# Music to recover from a stroke to!



## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

I saw this story, and it resonated with me:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53793624

This BBC presenter suffered a stroke and in recovering there is mention of her tapping her foot to some Brahms, responding to Morgen by Strauss, and being able to participate in some Bach.

Great choice of composers. I would love to know what the foot-tapping Brahms was. Any ideas?

Also, does anyone have any stories of therapeutic music.

Not much more of a point to this thread than this.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I have no stories to relate, just supposition. I would suppose that Haydn's symphonies would be conducive to this sort of engagement. They are certainly toe-tapping, especially in the first movements, but they also have nice development and structure that is pleasing to anticipate and experience.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

MatthewWeflen said:


> I have no stories to relate, just supposition. I would suppose that Haydn's symphonies would be conducive to this sort of engagement. They are certainly toe-tapping, especially in the first movements, but they also have nice development and structure that is pleasing to anticipate and experience.


Much Haydn is certainly going to motivate you to pull through.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Whatever you do, avoid Allan Pettersson at all costs.

But seriously, folks: John Philip Sousa!


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Eclectic Al said:


> I would love to know what the foot-tapping Brahms was. Any ideas?


Maybe one of the Hungarian Dances. Or the Liebeslieder Waltzes. Of course, the opening of the first symphony is a toe-tapper. Well, more of a foot-stomper.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Foot-tapping Brahms is definitely the finale Rondo alla Zingarese of the first piano quartet or the finale of the violin concerto.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Bach's already been mentioned and I'd have thought his music would be ideal. The Brandenburgs and the opening chorus of the "Christmas Oratorio" come immediately to mind.


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

Eclectic Al said:


> ... I would love to know what the foot-tapping Brahms was. Any ideas?...


Clemmie wrote a book, Year of Wonder, in which she recommends a particular classical piece per day. Her brain haemorrhage happened in January; I don't know on what specific date. She was in a coma for 21-days, during which we have the report of toe-tapping. The first Brahms that she recommends is 21 February, Ein Deutsches Requiem. Doesn't really fit the timeline, and hardly toe-tapping inspiration.

Her other known Brahms favourites:

3 Intermezzi, Op. 117
Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38

Of course, it could have been a completely different piece.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Chilham said:


> The first Brahms that she recommends is 21 February, Ein Deutsches Requiem. Doesn't really fit the timeline, and hardly toe-tapping inspiration.


Well, there_ is_ a lot of tympani tapping in Den Allen Fleisch is wie Gras.


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## Ich muss Caligari werden (Jul 15, 2020)

Along the lines of the OP, you might be interested in Oliver Sacks' book _Musicophilia_, which recounts many similar instances of music and neurological disorders; https://www.npr.org/2007/11/13/16110162/oliver-sacks-observes-the-mind-through-music


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

Haydn's Symphony 104, especially the last movement, and the gigue from Bach's third orchestral suite.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Ich muss Caligari werden said:


> Along the lines of the OP, you might be interested in Oliver Sacks' book _Musicophilia_, which recounts many similar instances of music and neurological disorders; https://www.npr.org/2007/11/13/16110162/oliver-sacks-observes-the-mind-through-music


I probably WOULD enjoy that.

I was a big fan of his *The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat*.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)




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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Schnittke's late works composed after a massive stroke. He literally came back from the dead to write some incredible music.


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## Sequentia (Nov 23, 2011)

Not quite related to this thread, but I recall reading how Beethoven's _Grosse Fuge_ has been used for/by people with a particular mental health problem, but I can't recall if it was PTSD, schizophrenia or something else, and I can't find it via Google right now.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

Sequentia said:


> Not quite related to this thread, but I recall reading how Beethoven's _Grosse Fuge_ has been used for/by people with a particular mental health problem, but I can't recall if it was PTSD, schizophrenia or something else, and I can't find it via Google right now.


I think the Gross Fugue could probably give you mental health problems if you listened to it too often.


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## Sequentia (Nov 23, 2011)

Eclectic Al said:


> I think the Gross Fugue could probably give you mental health problems if you listened to it too often.


It turns out I saved the webpage on my computer, and it does not appear to have been preserved anywhere else on the internet. If no one objects, here is the text (for the author of which the following information was provided: "I'm [name redacted], a father, husband, scientist, educator, photographer and musician. I'm also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse."):



> My last post talked about music's role in my life and in my healing, with particular emphasis on Beethoven and his Eroica symphony.
> 
> What I want to do here is a bit more provocative and focussed. In that last post, I mentioned Beethoven's Große Fugue. In my opinion, that piece is in a class all by itself and has the power to have an unfathomable impact on those of us who live with complex mental issues, and dissociative disorders in particular.
> 
> ...


And here is a comment posted below the article by a reader:



> The first time I heard this piece of music, I was stunned. I experienced rapid eye movement and a range of emotions. When I listen to it today, it reflects the internal chaos. It feels like a journey through darkness.
> 
> It is a piece that makes you feel... I can't analyse it, as I don't have the skills. But I detect the different aspects of the dissociative system within - lightness, despair, confusion...
> 
> Thank you for bringing this piece of music to our attention. I get something new from it each time I listen.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

It's interesting, isn't it. I am lucky enough not to have suffered from these sorts of problem, and when I listen to music and feel placed into a better mental balance by it, it would always be with composers like Bach and Haydn. I was not entirely being flippant when I suggested in an earlier post the the Grosse Fugue was, for me, more in the mentally disturbing group than the healing. I guess this is about where the listener is coming from as much as anything inherent in the piece.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Music is amazing, isn't it?


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