Customer Reviews

Music and Song, Mother and Love

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This book is the perfect antidote to the left-brain fixation of music pedagogy. In a series of beautifully written aphorisms (mini-poems), the author explores the nature and origins of music (from the Lullaby) along with its true purpose (to heal). A central part of the author's philosophy is that intention is more important than technique, and for this reason, potentially anyone can use music in this way. A truly heartening book that presents, in a totally original way, a new perspective on music and how we can use it.

I have enjoyed many of the books of Dr. John Diamond, but there is something about this book in particular that makes me smile with pleasure. A handful of short essays sets up the context for Diamond's poems (or "aphorisms," as he calls them) on music - and each poem by itself packs as much wallop as a full-length essay! Perhaps it is the delightful concision of these haiku-like statements that brings such lightness and humor - and poignancy - to this book. It is a book for all who love music - and even for those who think they don't, for it is about creativity and relationships and family and so many topics. A good example of everything I am saying about the book is this excerpt: "Marriage therapy?/ Sing duets." What a world of thought-provoking, heart-inspiring power lies in such a lovely little "haiku."

According to Dr. John Diamond, founder of Life-Energy Analysis, the lullaby is the most basic and the greatest of all songs, arising, as it does, out of the loving and comforting voice that a mother uses for her baby. Swaddled within such a nurturing environment, the infant is relieved of all stress and discomfort, being totally bathed "in the glory of mother love". If you believe that such a situation is somewhat idyllic, it, nevertheless, holds true in the alternative world of the author. Many readers may find that they are too jaundiced and cynical to succumb to the charms of a Utopian existence, but read further, and even the most hardened are likely to find some appeal in the rhythm and nuances of the text.

As is typical of his writings, Diamond addresses both the lay person and the total newcomer to his work as much as he does the skilled practitioner of holistic healing. In no way does he resort to overburdening the latter with academic rhetoric (after all, one of his primary aims appears to be striving consistently to be open and accessible to any and all members of his wide-ranging audience), rather choosing to inspire and elevate, so that his writing is uplifting for both professional and amateur alike. In Music and Song, Mother and Love, Diamond appeals to the musician in us all, asserting that "it is the task of the enlightened musician to constantly remind us of the Origin of music, of the Mother and Her Lullaby". Music emanating from such a source cannot help but be therapeutic, with "the more the music is a pure communication of love, the higher will be its life energy, its healing power". And, indeed, as you read through this symphony (for `collection' is too mundane and disconnected a term to use to describe this particular work) of aphorisms (mini-poems), if you are prepared to open yourself up to the subliminal message, you, too, are likely to be lulled into a state of bliss brought on by being cradled and encompassed within a universal sense of well-being that soothes your senses and comforts your soul.

A relatively short book, Music and Song, Mother and Love, has, nevertheless, been hailed as "a profoundly affecting book of beautiful poetry and prose" by Giselle Whitwell of The International Music Society for Prenatal Development. The work should appeal to all who are sensitive and open to the profounder aspects of life. [Reviewer for BookPleasures.com]