD.
# Posted on October 28th 2002 by blowfly
Re: ITM and addiction...
There are certain activities that "hook" people in because of the rush of good feeling we get from them. The same type of addiction we have to ITM can be found in people who are "hooked" on the rush they get from tango, opera, ballet, fly fishing, sky diving, running, horse racing... some activities that people do to excess develop what we would consider a positive quality like music, dance, sports, and other skills. Whether devoting enormous amounts of time, effort and money to our favorite passion is an addiction... I guess it is a matter of degree. How dependent do you become on your passion? (Where's that patch.....)
# Posted on October 28th 2002 by aliceflynn
Re: ITM and addiction...
O.K. guys, you've all made me realize that I was kidding myselft with my previous post, which was all sweetnes and light. Subsequent postings have forced me to take a look at my dark side--the OCD side I didn't really see before, although the evidence was right in front of me all the time.
For example, all of the list making--a classic sypmtom. There's the list of tunes in order of when I learned them. The list of just jigs, just reels, just hornpipes, etc. The list of tunes I want to learn, the list of tunes I have to really work on . And I do this for both of my instruments.
But unlike most of you who have to hide your instruments from your spouses when they come home early from work--my spouse is an enabler--he encourages this madness and pushes me to work even harder. He is a musician too and is learning about ITM from me. Do we have a Co-dependant relationship??
# Posted on October 28th 2002 by Andee
Re: ITM and addiction...
I find learning an instrument to be very addictive. I always notice that once I have mastered a tune, I need be working on a new one. At present I have a good sized repertoire on my concertina, but I am always looking for new jigs, reels, etc... The idea of not working on some new tune or mastering a difficult ornament each day leaves me cold. It is also a lot of fun to become better on a particular instrument. Unlike other forms of addiction, this one doesn't have ruinous consequences in my life, save for the reduced bank account from purchasing new music or new instruments.
# Posted on October 29th 2002 by SFKiwi
Re: ITM and addiction...
I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds this web site addictive.
Now, if I can just stop listening to Irish tunes on the computer long enough to get some work done . . . . At least the boss has a private office. Thank God for headphones.
# Posted on October 29th 2002 by carolsviolin
Re: ITM and addiction...
My first music forum addiction is the Mudcat (lots
going on there), the second is thesession.org
because of the focus on ITM and the third that I
have to check is Chiff and Fipple ITM forum, which
doesn't have much action. The internet... the big
sucking sound of time being slurped up.
# Posted on October 30th 2002 by aliceflynn
Re: ITM and addiction...
Thanks a lot! After i posted that discussion i thought it was kind of ridiculous (as some of you said, what makes difference between addiction and passion,...); I thought noone would be interested about this subject! But what you all said is really interesting!
!
OK, now i'll have to find another subject mixing up psychology and music...
Any ideas??!
# Posted on November 1st 2002 by Cecama77
Re: ITM and addiction...
Hi Cecama77. Just read your last post. I'll give you a thought I have always pondered.
I wonder which is most satisfing/rewarding to the majority of musicians.
The enjoyment of the feel of the instrument in your hands, and the action of playing the music, or....
the enjoyment of hearing the sound that is being produced.
# Posted on November 1st 2002 by blowfly
Re: ITM and addiction...
Seeing people dance....
# Posted on November 1st 2002 by scottythefiddler
Re: ITM and addiction...
Wow. I'm not alone in being an instrument cleptomaniac! I have to be man handled away from music shops, websites and IRELAND by my spouse, even though he's a musician too.
It is SO addictive. I come home from work and play up to food time and then some more up to bed time. Plus two or three sessions a week. I thought I'd get over it when I'd been playing for a bit. It's got worse. But I JUST love it, like all of you.
Keep it up, it's good for the soul!
Sue
# Posted on November 2nd 2002 by Fiiddle R
Re: ITM and addiction...
Hey blowfly! Humm... For me, i've such a big trouble blowing in my flute, that it's not for the sound yet!!
I guess improving is reallly rewarding; in any ways... and that's a never ending thing!...
# Posted on November 2nd 2002 by Cecama77
Re: ITM and addiction...
It's been a while since I've posted but this one caught my eye. Music, specificaly ITM, is like a medicine for me. After a crummy day there is nothing more relaxing to me than to sit and play music with friends for a few hours. I look forward to the sessions and band rehearsals. If I miss one for some reason I feel as though I've missed a meal.
As for alcohol and the music, I think it's different wherever you go. I enjoy a pint while playing, but some sessions or gigs I'm at are alcohol free. To me the playing music is just as fun with or without it.
# Posted on November 2nd 2002 by flyinfiddler
Re: ITM and addiction...
Cecile,
Some grist for your mill...
-- Fiddler Kevin Burke said that when one plays this music it "frees the mind from the tyranny of conscious thought." [From "To Erin and Back," a video tape created by Joe Burke for McGurk's in St. Louis.]
-- I've been playing ITM for about 10 years, and I'm getting better every day. The more I play, the better I become. The better I become, the more I want to play. If I were not getting any better, regardless of how much I practiced [and knew it--a key issue ;) ], how long do you suppose I'd continue wanting to play? I.e., what's the relationship between success and one's level of "addiction"?
-- On the other hand, not all ITM addicts are players. A possibly interesting point of departure that speaks directly to your query..."The enjoyment of the feel of the instrument in your hands, and the action of playing the music, or....
the enjoyment of hearing the sound that is being produced."
Ellie
.
# Posted on November 2nd 2002 by ellens
Re: ITM and addiction...
Let me see,
"Addicted? Ask yourself:
Do you often play alone?" Yes.
"Do you scurry to put the instrument away when your spouse comes home early?" Yes (except replace "spouse" with "parents.")
"Do you need tunes to feel sociable, to break the ice?" Not always, but it definitely helps.
"Are tunes interfering with your work?" Yes (but replace "work" with "school" or "homework.") I often end up sticking my penny whistle in my pocket before I leave home and playing between classes when I should be doing things like Chemistry.
I would say I'm definitely addicted. I'll randomly start talking about ITM around some of my non-musical friends and only realize that they have no idea what I'm saying after five minutes of blank looks. And going to music stores with them is worse (for them I mean.)
As for what's most rewarding, I think it's the feel of the instrument, the action of playing, AND the sound. I think I have to add the taste too. (Anyone who has played a good wooden instrument will know what I mean.)
As for the alcohol, I always thought it was just a generalization that Irish musicians drank a lot. That is, until I actually had a chance to start going to a session and playing with them. (I've been listening to Irish music for years but only had a chance to start playing whistle and going to a session recently .)
Wow. Enough out of me for now. I think I'll go to bed. After I play some tunes.
# Posted on November 2nd 2002 by Natasha_fawn
Re: ITM and addiction...
And hear I had my spouse and the eight kids convinced that ITM was is really my therapy! ...and a whole lot cheaper at that! ... how much better I feel after the tension of work or family obligations by playing a few chunes, appreciating a chune that has been around for hundreds of years and played thousands of times ... there is a certain contentment, a return to civility and the ability to appreciate even the little things, a good run of hornpipes, even a barndance or two.... and then there is the the group therapy at least weekly that takes place with some of the nicest, most genuine and caring people who know the true meaning of the word brilliant.... wait until they all findout that its an addiction!
# Posted on November 3rd 2002 by rcoleman
Re: ITM and addiction...
To my knowlege at least 3 brain areas are involved in remembering and making music - Heschl's Gyrus in the Superior Temporal Gyrus is where the nuts and bolts of the music is put together, the Hippocampus is where memory is potentiated, so where the memory of tunes are prompted, and I would imagine the motor cortex and even the Cerebellum have a large input in the actual action of making music. Doubtless there are many more areas where music making becomes a holistic thought process rather places that light up in a scan. Anyway my point is that the neural connections between these areas will be enhanced by repeated stimulation, hence they'll become like well trodden paths in your brain, (that's why you can "think" of tunes) and in this way those neuronal connections would resemble those of an addict. But it gets back to how addict is defined.
Interestingly, I've heard Irish players refer to knowing a tune as having "got" a tune - unbeknown to them, they would be physiologically correct in this useage of "got".
I hope this is helpful.
# Posted on December 11th 2002 by Rudall the time
Re: ITM and addiction...
Great to talk about therapy... I was going to ask!
Thanks for the physiological explanation too! Do you think music has something to do with the same area (i don't know the name in english, sorry! and i don't have an english dictionnary with me, but in french this area is called 'zone de recompense') as when you do some sport ( you feel good only after having ran a long time -like Will used too; or when you eat chocolate, or smoke....)??
# Posted on November 5th 2002 by Cecama77
Re: ITM and addiction...
Pleasure centres & endorphin release, I think you mean. I don't know, and I envy you if you get that buzz. I play almost by compulsion, with no promise of reward.
# Posted on December 11th 2002 by Rudall the time
Re: ITM and addiction...
I would say that it's a complicated set of addictions that all reinforce one another on an intermittent schedule of reinforcement.
Drink - talk - music -cigs - dancing - girls/guys - xxx - cigs - drink .......
# Posted on November 6th 2002 by breandan