Sigmund Freud’s attitude toward music was ambivalent. Freud described himself as being ‘ganz unmusikalisch’ (totally unmusical). Despite his much-protested resistance, he could enjoy certain operas such as Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro and he used musical metaphors in the context of theory and therapy. To be emotionally moved by something without knowing what was moving him or why, was an intrinsically anxious experience. The operas he listened were ‘conversational’ and ‘narrative’ forms of music, which is theorized, provided him with some kind of ‘cognitive control’ over the affective impact of the musical sounds. Theodor Reik took up the theme of the "haunting melody" to demonstrate, by contrast to Freud, that musical structure can represent feelings. In Reik's view, melody can convey emotion far better than words. Reik showed that music is the voice of the “unknown itself” that may become compulsive in its attempt to convey a secret message. Reik speculated that the reason unconscious material sometimes emerges as a melody rather than as mere thoughts may be that melody better indicates moods and unknown feelings. Recent developments in cognitive neuroscience have led to a new way of looking at music and emotion. Neurologist Oliver Sacks states that music occupies more areas of the brain than language does, and that humans are primary musical species. Since the fetus has an active auditory system 3-4 months before birth, the rhythm of the mothers womb and the sound of her heartbeat could be the start of our responsiveness to music.
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