No one can live without Music. But why is that ? Let’s find out through this list of TED talks made on Music and its power. The title and the description are taken from the videos.
What’s in a song? What’s in those 3 ½ minutes of arranged sound that have such an impact? In this entertaining, insightful talk, award-winning songwriter Scarlet Keys ruins an Adele song, explores the neuroscience behind music theory, and shows you how the right playlist can help you live a happier life, deal with your in-laws and even get your partner to pick up their socks!
Scarlet Keys is a professor at Berklee College of Music and a former staff songwriter for Warner Chappell. Scarlet’s songs have been heard on film and TV and garnered her a gold record. She has collaborated with recording artists such as Chris Stapleton, Eric Roberson, Melissa Ferrick, and local artist Sam Robbins. Some of her former students include Lizzy McAlpine, Charlie Puth, Amy Allen, Ingrid Andress, and Betty Who.
Scarlet is the host of the What’s in a Song podcast and the author of The Craft of Songwriting: Music, Meaning and Emotion, but most notably, she is a world-class parallel parker. Her most recent book as a response to her breast cancer journey, “What if it All Goes Right: Practicing Hope in the Hardest Times.”
2. Your brain on music | Alan Harvey | TEDxPerth
Neuroscientist and musician Alan Harvey takes us on an interactive journey showing live on stage what music does to our brain waves, and explains how music is more than just an entertainment. You’ve never seen music like this before.
Alan is joined by fellow neuroscientist Andrew Price and musicians from Perth Symphony Orchestra led by Bourby Webster. Alan’s main experimental neuroscience interests are in trauma, transplantation, gene therapy and regeneration, his research primarily focused on understanding the growth of circuits in the visual system and spinal cord, and how best to protect and repair these circuits after injury. He is passionate about music, and over the past half-century he has performed in choirs, as a solo artist and in various folk and rock bands.
In 2017, his book “Music, Evolution, and the Harmony of Souls” was published by Oxford University Press, bringing together his musical and neuroscientific interests, exploring music throughout human evolution and emphasising its importance for human welfare.
3. From Perception to Pleasure: How Music Changes the Brain | Dr. Robert Zatorre | TEDxHECMontréal
In 2005 he was named holder of a James McGill chair in Neuroscience. In 2006 he became the founding co-director of the international laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound research (BRAMS), a unique multi-university consortium with state-of-the art facilities dedicated to the cognitive neuroscience of music.
In 2011 he was awarded the IPSEN foundation prize in neuronal plasticity, in 2013 he won the Knowles prize in hearing research from Northwestern University, and in 2017 was named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He lives in Montreal with his wife and collaborator Virginia Penhune, professor of psychology at Concordia University. He tries to keep up his baroque repertoire on the organ whenever he can get a chance.
Dr. Zatorre is a cognitive neuroscientist at the Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University. His principal interests relate to the neural substrate for auditory cognition, with special emphasis on two complex and characteristically human abilities: speech and music. He and his collaborators have published over 280 scientific papers on a variety of topics including pitch perception, musical imagery, absolute pitch, music and emotion, perception of auditory space, and brain plasticity in the blind and the deaf.
4. Does Music Change a Child’s Brain? | John Iversen | TEDxSanDiego
Music is a central part of life for many of us, whether we listen, dance or play. It can shape our mood or transport our imagination, but what is going on in our brain? Can music be used to help an ailing brain, or boost a learning one?
The UCSD SIMPHONY project, in collaboration with the San Diego Youth Symphony, is attempting to answer these questions by studying if music training has an impact on the development of children’s brains and other key skills. What specific experiences might shape the growth of specific brain circuits? By understanding music’s power to shape the brain, our hope is to be a part of the answer to this groundbreaking question.
John Iversen is a UCSD neuroscientist studying music, language and the brain in an effort to understand how we perceive rhythm, and how musical rhythm can be used in medicine. John is also directing the SIMPHONY project, an ambitious collaborative longitudinal study of the impact of music training on brain and behavioral development. By night he’s the co-founder of San Diego Taiko, a group dedicated to sharing the dynamic energy of Japanese taiko drumming with the community.
5. Music Therapy and its Impact on the Brain | Elizabeth Stegemöller | TEDxIowaStateUniversity
Elizabeth Stegemöller presents at the TEDx IowaStateUniversity event on music therapy and it’s impact on the brain. She is a music therapist and utilizes music therapy to treat people with Parkinson’s disease.
Ms. Elizabeth Stegemöller is an assistant professor at Iowa State University in the Department of Kinesiology and is known nationally as known nationally as the neuroscience expert in music therapy. Stegemöller is also an advocate for furthering research into Parkinson’s disease.
6. Music Therapy and Mental Health | Lucia Clohessy | TEDxWCMephamHigh
We listen to music to get pumped up about something, to find personal peace, to sympathize and allow our emotions an outlet. It makes sense that music therapy would help us to heal and thrive in the most difficult times of our lives.
Lucia focuses on how music today and throughout history helps mental wellness. Lucia Clohessy is a professional singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and published poet from New York City, but true harmony occurs when Lucia is using her music to help others. A graduate of the Music Therapy and Psychology program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Lucia hopes to one day open her own mental health and substance abuse treatment facility that incorporates alternative therapies in the process of healing.
Lucia is presently pursuing her certification as a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor, and currently serves as a music therapy intern with the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Additionally, Lucia is the co-founder of The Nicky Clohessy #18 Foundation, a non-profit organization that brings awareness to the prescription drug epidemic.
7. Sound Therapy for Anxiety and Stress: Jonathan Adams and Montana Skies at TEDxTelfairStreet
Seeing music as more than just a way to entertain and move our emotions, Jonathan recounts his own struggles with stress and anxiety, and explores the potential of sound as a healing force.
8. A Melody of Innovation | Sharanya Konjeti | TEDxYouth@EuroSchoolKharadi
Sharanya Konjeti, a 15-year-old singer-songwriter, shares her journey of self-discovery and resilience. Despite facing challenges like body shaming and rejection, she found solace and purpose in music. Through her passion, she emphasizes the importance of inner talent over outward appearance, inspired by the legendary Freddie Mercury.
Sharanya’s story highlights the transformative power of music and determination, urging others to embrace their talents and strive for innovation. Sharanya Konjeti is a talented Grade 9 student hailing from Pune. With a deep-rooted passion for music, she shines as a versatile musician skilled in piano, guitar, and singing.
Sharanya’s creativity extends to songwriting and composition, with two self-released tracks on major music platforms. Beyond music, she finds solace in the pages of books and the thrill of travel, enriching her journey with diverse experiences and inspirations.
9. Plant Music: Bathe in the Unique Symphonies of Nature | Regina Orchard | TEDxMornington
Can you hear that? It’s music from a plant! Your heart may open wide as you feel plants’ nurturing notes. Be astonished at Regina’s amazing personal stories of plants reacting to people. Innovative technology allows us to hear plants live, via bioresonance turned into musical notes. As plant music is outside our usual paradigms, to be grasped it must be experienced.
Spend this refreshing session with two house plants and an ancient Eucalyptus tree. Relax and tune into your bodily senses to feel the plants while they respond to the stimuli around them. The effect on us is like being in nature, with the same feelings of relaxation, reduced stress and enhanced creativity, in the comfort of our own homes, or anywhere.
Be introduced to Pricilla the Prayer plant and Elly the Peace Lily as Regina takes you through heartwarming stories of how this little device has become a bridge between their worlds and ours. The plant music instrument is the result of decades of experimentation and development in Italy since the 1970’s.
Regina is an Eco Expressive Arts and Plant Music Facilitator and Author. The thread through all her roles has been loving connections to self, each other and to nature. Her broad and varied career includes computer programmer, wellness trainer, energy efficiency, masseuse and permaculture teacher.
10. The transformative power of classical music | Benjamin Zander | TED
Benjamin Zander has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it — and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, new connections.
11. Charles Limb: Building the musical muscle
Charles Limb performs cochlear implantation, a surgery that treats hearing loss and can restore the ability to hear speech. But as a musician too, Limb thinks about what the implants lack: They don’t let you fully experience music yet. (There’s a hair-raising example.) At TEDMED, Limb reviews the state of the art and the way forward.
12. Robert Gupta: Between music and medicine
When Robert Gupta was caught between a career as a doctor and as a violinist, he realized his place was in the middle, with a bow in his hand and a sense of social justice in his heart. He tells a moving story of society’s marginalized and the power of music therapy, which can succeed where conventional medicine fails.
13. Tod Machover & Dan Ellsey: Releasing the music in your head
Tod Machover of MIT’s Media Lab is devoted to extending musical expression for everyone — from virtuosi to amateurs, and in the most diverse forms — from opera to videogames (Guitar Hero grew out of his group). At TED2008 he talks about what’s coming next, from new tools for music creativity to the world’s first robotic opera.
Machover then introduces Dan Ellsey, a young man with cerebral palsy who has found his voice through music created and performed using Media Lab technologies. Ellsey plays his “My Eagle Song” in a soaring rendition that underscores music’s power to heal, to communicate, and to inspire.
14. How to truly listen | Evelyn Glennie
In this soaring demonstration, deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie illustrates how listening to music involves much more than simply letting sound waves hit your eardrums.
15. Michael Tilson Thomas: Music and emotion through time
In this epic overview, Michael Tilson Thomas traces the development of classical music through the development of written notation, the record, and the re-mix.
16. How architecture helped music evolve | David Byrne
As his career grew, David Byrne went from playing CBGB to Carnegie Hall. He asks: Does the venue make the music? From outdoor drumming to Wagnerian operas to arena rock, he explores how context has pushed musical innovation.
17. How sampling transformed music | Mark Ronson
Sampling isn’t about “hijacking nostalgia wholesale,” says Mark Ronson. It’s about inserting yourself into the narrative of a song while also pushing that story forward. Watch the DJ scramble 15 TED Talks into an audio-visual omelette, and trace the evolution of “La Di Da Di,” Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s 1984 hit that has been reimagined for every generation since.
18. Music as a Language: Victor Wooten at TEDxGabriolaIsland
Victor Wooten is an innovator, composer, arranger, producer, vocalist, and multiinstrumentalist. He has been called the greatest bass player in the world. He is a skilled naturalist and teacher, a published author, a magician, husband and father of four, and a five-time Grammy award winner.
In Music as a Language Wooten makes the case for learning music in the same way as we learned our first language, calling for a more natural, less academic approach. He makes the point that, as babies, we weren’t taught our first language or corrected when we made a mistake. We didn’t even know we were beginners and got to ‘jam’ with people much better than us. Wooten draws on his own musical education as an example of how taking this approach can deliver great results.
19. The Hidden Power of Sad Songs and Rainy Days | Susan Cain and Min Kym
Have you ever wondered why you like sad music? Do you find comfort or inspiration in rainy days? In this profound, poetic talk, author Susan Cain invites you to embrace the feeling of longing — or the place where joy and sorrow meet – as a gateway to creativity, connection and love. Accompanied by the splendid sounds of violinist Min Kym, Cain meditates on how heartache unexpectedly brings us closer to the sublime beauty of life.
20. Tom Thum: The orchestra in my mouth
In a highly entertaining performance, beatboxer Tom Thum slings beats, comedy and a mouthful of instrumental impersonations into 11 minutes of creativity and fun that will make you smile. (Filmed at TEDxSydney.)
21. How playing an instrument benefits your brain – Anita Collins
When you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. What’s going on? Anita Collins explains the fireworks that go off in musicians’ brains when they play, and examines some of the long-term positive effects of this mental workout. Lesson by Anita Collins, animation by Sharon Colman Graham.
22. Sting: How I started writing songs again
Sting’s early life was dominated by a shipyard—and he dreamed of nothing more than escaping the industrial drudgery. But after a nasty bout of writer’s block that stretched on for years, Sting found himself channeling the stories of the shipyard workers he knew in his youth for song material. In a lyrical, confessional talk, Sting treats us to songs from his upcoming musical, and to an encore of “Message in a Bottle.”
23. Emotional responses to music | Hauke Egermann | TEDxGhent
Have you ever wondered why music can have such a profound impact on your mood? How one song can move you to tears in 2 minutes flat and another can make you smile? Well, Dr. Egermann was wondering the same thing and thanks to two distinct but complementary research projects he will have some insights to share with us about the connection between music and our most profound emotions. Dr. Hauke Egermann is a music & emotions researcher connected to the Technische Universität Berlin, investigating music, sound and media with empirical research methods
25. What gives music its identity? | Anuja Kamat | TEDxPanaji
Music is described and identified in multiple ways and categorised based on genres, regions, languages of composition, instrumentation, intonations etc. In this talk, Anuja Kamat, explains what gives music its identity through a vocal demonstration of the finer nuances of music. She takes the audience on a melodious, musical ride, busts common misconceptions and shares a new approach to understand, learn and practice music.
As a child, Anuja Kamat took some time to come to terms with the traditional process of learning classical music. She went on to earn a Master’s in music from Mumbai University. Her curiosity & desire to share what she learnt in a unique way, led her to start a YouTube channel ‘Out of the Shruti Box’, which has garnered over 1,40,000+ subscribers. Her videos offer simple examples, analogies and illustrations to understand Hindustani music and connect well with audiences, world-over.
26. Why Music is Important to Society | Alice Murray | TEDxYouth@RosemeadPrep
Alice tells us her opinion about why music is important to us all. Why Music is so Important to Society.
27. The mad scientist of music | Mark Applebaum
Mark Applebaum writes music that breaks the rules in fantastic ways, composing a concerto for a florist and crafting a musical instrument from junk and found objects. This quirky talk might just inspire you to shake up the “rules” of your own creative work. (Filmed at TEDxStanford.)
28. What if every child had access to music education from birth? | Anita Collins | TEDxCanberra
Anita Collins was handed a clarinet at the age of 9, and it changed her life. This single event dictated her future career as a musician, music educator and academic.
29. The humanizing power of music | Evan Jasica | TEDxLFHS
Inspired by music therapy’s ability to unlock memories, improve communication, and process emotions, high school senior and music enthusiast Evan Jasica wonders how we can apply that power to our everyday lives. How can we harness the tool of music to connect us to ourselves and to others? Intro animation by Will Elliot. Animation Music: “Scarlet Fire (Sting)” by Otis McDonald. Evan Jasica is a Senior at Lake Forest High School.
A lifelong musician, he is a member of several extracurricular music groups and serves as the Senior Drum Major of the LFHS band. Outside of music, Evan pursues a passion for English as a member of the speech team and independent writer. He also enjoys a great love of the outdoors as an Eagle Scout and long-standing TA of the outdoor education course. A fascination for music’s connection to our emotions led him to study its application in medicine and in our everyday lives.
30. Test yourself: Can you tell the difference between music and noise? – Hanako Sawada
Get to know avant-garde music composer John Cage, whose work challenged the boundaries between music and noise. In 1960, composer John Cage went on television to share his latest work. But rather than using traditional instruments, Cage appeared surrounded by household clutter, including a bathtub, ice cubes, a toy fish, a rubber duck, several radios, and performed “Water Walk.”
Most people watching had the same question: is this even music? Hanako Sawada explores the boundaries between music and noise. Lesson by Hanako Sawada, directed by Héloïse Dorsan-Rachet.
31. Music and the inner self | James Rhodes | TEDxMadrid
In times of superficiality and exteriority we need to learn to look into ourselves, and truly listening to music is a great way of doing this. Music is a trustable friend that can save you even in your darkest moments.
James Rhodes is one of the most important concert piano players of our times and a great innovator of classical music. He has been the subject of documentaries for BBC and Channel 4, he writes for The Guardian and performs in concerts all around the world. His Sunday Times and international bestselling memoir, Instrumental, published by Canongate, is a brutally honest, moving and compelling story that was almost banned until the Supreme Court unanimously overthrew an injunction in May 2015.
32. Music as a language – Victor Wooten
Music is a powerful communication tool–it causes us to laugh, cry, think and question. Bassist and five-time Grammy winner, Victor Wooten, asks us to approach music the same way we learn verbal language–by embracing mistakes and playing as often as possible.
33. The healing power of music: Robin Spielberg at TEDxLancaster
Robin Spielberg, a renowned contemporary pianist and composer, tells a very personal story about the healing power of music. Her experiences inspired her to share how music makes an impact on our well-being and helps us through difficulties.
34. Trauma and Music Therapy: Let the Healing Begin | Karla Hawley | TEDxSnoIsleLibraries
In this TEDx talk, Karla Hawley shares how a nostalgic piece of music helped her address and overcome the pain of childhood abuse. Her work as certified music therapist with the Snohomish County Music Project gives her a unique perspective on the role of music to help individuals, families and groups suffering from trauma find peace. This talk was given at TEDxSnoIsleLibraries 2016 in Edmonds, Washington.
Karla seeks solitude in wilderness and playfulness in people’s smiles. She uses music therapy to build communities within assisted living and memory care facilities, and to treat people who have suffered from trauma. Karla directs music therapy services for the Snohomish County Music Project, working with families and intimate community circles of youth who are at risk, in legal trouble or on the streets.
35. How to translate the feeling into sound | Claudio | TEDxPerth
How can a song – written by a perfect stranger – feel as if it were written about you? Composer/artist/producer Claudio explains her art, purpose and technique, and finishes with an exclusive unveiling of her new track: “I was a Rockstar”. In her solo live performances, Claudio creates and orchestrates songs with complex layering in real-time using music technology.
To her, the art is in making sure both the technology and technique are driven by the heart – and achieve a delicate balance between control and instinct. Rachel Claudio is a Perth-born/European-based artist/composer/singer/producer and university lecturer. She works with major labels and composes scores for film and TV. Her live video performances have captured the hearts and minds of millions of viewers.
36. Music Therapy and Mental Health | Lucia Clohessy | TEDxWCMephamHigh
We listen to music to get pumped up about something, to find personal peace, to sympathize and allow our emotions an outlet. It makes sense that music therapy would help us to heal and thrive in the most difficult times of our lives. Lucia focuses on how music today and throughout history helps mental wellness. Lucia Clohessy is a professional singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and published poet from New York City, but true harmony occurs when Lucia is using her music to help others. A graduate of the Music Therapy and Psychology program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Lucia hopes to one day open her own mental health and substance abuse treatment facility that incorporates alternative therapies in the process of healing.
Lucia is presently pursuing her certification as a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor, and currently serves as a music therapy intern with the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Additionally, Lucia is the co-founder of The Nicky Clohessy #18 Foundation, a non-profit organization that brings awareness to the prescription drug epidemic.
37. The power of music | Umi Garrett | TEDxOrangeCoast
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Umi says: “– “The power of music is that music is more beautiful if it is played for someone rather than yourself.” In a mix of talk and performance, Umi showcases skillfully and beautifully a little part of her immense talent.
Hailed by The Huffington Post as “a budding musical genius,” 13-year-old American pianist Umi Garrett is gaining acclaim from all over the world for her exquisite musicality, emotional and mature sound, flawless technique and virtuosity, and gracious stage presence filled with poise and charm.
Of her performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Winnipeg Symphony, the Winnipeg Free Press wrote “In addition to displaying bravura technique, the young soloist also possesses an extraordinary musicality.” Umi’s performance with the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra was praised by the Crescenta Valley Weekly: “Garrett is the real thing.”
A winner of the First Prize at the 13th Osaka International Music Competition in Japan, the Chopin International Competition Chopin Plus in Budapest, Hungary, and the Grand Prix award at the Chopin International Competition in Hartford, Connecticut, Umi was recently granted a prestigious title of the Young Steinway Artist. Umi is studying piano with Professor John Perry and Mrs. Mina Perry
38. How to listen like a musician | Melissa Reiner | TEDxLondonBusinessSchool
Melissa Reiner talks about how to listen to the music in your everyday life and surroundings,
Melissa Elena Reiner brings her unique musical sensibilities to a wide variety of professional endeavours. Classically-trained as a violinist since the age of three, she received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA). Melissa has performed with many of the world’s most famous musicians, including Adele, Andrea Bocelli, Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman and Justin Timberlake.
With a passion for all music besides her first love of classical, Melissa pursued a less-traditional path than most violinists, beginning her career in Los Angeles recording for shows like “Family Guy”, the Grammy Awards and American Idol. After relocating to London four years ago, she continues to perform and record in a variety of mediums including: “Phantom of the Opera” in the West End, at the BBC Music Awards with Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding, and on films like “The Theory of Everything” and “The Hobbit”.