A while ago, I went to a concert at the University of Connecticut. An orchestra from Germany was playing the music of Beethoven, but I came away with an appreciation of . . .
. . . Jimi Hendrix?
It might sound rather unlikely, but stay with me here.
Because as it turns out, even though the musical styles of Ludwig von Beethoven and Jimi Hendrix are very different, there’s an interesting connection between the two.
You see, before the concert, I went to an eye-opening presentation led by Alain Frogley, Professor of Music History at the University of Connecticut.
He’d just come from giving a lecture on Jimi Hendrix to students in the pop music club, and noted a slight feeling of “whiplash” in transitioning his talk from a 1960s-era rock icon to one of the 18th century’s (and beyond) most influential composers.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
These two men have much more in common than mere musical genius.
First, consider this: both pushed the boundaries of their day.
I think a lot of us remember (or at least remember hearing about) Jimi Hendrix’s infamous performance at the Monterey Music Festival in 1967, the one where he set his guitar aflame before smashing it to pieces, which he then hurled into the crowd.
As for Beethoven, he became quite well-known in his own right for banging so violently on his piano that he’d just narrowly avoid breaking it altogether. What wasn’t as well known at the time was his reason behind this: Beethoven was going deaf.
What’s more, both men were heralded as visionaries by their peers, and the music of both has withstood the tests of time and taste over decades (in Hendrix’s case) and centuries (in Beethoven’s).
But I think what struck me most of all, in learning about both musicians alongside one another, is that each had to deal with a life-changing traumatic experience in his abbreviated life.
What must it have been like for a prolific composer like Beethoven to lose the one sense he relied on most for musical expression, creativity, and his very livelihood? Just 30 years old when he began losing his hearing, Beethoven stopped performing publicly shortly thereafter.
And why did Hendrix turn to the drugs that ultimately cut his own life short? Could it have been a way of dealing with the trauma of a turbulent childhood marked by reported abuse?
It got me to thinking – some people can endure an enormous amount of trauma and still live a vital and creative life, while others seem overwhelmed by what they’ve experienced.
We need to know a lot more about trauma to really understand this.
And, even more than that, we need to know a lot more about how to treat people who have suffered from trauma.
How do you work with patients who can’t seem to overcome the effects of trauma? Please share your comments below.
a fairly well-known music writer that is a magazine commentator once visited Jimi Hendrix who played for him a very interesting series of chord progressions. Nice riff said the writer, where did you get that idea? That’s amazing! Hendrix put down his guitar, look the man in the eye and answered the question in one word. Beethoven! True story
I’m autistic and I feel so courageous that if fear had a face, I would try to figure out a way to scare it away for good. But of course I might lament the tragedies of those that never experienced my kind of courage.
I worked with someone who was orphaned at an early age….thought it was best because her mother had started using a hairbrush on her little sister…..whenever terrible things happened to her…..she would look at me and say….what am I supposed to learn from this?
I believe it was Stephen King who said, writing was his therapy, and he didn’t have to pay a shrink. I agree about the creative writing outlet. I feel safe while writing suspense and even horror fiction, because I’m the one in control.
Having had a traumatic childhood, I have found that when I’m writing time flies; also, no time to perseverate about the past, which is over and done with anyway…
Thanks for the comparison of Beethoven and Jimi Hendrix.
I am a mother, not a professional. I believe people much like kids get stuck-with fear. Walking them through activities and rebuilding self esteem seems necessary for all of us. Even those who seem to get through it- are they creating new lives-or eventually will they be stuck.
What Elena says “nobody knows how bad this is, and furthermore, they do not care because it never affected them personally.” resonates with me. After a long inner journey seeking for liberation, I recently realize what I am trying to work through are re-traumatizing experiences, it seems worse than first hand traumas:
As a five year old girl I discovered piano & found my refugee in the music world. This world comforted me from the constant emotional abuse from a direct care taker. I exhibited my passion & talent in piano, unfortunately in the phase of my piano education when the decision was to be made to continue this path, this same person pulled me away from my music path abruptly by shaming me.
In adulthood I attempted to return to the music world and I often found myself tripped up by tiny barriers which normal people would think these are ridiculous issues. I am now considering no more music since I could not pass this no matter how hard I have tried. ( I am pretty stubborn in general. ) If trauma scars will never disappear, how to handle the wound of re-traumatizment?
I share the hope that Jesus gives as we allow him to fill our thoughts and body with his presence. This has been a long standing approach, hat has given also people remarkable extension of a joyful lifespan.
As his peace fills us, it equips us with a capacity to take distance from traumatic events, and then we can lead them from peace to “peace+pain” and when the pain becomes too much we lead them back to the experienced peace in their bodies.
Jesus respect our borders, our abilities and even our desires. Such a positive approach is very wholesome. As I represent him, I try to do the same.
In my experience, as a Humanistic therapist treating developmental trauma, I consistently remind them they can set the pace of our work together, and their safety is my priority. In doing so, I am intentional in showing my care (unconditional positive regard), and assuring them that I understand and honor the impact trauma has had upon their life. If they allow me to be apart of their healing, this allows us to identify their unique healing needs. I utilize a combination of techniques, including EMDR, imagery and CBT to help my clients integrate their trauma in a more adaptive way in their life, regaining a sense of safety for themselves. I never cease being awed by their courage and capacity for healing:)
Sloane Fabricius
RESTOREYOURHOPE.COM
Dear Ruth , How exciting this comparison of Beethoven , and Jimi Hendrix ! They were both well ahead of their time visionaries , extremely sensitive who overrode their own traumas while also in my opinion could empathise with others , which through their creativity , accurate depiction of deep emotions , and relaying it , brought the message beautifully across !! That they had traumas seems to be quite often what artists go through , some even schizophrenic which at times gives them even more insight !!
I’ve had recent insight into my own traumatic experiences. Perhaps one part that sears you the most is the challenge of expressing the– at one time, inexpressible—that is, turning what was IMPLICIT experience into EXPLICIT narrative. It a sense that nobody knows how bad this is, and furthermore, they do not care because it never affected them personally.
It may be one of what Diane Poole Heller calls meeting your client’s UNMET NEEDS, to verbalize the FEELING narrative.
I found this article to be very thought provoking . Thank you for sharing it. I question the need for a therapist to help people deal with trauma issues. Can a fellow artist who shares his or her story be more of a valid help then someone with a doctoral or masters degree ? Who will a traumatized author, artist or composer respond more too ? One person or a group of persons with the same issues or a psychiatrist, Therapist or social worker with no personal history of trauma except what they read in there textbooks ? Twelve step groups are filled with people who receive hope, support empathy and a well deserved kick in the ass when needed. I feel overwhelmed when I think about all of the artists, writers and composers who have some emotional angst or trauma in there background. . Maybe trauma and the arts go hand in hand. Beethoven channeled his trauma into his music and in my opinion transcended it. A good number of tortured artists deal with their trauma by writing about it, painting it out or playing music to express it. Going deep within yourself and finding a way to ,use your creativity to heal is the most cathartic way of letting the trauma go .and moving on. The trauma is one of the many sources of their talent and they use the trauma as a tool to give there work more depth, substance and beauty. Alcohol and drug abuse are killers. Some people can rise above their addictions and move on. Others are never able to rise above it. Hendrix had many substance abuse issues that eventually killed him. Maybe an intervention from other artists with drug issues would have helped him more than a therapeutic intervention. In todays helping world the first go to cure is giving the client a pill. Even the famed ” Father of Psychoanalysis ” Sigmund Freud struggled with a cocaine addiction. Freud’s idea was to use cocaine to help people come off of addictions to morphine and alcohol. Big mistake on Freud’s part. There are many programs that use the arts as a creative form of self expression to heal trauma. Sometimes the old adage “charity begins at home ” followed up with a supportive group of people with the same issues is the most healing and wise direction to move in.
Humanity frequently uses art forms to communicate their feeling experiences. This self expression via art is an attempt to heal and be heard/understood. Thanks for the thought topic.
Is the mark of a good life to be” vital and creative” or is it to have a sense of well-being for oneself and to spread that to those around. A “tortured” artist may seem romantic but is still personally tortured!
With deeper issues, EMDR. To integrate I use rituals where the adult in me acknowledges the sabotaging child in me and calm him/her down. Playing drums puts me in a healing trance.
There are so many levels of what is termed as trauma, not just PTSD which is well known, but people who have an illness like bipolar and the years they went through before the diagnosis. When there is a disconnect in the brain somewhere that can create a looping effect where thought keep looping back on themselves, it makes it difficult for a person to stop thinking about it and if there is a vivid visual with the memory it would be very difficult to un-see it. So it would be important to have some kind of visual aids where a treatment of consistent positive beautiful pictures were introduced.
thank you for your work and blessings through this Holiday season, Kundi
I found my own version on art therapy through trauma. Our lead band member fell ill with cancer and in the short year to his death I wrote many songs, learned ukulele and painted more then I ever have. I have a blog (vitalitymob.wordpress.com) where I’ve explained each painting and plan to have a showing this year where a song is related to each painting. I’m sure the musical and artistic connection to my friend has influenced how I’ve been dealing with it and the fact that being a quiet person I’ve always used art as a voice. It’s helped me immensely through this whole process and as time goes by and I near completion of this project I get new insights around my grief and the stories I tell myself.
Sorry all my comment was not posted so, I am concluding by stating that my book: The Biopsychosocial
Impact of Trauma on Children and Adolescents. Suggestions for Assessment and Treatment in the Jamaican Context helped me to come to some closure on this matter. This book can be found in the Amazon stores, createspace and Kindle. It is an autobiography though.
Well my childhood experience was fairly happy, since I was surrounded with loving aunts, uncles and my father. My mother somehow abandonded me at the age of three months. Up to the age of six she visited my home several Sundays then stopped doing so because she started a new family. To jump forward, I did research for a PsyD
Lovely creative introduction to the topic !! Love it!
just want to point out that the at least one of the causes that lead to Beethoven;s deafness was the excruciating abuse he suffered as a child – like Hendrix.
for both of them – the chances of being open to healing from trauma with the support of a 3rd person aka therapist were quite slim, but either one come, dealing with the rage underneath the pain would have required a relational somatic psychotherapy approach where the deep attachment wounds can be healed and a physical-emotional expression of the deeply held affect becomes possible in a safe container – in my case – I am the approach of Rosen Method Bodywork
(see my dissertation about that topic)
Beautifully written. Yes, we first must not judge but listen and make sense.
The work of Pete Walker, Tim Desmond and Thich Nhat Hahn are also bringing me deeper healing through mindfulness and self-compassion. There really is so much we can do for ourselves through daily practice.
Music Therapy is a profession that harnesses the power of music to cultivate emotional exploration and expression for people with trauma. The kind of creative impulse that Beethoven and Jimi Hendrix shared can be cultivated by a sensitive music therapist regardless of the person’s musical aptitude. Music Therapists believe that every person, regardless of disability or background, can respond and be moved by music- that each of us, by being human, has musical sensitivities. There is much written in the literature about the use of music therapy in the treatment of Trauma. The point is not to create a product of a musical piece, but to process emotion and access inner strengths and capacities through music making.
Yes, surely music works for traumatized people. BUT would traumatized Syrian children need their own music or could any type of music work?
This is my very serious question. I live in a small bavarian village and we are getting more and more traumatized children. Can someone answer ?
Thank you,
Judy from G.
Hi, Judy, music could work, and yours is a good question. To music, I would add movement and the body. I am wondering if there are any Dance/Movement Therapy specialists in your area. Movement can be a good resource for these children. Here is a link to DMT in Ireland iacat.ie/dance-movement-therapy-history, and a link to ADMP in the UK admt.org.uk. Finally, I am adding the link to the ADTA (in the US, far but maybe it could be a resource)
adta.bizvision.com/product/adta-webinars/ahealingpathwayisacreativeprocessdmtwithchildsurvivorsoftorturewarandviolence(13083).
I hope this helps,
Emma