Healing Invisibly: What doctors learn by playing music

Many years ago I had the privilege of witnessing open heart surgery on an infant, from within the operating room. (This was only possible because I had an indirect connection to the director of the hospital, and because I was in India. I was a student at the time. It was a respectable hospital in a major city.)

The surgery lasted for hours. At one point, the power went out, for maybe a minute or so. The surgeon immediately started singing to himself. I assumed it was for some combination of calming himself and keeping track of the time. It was a strange and beautiful experience I'll never forget, standing in the dark with the nurses, all the machines quiet, baby on the table with its chest pried open, listening to the surgeon's gentle humming of a lullaby.

I'm a physicist, and a performing jazz musician. I've read articles about certain occupations being associated with musicians, and speculating about the connection. My mom believed that music would make her kids smarter. Classical music, that is.

Personally, I think it may simply boil down to music being a long term commitment to something you value, a way to mentally reboot, and a different cast of characters than you deal with in your day job.