Communing with Music: Practicing the Art of Conscious Listening.(Book Review)

Communing with Music: Practicing the Art of Conscious Listening, by Matthew Cantello. DeVross Publications (DeVross & Company (553 Constitution Ave., Camarillo, CA 93012), 2004. 180 pp. $15.95.

In the hours and days following my mother's death decades ago, I remember being startled by passages of music playing in my head over and over--from the second movement of Brahm's Third Symphony. It took me a while to figure out that was how one part of myself helped another part to cope and, ultimately, heal. I should not have been so surprised, because, in retrospect, it was not the first time I had used music as part of my personal restorative process.

Matthew Cantello's book deals with this subject. His premise is that art music has healing power and also can be used to foster spiritual growth. He states that in modern society, music's role has been largely relegated to either entertainment or background function, causing a large sector of the population to be unaware of music's greater powers. Although the book's most sweeping ideas might interest professional musicians and teachers, the majority of its content seems to be directed at the layman's level, such as leisure adult students, casual concert-goers or collegiate music appreciation classes.

Besides exploring the power of music, the book suggests how to listen to music in ways that promote transcendental experiences. One part focuses on listening more actively and the other on "communing" with music: "... the moments where we seek to become one with, and therefore be transformed by, musical sound."

Much of the reading beckons the right brain, but there also are suggestions and exercises to help the left brain achieve these higher states. The chapter about developing musical sensitivity focuses on how to better perceive various musical aspects: tone, melody, harmony, rhythm and so forth. Three kinds of communing techniques are presented: perception of musical relationships, use of imagery and physical response to music. There also is an insightful chapter relating to how recorded ...