Kennaway, J. (2012). Bad vibrations: The history of the idea of music as a cause of disease (The history of medicine in context). Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 213 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1409426424 $44.95

Abstract

Kennaway, J. (2012). Bad vibrations: The history of the idea of music as a cause of disease (The history of medicine in context). Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 213 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1409426424 $44.95.Bad Vibrations: The History of the Idea of Music as a Cause of Disease is an historical exploration of ''the notion that music can be pathogenic, a cause of real physical and mental conditions'' (p. 1). A historian of medicine, James Kennaway provides a comprehensive investigation into the idea of pathological music from the Enlightenment through the present day. While knowledge of the beneficial aspects of music has been traced back to early Greece, the idea of music as a cause of disease remains rarely explored. Kennaway's book offers an original and enlightening contribution to the subject. After the introductory chapter, the remainder of the book is divided into historical periods, covering the development of the concept of pathological music in chronological order. The book includes detailed footnotes as well as photographs that give historical context to the development of music as a cause of disease.Chapter 1 offers a strong introduction and overview of disorders thought to be caused by music. The popularity of the idea of pathogenic music, which Kennaway defines as ''a cause of real physical and mental conditions'' (p. 1), began in the late eighteenth century. During this time, physicians believed over-stimulation of the nerves to be the root of illness. Therefore, the impact of music on the nervous system was of utmost importance. In this first chapter, Kennaway thoughtfully suggests how music can indeed be pathogenic, such as when played at an extremely loud volume. The real potential damages of music are further explored in the last chapter.The second chapter reviews the early days of the concept of pathogenic music, mainly during the 18th century. By 1800, the idea that music caused overstimulation of the nerves, illness, and even death was widespread. Women were thought to be highly vulnerable to overstimulation of the nerves due to music. Therefore, music became associated with social discourse on gender and class, ''since the idleness and conspicuous consumption synonymous with Enlightenment conception of sensitive, genteel femininity had a socioeconomic basis'' (p. 41). Publications on ideal female behavior warned against listening to music for fear of sexual 'excess'. By the late eighteenth century, anxieties spread to playing an instrument known as the glass harmonica. One lady's death was documented to be the direct result of playing this instrument, which could also cause ''shaking of the nerves, tremors in the muscles, fainting, cramps, swelling, paralysis, ... and seeing ghosts'' (p. 46). The acceptance of music as a cause of medical and moral malaise was growing.Chapter 3 covers the period of 1850 to the First World War, and continues to explore the beliefs of pathological music within medical, political, and cultural contexts. The ideas of the eighteenth century progressed: references to 'nervous music' remained commonplace in the fields of psychiatry, music criticism, philosophy, and literature. Music was viewed as a cause of hysteria, loss of self-control, and 'neuroasthenia,' which was a condition of 'nervous exhaustion'. In particular, the music of Richard Wagner was widely controversial. Wagner's music, including his rhythms and staging, were felt to be 'over-stimulating'. His music was thought to be the root of musical and moral malady. Increased hostility towards women also continued to develop. Women were viewed as predominantly at risk of becoming nervous and ill due to listening to music composed by Wagner. Kennaway cites examples from eighteenth century gynecology publications warning females of the dangers of musical excitement to reproductive health. In addition, music was viewed to weaken willpower, which could lead to homosexuality and hypnosis. Manhood entailed the ideal use of willpower, and ''music's apparently quasihypnotic powers seemed yet another challenge to the idea of the rational, implicitly masculine autonomous subject'' (p. …