More about the live music surgery research!

An eye surgeon in Hawaii has reported the results of a delightful study in which he played live classical piano music to some of his patients in the operating room before surgery. In the "preoperative holding area", patients' heart rates were measured along with their blood pressure and respiratory rate. Some of the patients then underwent conventional eye surgery, the noise of hospital machinery their only entertainment. Others were told that their surgeon would be playing them live piano music when they entered theatre, before they were sedated for their operation. Those in the non-music group showed an increase in heart rate and other signs of anxiety when they were in theatre. But the anxiety rates of those in the "musical surgeon"' group showed a beneficial decrease in the operating room. Any patient who has been in an operating theatre will know that it is no easy matter to feel less anxious there than in the waiting room, so this result seems inspiring. Recorded music is often played in operating theatres, but I had never heard of live music being played. "No complications occurred during or after surgery due to the presence of a piano in the OR", the study notes drily. The surgeon played relaxing, melodious music in a gently flowing tempo. Were the patients responding only to the music, or to the fact that their own surgeon was playing it? As the study speculates, "this may have added a further level of confidence in his surgical skill." I'm a classical pianist and, in the thoroughly non-medical setting of the concert hall, I've been struck by how often audience members confide that they have experienced some kind of beneficial effect on their wellbeing or state of health. All kinds of music can be beneficial, but I believe there is something about classical music which makes it specially effective, and I think its therapeutic effects could be more widely harnessed. The long spans of the music, the interplay of melody and harmony, the complex structure, the low volume levels, the absence of amplification, the subtlety of its rhythms – all these are conducive to a pleasurable meditative state at the very least. Moreover, the sight and sound of music being made near you, and for you, can be profoundly affecting. Having musicians and instruments in an operating theatre presents some tricky hygiene issues. Nevertheless my instinct tells me that live music must be more effective than recorded. I believe that the brain can distinguish between live and electronically reproduced music, and that live music is mysteriously more potent. If it reduces the need for sedation, and makes the patient feel calmer, it must be worth exploring the path outlined by the Hawaii experiment.