Why Music? Live from Wellcome Collection
Tom Service discovers how music is used to manipulate and control, from music as a tool to subdue or intimidate, to the subconscious role music plays in our daily lives.
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Exploring what makes music a vital part of being human.
Clips
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Music in Dictatorships - Jang Jin-sung
Duration: 09:15
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Meditative Music
Duration: 09:18
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Music in Torture
Duration: 10:05
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Music and Empathy - Professor Eric Clarke
Duration: 10:17
Chapters
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Panel discussion
Duration: 03:02
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Music and pain relief
Duration: 08:40
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Panel discussion
Duration: 05:30
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Music under dictatorships
Duration: 09:35
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Panel discussion
Duration: 05:06
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Music in torture
Duration: 10:42
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Panel discussion
Duration: 12:50
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Power of meditative music
Duration: 09:54
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Panel discussion
Duration: 01:14
Why Music?: Live from the Wellcome Collection: Manipulating the Mind
In a special live edition of Music Matters from Radio 3's pop-up studio at Wellcome Collection, Tom Service discovers how music can be used to manipulate or control patterns of behaviour. He is joined by聽Professor Paul Robertson, composer Claudia Molitor and music therapist Dr Simon Procter, who discuss new research into how music can be used to control pain during surgery, the controversial use of music in torture, how music can affect our shopping choices, how music can increase our levels of empathy and how it can be used in dictatorships.
From music as a tool to control physical pain, or as a means to intimidate, to the subconscious role music plays in our daily lives, the programme will look at historical and present-day examples and delve into the science behind music's manipulative effect on the brain.
Music as Pain Relief

Dr Catherine Meads (pictured) of Brunel University, Elizabeth Ball, surgeon at the Royal London Hospital and Daisy Fancourt, researcher at the Centre for Performance Science at the Royal College of Music, explain the findings in recent trials into the healing power of music, and particularly how music can be used to aid patients before, during and after surgical procedures.
Music under dictatorships

Music in torture

Power of Meditative Music

Music and empathy

Psychologist of music, Professor Eric Clarke, talks to Tom Service about his current research trials to explore how music can increase our levels of empathy towards others.
Credit
Role | Contributor |
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Presenter | Tom Service |
Broadcasts
- Sat 26 Sep 2015 13:0091热爆 Radio 3
- Mon 28 Sep 2015 21:4591热爆 Radio 3
Music and Empathy - Professor Eric Clarke
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Tom Service traces the rise of an exciting new genre, from bleeps to responsive scores.
Why music can literally make us lose track of time
Try our psychoacoustic experiment to see how tempo can affect your timekeeping abilities.
Podcast
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Music Matters
The stories that matter, the people that matter, the music that matters