Renée Fleming's new book analyzes how music can improve health
The renowned soprano discusses her book, "Music and Mind."
"Music and Mind" is a new book by Renée Fleming, a five-time Grammy-winning opera singer. It examines the therapeutic effects of music and the arts on human health and includes contributions from scientists, artists and health care professionals.
Fleming wanted to share her passion for the growing sector with the public and cover all the important aspects. The book has 41 chapters, which allows readers to choose topics of interest to them.
Fleming says that she found that choral singing helps women with postpartum depression.
She sat down with ABC News Live to share more details about her book and how music engages the brain more than any other activity.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Seems so effortless. Soprano Renée Fleming has performed on the stages of the world's greatest opera houses and concert halls, with five Grammy Awards under her belt, also a National Medal of Arts. There are so many others, but Fleming also is passionate about science.
In a new anthology she's edited, 'Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness,' probing essays from musicians and singers, scientists reveal what we know and what remains to learn about music as therapy. Renée Fleming, it is such an honor to have you in our studio. It's so nice to meet you. Thank you for being here.
RENEE FLEMING: I'm so glad to be with you.
ABC NEWS LIVE: And I can't wait to get into the book. You've explored the neuroscience bridging music and well-being in a popular live stream series, also called Music and Mind. This is a continuation -- why in book form?
FLEMING: So it's a much broader spectrum of activity. I really wanted to kind of share with the public my passion for this sector and how it's growing and really touch on all the bases, the pillars. So it just made sense to kind of move to book form. But at the webinar was a pandemic project, and I was thrilled to be able to do it.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Perfect timing. During the pandemic. How do music and art therapies help people suffering from, say, anything from simple anxiety to stroke to diseases like dementia and MS?
FLEMING: Well, it comes from evolution. So we were really hard wired for music in the arts. I mean, it's part of our DNA. It's a, it was really, it enabled us to survive in many instances and to stay in a socially cohesive group. So what they've discovered is it's the brain. Everything has to do with the fact that music in particular activates all parts of the known mapped brain. It's incredibly complex.
And so that's why there are so many benefits. It's kind of the elephant in the room. But suddenly, because we have technology and brain scans, we can measure, which is required for our medical system in the U.S., we can absolutely measure how it works. So for children, for movement disorders like Parkinson's and for traumatic brain injury, for depression pain, it's they're finding tremendous benefits.
ABC NEWS LIVE: I tell you, before there was neuroscience, just growing up loving music, hearing people sing and play instruments around my house I knew that music was healing.
You know, for anybody who's ever had a bad breakup, they know music is healing. But now there's neuroscience behind it. We know music nourishes the soul, but now it improves. We know it can improve health.
FLEMING: Right. I mean, if you think of toddlers and how they react to music, when you put on something rhythmic, you know, you see it right there. It's who we are. The fact that children who study music can do better in school and better in life. And, you know, some of the things like I just learned that there's singing, for instance, that can help women with postpartum depression. I mean, serious depression.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Specific kind of singing?
FLEMING: Yes. Choral singing. So it's a group activity, all kind of shared artistic experiences. Our brain waves align. So when I perform for an audience, their brainwaves are aligning and mine as well. So again, it's, science is just figuring some of these things out.
ABC NEWS LIVE: So music oftentimes is communal. Whether you're at a concert or watching you on stage or just listening with a friend.
You're at Met Opera rehearsing now in a production called "The Hours." We saw a little bit of it at the beginning of the segment. This is really for anyone who needs sort of an introduction. This is a, would this be a good introduction to?
FLEMING: Oh, yes. Absolutely. It's 40% of the audience when we did it last year, had never been to the Met. So it's a new audience.
They're, they're young. They know a little bit about the story. You know, there's, they're three women at the center of the story. There's LGBTQ lines in it. There's suicide, there's AIDS. It's very rich. It's much more modern than most of the things that we see or think about in opera. It's also very beautiful music.
ABC NEWS LIVE: It's complex. Well, Renee, thank you so much for taking the time. This is wonderful. "The Hours" will be performed at the Met Opera during the month of May. And Renee's book, you see it right there. 'Music and Mind. Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness' is on sale now. I'll start reading tonight.
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