Customer Reviews

Sound Advice: Music's Effect on Life, Health, and Happiness

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Hooray for Rick and his timely book Sound Advice! His extensive research and personal experiences really showed me how music can be used to positively impact my life in most situations. I share Rick's love for music and found his book to be both inspirational and insightful. And I'm having a great time developing my own Zen Ten playlists.

From the very first page of the Introduction I knew I was going to like this book. Rick Notter writes, "I am not a doctor, psychologist, or even a professional musician. Just a person who loves music and has used music to help get through good times and bad in my life." This is someone I can relate to. As a lay-person myself who is profoundly interested in all our five senses and the positive effect that using them well can have on people, I greatly appreciated Rick's easy read, fraught with ideas on how to use music to make you feel good - from listening to music in the shower, while getting dressed, driving to work, etc. Rick admits that this is not new stuff, but we can all benefit from his reminder to make the most of every moment we have on Earth, and music will surely help us do that.

Rick, gives to the point shortcuts on how to utilize music to gain
vitality, inner strength, and energy. He provides suggestions of
music and artists to fit your purpose, and he has taken all the leg
work out of digging up inspirational or motivational music, by
including titles, lyrics and albums. I know everyone can find
something in this book whether it is health, relaxation, inner strength or harmony they are searching for.

Rick, touches on subjects of improved self-confidence, agility
and strength, memorization and even self-expression with the use of
music. As a gift, I think loved ones will find this book, a great
choice to give an individual who could benefit from a positive spirit
and a positive mind. Music as a cure is inspirational and so simple.

I randomly refer to this book, even though I have read it cover to cover, twice already. What applied to me last month, doesn't apply to me this month. I will pick it up and read a few pages to find something new in his stories, lyrics or quotes to change and improve another area of my life. I now think of it as my "handyman to guiding my life", book! In truth it is a fun, easy read. Once you get started you, too, will want to read it from cover to cover or many times!

As a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, I have always been keenly aware of the impact music has on the quality, intensity, and enjoyment factor of a workout. Joyless workouts are almost always the reason exercisers quit. Feeling good in the process of pursuing fitness is key to adherence and that's why you should always include music that makes you feel great! Rick Notter explains this phenomena and others in an easy to undertsand format yet backs it up with research.

This book will make a great Christmas gift for those with an interest in music or for anyone who needs to arm their playlists to take on whatever life may bring.

I've always felt the magic that music holds while listening and even singing. Rick's book put my feeling into words. The book is full of interesting, sound (no pun intended) research that will make your brain spin. Since reading, I have incorporated music into my everyday life to relieve stress and enhance my moods. It has inspired me to find a way to use music to help my patients. Music really does influence your outlook and this book backs this fact up with science. I admire Rick's willingness to share with his readers his personal family tragedies and how the blessing of music helped, not only to get them through their valleys, but lift them to a higher place.

This book is for anyone who has ever been moved by music and wondered why. And while Sound Advice is well-researched on the effect of music on us all it is also inspirational. Notter fills this quick read with personal stories about music changing the lives of friends and family. I've already used some of the ideas to help make my workouts a little more enjoyable.

I have had the fortune to meet and hear the author speak on a few occasions and can honestly say that what I read in his book is exactly how he lives his life. He knows more about music and its effect on the human psyche than anyone I've ever met. In his book he backs up his writing with great references from Albert Einstein to William Burroughs and researchers from University of Chicago. "Sound Advice" is a fun read down memory lane. Mr. Notter quotes many great song lyrics from Van Morrison to the Beatles and describes how the words improve our feelings and emotions in a positive manner. The book is an easy read because like some similar books on this subject, it avoids a lot of the hardcore technical psycho-babble, and makes it easy for the layman to understand. I look forward to Mr. Notter writing a sequel sometime down the road.

The market is flooded with all kinds of self help and motivational books. Most of them you read and don't feel that they were any help at all. Sound Advice is different. The author has clearly "walked his talk" and is living proof that music can encourage the heart, move people to life changing actions, inspire you to make a difference for others, and transform your own health and well being.

Take my advice; buy a copy of Sound Advice and take Rick's advice. Package some tunes for workouts and some for meditation and relaxation and let the music and the motivation within you takeover. I read the book and thought of the Ralph Waldo Emerson advice; "What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us." Music will bring out the best of what lies within all of us. Take Rick's advice, it's sound advice.

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This book is one of the most moving, inspiring, and motivating books I have ever read. It brought tears via his disclosure of life experiences; it brought motivation via his courage and resourcefulness in life; and it brought educational value in teaching me how to use music and my surroundings to help me achieve inner peace and inner strength. It gave insight into the power of positive thinking and the power of exercise to achieve physical and emotional health. It truly is a must read...and it's a quick read with great advice. I also love the recommended song lists he adds at the end of each chapter. The clinical data provided from his research is extensive and hard to argue. He has made his points well. My biggest take-away was the power of having a positive outlook about life no matter how awful life may seem...there is always a ray of sunshine if you're willing to reach for it. This book will show you how to do just that...and it may just motivate you to get in great physical shape at the same time!

This book proved to me through scientific research some of the things I already suspected: that music affects mood and effectiveness in our daily lives. Mr. Notter clearly did plenty of research and I appreciated that his sources were both purely academic as well as from personal experience. I also enjoyed reading his "playlists" for various desired moods or activities and found that many of the songs could span various generations from The Beatles to The Black Eyed Peas. Though his writing on music is great, his personal accounts of how music changed his life and helped him get through numerous personal tragedies is wonderful. I'll look for future works by this author-- particularly if he writes a memoir-- as his writing is intriguing and relatable.