Still a Performer

Reference:

Article: “Still A Performer”

Extracted from: Article Collection- Boston.com

Author: Linda Matchan, Globe Staff

Date: October 8, 2011

Link: http://articles.boston.com/2011-10-08/yourtown/30258468_1_piano-students-teaching-piano-cantors

Summary: 

The news article, “Still A Performer,” which appeared on the Boston.com article collection describes the lasting impact that a lifetime filled with musical experiences can have on an individual. At 82-years of age, Naomi Kliman, regularly demonstrated her musical expertise through daily performances of a variety of piano repertoire. The former music educator and piano teacher of nearly 65 years still played “with vigor and passion”, despite her age, and also, exclusively by memory. Ironically, Kliman lives in an assisted living facility, within a unit for people with dementia. She suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and can remember very little from the last 50 years. Although her lengthy teaching career put her in touch with over 1000 students, when asked, Kliman says that she had 100. And, upon turning 80, she could no longer recognize her own piano, even after having played it each day of her adult life. Through the progression of the Alzheimer’s, however, one thing that has stuck with Kliman is her musical prowess and love for performing.

Within the facility that Kliman resides, the piano is located in a common area, but has had to be locked away when not in use. Due to Kliman’s incessant nature to play the piano constantly, it is important that it be out of sight, during times when the musical entertainment would be bothersome to the other residents. She automatically resorts to performing whenever she is able, which, according to John Zeisel, president of Woburn-based Hearthstone Alzheimer Care and cofounder of the Artists for Alzheimer’s (ARTZ), a nonprofit organization that develops cultural experiences for people with the disease, serves as evidence that sufferers can remember parts from their past including who they are. Zeisel believes that musicians with Alzheimer’s revert to activities from their past which gave them enjoyment and created their identity. 

Zeisel refers to the biochemistry that occurs when an individual engages in a meaningful activities, such as when Kliman performs music on the piano. These acts of enjoyment cause neurotransmitters to be released in the brain, and they become addictive behaviours, in order to continue on the high. Alzheimer patients and those who suffer from dementia search for skills that allow them to foster a connection to their past identities, and once they find them, they want to keep this association alive. Zeisel believes that it helps the individual to feel as though they are themself once again, as opposed to being a “sick person.” Kliman proved her past musicianship as she played, daily, for the residents at the assisted care facility where she resided, and despite her declining memory from off the piano bench, it is easy to see that some parts of this 82-year old are as sound as ever.

Reflection:

This article, depicting the untainted level of musicianship that an individual suffering with Alzheimer’s disease is able to maintain, holds promise in the growing field of research in music, health and medicine. Kliman’s ability to effortlessly perform classical music that was learned decades earlier, by memory, despite her inability to remember who she is or even recognize her own instrument, speaks volumes to how dementia affects one’s brain and memory. Through the study of individuals affected by Alzheimer’s like Kliman, who demonstrate the lasting skills of musicianship, researchers will be able to begin to map the areas of the brain that are most impacted by this disease. These understandings may then be useful to assist doctors with earlier detection of the onset of dementia, and may even be able to help slow the progression of memory loss within patients. The possibilities are vast.

John Zeisel, president of ARTZ, described patient’s sense of identity that resulted from engagement in activities that they used to enjoy, such as making music. The satisfaction and return-to-oneself that musical activities provide to patients supports the use of music as a means of therapy, in these situations. Monitoring the change in a patient’s motor skills, memory and cognition before, and after the musical experience could also lead to greater understanding of how our brains process music, and in turn, how music cognition influences other brain functions. Both music and medical disciplines stand to benefit from this research, as there seems to be a growing connection between the two fields.

Finally, when one considers both the release of positive endorphins and neurotransmitters in the brain, in addition to the sense of self-identify that music brings to Alzheimer’s sufferers, one also begins to question whether music could be used to restore and retrain one’s brain, as the disease progresses. Knowledge about the cerebral areas to which dementia wrecks havoc, as well as those regions which control musical activities, could be used to help restore the broken connections or to assume control of the functions that have been lost through the disease. There is research yet to be done, and understanding to gain, however, one cannot argue with the definitive delight and relief that music brings to those with dementia.

A Mind for Music

Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyY1ul_DbcQ
Nova Short: Inside Oliver Sacks' Brain (PBS)
This is a 4:23YouTube taken from a longer 45 minute DVD: Nova's Musical Minds, June 30, 2009
PBS #WG43209
Summary:

Neuroscientist and author Dr. Oliver Sacks explores why some brains cannot decode music while other brains are sensitive to the slightest musical nuance in a 45 minute 2009 PBS documentary called Musical Minds: Can the power of music make the brain come alive?  In this 4 minute YouTube excerpt, Dr. Sacks is seeking to understand how the brain reacts to music. So he offers himself as a subject to study this very question. Sacks undergoes an fMRI to see how his brain will react to the music he loves. Sacks confesses he has had a distinct preference and love for J.S. Bach’s music since the age of seven.
Columbia University neuroscience researchers Hal Henkel and Joy Hirsch design a test to reveal if Sacks’ brain loves Bach as much as he does. With a device to rate his emotions in hand, a scanner will record Sacks’ brain activity as he enters the imaging machine. He hears two pieces of music, one by Bach and one by Beethoven. The researchers have selected musical samples that share certain qualities. For example, both pieces are choral works, similar in tempo and mood. When asked to respond to the music, Sacks replies that the Bach piece “blew me away” while the Beethoven “left me flat”. In fact, the scan confirmed those feelings. The brain scan of Sacks’ responses to Bach showed that many areas of the brain became activated while listening, and particularly the right amygdale, vital to processing emotion. The brain scan of Sacks’ responses to Beethoven scarcely lit up.

During the scan, there was a section where Sacks admittedly could not distinguish Bach from Beethoven and he had no feeling for what he was hearing.  Even when Sacks could not tell the two pieces of music apart the brain recognized the difference.  The brain favored Bach. During that time of confusion in the scan, Sacks' brain lit up in the same areas as when he was moved by the Bach piece just moments before.

Henkel , Hirsch and Sacks conclude that the brain is able to recognize and prefer music even if we don't.

Reflection:

The fMRI scans declare with vivid illumination Dr. Sacks’ preference for Bach. The contrasted scans between Bach and Beethoven are truly impressive.  I wouldn’t have predicted Sacks to be moved so little by Beethoven.

It was the point of Sacks' confusion during the scan that fascinated me most. While musical styles were not the same, the works were comparable and Sacks himself lost track of whether he was listening to Bach or Beethoven. How did the brain know to prefer Bach when emotional rating cues were not being given? Could it be the neural circuitry was more lit up for Bach because the brain defaults to preferential circuitry when confused? Or could age make musical preference more acute? Or did the brain recognize stylistic features of Bach on its own and default to some kind of auditory memory?

This test makes me wonder about  people that have eclectic preferences, where the love of musical style is not so poignant as Sacks' love affair with Bach. Will the brain be activated as pervasively through a number of preferential genres?

This test shows that the brain can respond independently of the affective response. My sense is that Sacks' brain has been acculturated to the stylistic nuances and emotional response neural circuitry of J. S. Bach. This brain has listened and responded to Bach for seventy years. It simply continued to do so.

Music and Grief

Music and Grief

Source: http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/musicandthebrain/podcast_jamison.html

Title: Music and Grief

Speaker: Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison
Series: Music and the Brain
Date: November 18, 2010

Summary:

Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison is a clinical psychologist, author and the co-director of the Moods Disorders Clinic in the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where she is a professor. Music and Grief appeared as part of a series of podcasts presented at and then published by the Library of Commerce, a project for Redfield Jamison was advisor. Her professional interests and publications center around mood disorders, suicide and creative temperament and here, she presents excerpts from her most recent publication, "Nothing Was the Same: A Memoir” which reflects on grief and loss in the context of her personal grieving process after the death of her husband, Dr. Richard Wyatt. Dr. Redfield Jamison is joined by Ara Guzelimian, Provost and Dean of the Juilliard School presenting perspectives of grief and depression through the life and music of composer Felix Mendelssohn and J. Raymond DePaulo, Jr., MD, Director, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, also from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who brings his perspective as a clinician and researcher. Finally, the Afiara String Quartet from Julliard, play the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Quartet in F minor.

First, Dr. Redfield Jamison discusses the differences between chronic depression and grief. Having experienced and written about depression in the context of bipolar disorder and extraordinary grief over the loss of a partner, she describes reads an excerpt from her book, a portion of which I have transcribed below:

“It has been said that grief is a kind of madness. I disagree. There is a sanity to grief and its just proportion of emotion to cause that madness does not have. Grief, given to all is a generative and human thing. It provides a path, albeit a broken one, by which those who grieve can find their way. Still it is grief’s fugitive nature that one does not know at the start that such a path exists. I knew madness well, but I understood little of grief and I was not always certain which was grief and which was madness. Grief as it transpires, has its own territory…”

Dr. Redfield Jamison goes on to define the differences between her depression experience as a sufferer of bipolar disorder and her grief as a widow. She identifies, for example, that though her grief was overwhelming she could look to the future and understand better days were to come, something depression doesn’t allow. She also makes note that though she had derived great pleasure from classical music prior to her husbands death, these works were now too painful to bare, seemingly bringing to the surface a depth of feeling beyond what she could manage. This experience was so acute she regrettably gave away her entire classical music collection during that time.

Ara Guzelimian then explores depression and grief by looking at the life of Felix Mendelssohn, specifically after the sudden death of his older sister Fanny. From his paintings and writings to the Quartet in F minor, which was his only large scale musical work written after Fanny’s death before passing away himself, Guzelimian explores Mendelssohn’s expression of grief. Though he was at the height of his career, Mendelssohn quit his creative activity cold and he sequestered himself from family and most friends, staying in the Swiss Alps looking for comfort in the landscape. Though Mendelssohn made an effort to return to work, he ultimately suffered several strokes, the same malady that took Fanny’s life, and passed away less than six months after her. The Quartet in F minor is a striking departure from Mendelssohn’s earlier works and uses a vocabulary of instability; rhythmically, harmonically, melodically and beyond. It is also notable that within the movements of this work there is no relief from the dark turmoil it seems to express.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-r2JUXiMwA

To close the presentation, Dr. DePaulo brings his clinical expertise to the discussion of grief. Bereavement, though individual, is predictable and progressive which makes it easy to distinguish from depression. Grief presents with emotional numbness and is followed by deep sadness and disinterest in activities, though in most cases this comes and goes. These periods of sadness become increasingly intermittent with periods of welling emotion connected to memories of the loved one, but can go one for years or even decades. Depression or melancholia presents with a change in mood (vacant, hopeless, anxious), vitality both physically and mentally, there is a change in self attitude and these symptoms are pervasive and persistent. Depression can be triggered by the loss of a loved one and is strongly evidenced to be hereditary. Clinicians must differentiate between these two conditions (though this is sometimes difficult) and be prudent not to medical-ize a common human experience.

Reflection:

This past year my grandmother past away quite suddenly so I am familiar with the above mentioned patterns of grief. Though my grandma and I were close, the symptoms I experienced were mild compared to others in my family losing a wife or a mother. My family also has a history of depression and I have instinctively been aware that grief can lead to depression especially in those with a predisposition to melancholia. I appreciated learning the clinical distinctions between these two conditions and also exploring Mendelssohn’s seeming progression from grief into depression through his work and writings.

During the question and answer period after this presentation it became evident that science has not yet discovered enough about brain function to conclusively explain our responses to music as a comfort or otherwise during periods of emotional turmoil such as grief. It is clear, however, that music commonly elicits a heightened response, be it emotional pain or pacification during the common human experience of bereavement.

A study of interest that I encountered in my research of the brain and grief, looked into the brain response in those identified as suffering from “complicated grief,” or grief that doesn’t have the normal dissipation over time. The study, conducted in 2008 at UCLA by researcher Mary-Frances O'Connor, centered on women that had lost mothers to breast cancer. Subjects were shown pictures of their deceased family members while hooked up to an fMRI machine. Normal grief is identifiable on an fMRI scan as areas of the brain that control emotional pain are activated when the bereaved subject is shown a picture of those they lost. The subjects with “complicated grief” (a term Dr. Redfield Jamison takes exception to because she argues all grief is complicated) display this same activity, but also show activity in the nucleus accumbens, a region of the brain associated with pleasure, rewards and addiction. The women in that group were unconsciously prolonging their grief, the study concluded, because memories of the person they missed gave them pleasure—as well as pain.

In listening to music, it is my experience that one can experience a variety of emotional responses ranging from something similar to pain or sadness to pleasure. I can’t help but wonder if the parts of the brain that are stimulated when listening to music include the centers of emotional pain and the nucleus accumbens. Could this explain in part why music commonly elicits heightened emotional responses during times of grief? In my research on this topic I have not yet found conclusive data to prove my theory, as both grief and music are complicated stimuli eliciting complicated brain activity. I plan to continue looking for connections between music and grief and their effects on the brain and appreciated the dynamic way this topic was explored in Dr. Redfield Jamison’s lecture.

Music, Memories, and the Brain

Reference

Title: Music, Memories, and the Brain

Speaker: Dr. Peter Janata

Host of podcast: Steve Mencher

Series: Music and the Brain

Interview Date: April 29, 2009

Website:http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/musicandthebrain/podcast_janata.html

Summary

Dr. Peter Janata is an associate professor from the University of California, and member of the Center for Mind and Brain. In the interview, hosted by Steve Mencher, Dr.Janata shares some of his research on the creation of autobiographical memories in the brain through music as well as the connection between music and spirituality in the brain. Interestingly enough, the two studies display similar results.

When we hear a particular song on the radio that we have not heard for a long time, we are instantly reminded of a different time and place in our lives. Dr.Janata calls this experience, “music evoked autobiographical memory.”

The research study looks at how memory is structured and organized in our brains, as well as the experiential state we are in when we hear a particular piece of music. The actual process involves individuals presented with both familiar and unfamiliar songs, followed by a questionnaire. Responses to questions such as, “How much of the music triggered your memory?” or “How did you enjoy the music?” then helps Dr.Janata gather and analyze the data to see what brain regions are responding. His study also allows for a more in depth look into the brain structures by following the tonal structure of music (major/minor keys) and examining its impact on memory.

Dr.Janata also discusses his more recent research on how music and spirituality connect in the brain. An individual’s experience of singing in church with others, for example, triggers certain parts of the brain to recognize and relate these experiences for memory and emotion. Interestingly, according to Dr. Janata, the patterns that exist in the brain in music evoked spiritual experiences and music evoked autobiographical memories, are quite similar. He also brings to our attention the idea that there are two different brain networks involved in the process. In particular, he mentions the medial prefrontal areas in the brain which plays a significant role in the connection between our musical experiences and our memory. As we “watch the brain listen” (Mencher, 2009), we begin to see all the "web associations" (Janata, 2009) that begin to develop in the brain.

Summary

From a musical perspective, I appreciate knowing and learning more about how our musical experiences affect our memory and brain activity. I think back to my experiences in South Africa where I had the opportunity to be immersed in the culture and music (at school, during funerals and weddings, at home, or out in the community). The power of those experiences was so strong that hearing all those songs again, would just bring me right back to that place and time. The music evoked autobiographical memory in which Dr.Janata speaks of, rings so true.

From a pedagogical perspective, I think about the importance of providing meaningful, authentic contexts for the learners. Because once an experience becomes meaningful, it is more likely to be remembered. I am also thinking about the kind of brain activity that is happening when music is used as a tool to help learn languages (e.g., using music to teach French language concepts). If there are such strong associations with music and memory, music evoked experiences, then as music educators, it would be worthwhile to see the in-depth pedagogical and educational implications of having such experiences.

Finally, from a health/medical perspective, I am intrigued to find out more about the effect and implications that music has in alzheimer patients, their memory, and what other brain activity happens in the process (e.g., what is really happening in the medial prefrontal areas of the brain).

I t

hink back to my visit with my uncle who has alzheimer's. His two daughters were with me at the time. The fact that he was unable to recognize his own daughters was disheartening to see, but their efforts to help him remember things of the past (e.g., playing music from his childhood) was really nice to see. Moments later, you can hear him singing hymns from his past. Just as Dr. Janata describes the autobiographical memory,

it really did seem as though my uncle was brought to a different time and place in his life.

From Mode to Emotion in Music Communication

Source:

http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/musicandthebrain/podcast_stevebrown.html

Title: From Mode to Emotion in Music Communication

Speaker: Steven Brown

Series: Music and the Brain

Interview Date: March 27, 2009

Summary:

Steven Brown is the Director of the NeuroArts Lab at McMaster University. As the name of the organization suggests, his lab’s work focuses on the arts and the brain. Brown’s interest in this area grew from his own experience as a pianist and a scientist. Much of what Brown and his students study involves the connections between music and language, music and dance, and music and ceremony.

Music and language are “abstract, conceptual systems for generating meaning” (Brown) which are shown through brain imaging to be separate processes, but speech and song are part of the same system. We speak with melodic and rhythmic properties without realizing it for the most part, although we are more aware of these patterns in tonal languages. Whether we are speaking or singing, we are creating sequences with our voices.

In many cultures, music and dance are almost inseparable. Dancers become percussion instruments by using their bodies (e.g. clapping) and by attaching various noise-makers to themselves. Often, the dancers will generate the same rhythms as the percussionists, and it is this generation of rhythm that Brown has identified as being important in cultures where music and dance are so interrelated.

Music can be much more than a generation of rhythm. It has its own inherent emotional qualities, but is mostly used as a way to push cultural messages. Consider television commercials – almost all include music in some way these days. The way music is used in restaurants, commercials, churches, etc. is closer to the way our ancestors used music.

Western classical music differs from most other types of music in that it is performed for its own sake or for the sake of personal expression rather than as an element of another ritual or ceremony.

Music can elicit many kinds of emotions. In Western classical music, we often perceive minor keys as “sad,” and major keys as “happy” or “less sad.” Contrastive scale types used around the world show that small differences in frequency can create vastly different emotional effects.

There is much to be learned about the connection between the brain and the arts. We do know that music can be used for a variety of purposes and to convey a variety of messages. Steven Brown and his students at the NeuroArts Lab will continue to search for the “why” and “how.”

Reflection:

Gaining some sort of understanding of music from an anthropological and scientific perspective only adds to the richness of our own musical experiences. I have studied these topics from several perspectives in music education and anthropology courses, and it was interesting to hear the information synthesized from the point of view of a music psychologist.

This past weekend, I took a break from the Western classical music world to celebrate my sister’s wedding at a resort campground with friends and family. Late into Friday night, a group of guitarists, hand drummers, banjo players, fiddlers, and more played folk tunes. Saturday afternoon, my sister walked down the aisle to a recording of one of her favourite songs. Saturday night, a D.J. blasted club music for anyone who felt the urge to dance. Sunday morning, a bridesmaid played fiddle tunes while we made plans for a hike to a swimming hole. Music was an integrated part of daily routine, or a part of a ceremony, instead of being a distinct event – music for its own sake.

Part of my training as a music educator (BMus from Ithaca College) included the importance of showing respect for music by never speaking over a recording or a live performance, by always listening actively and intently. Brown offers another perspective. Isn’t music almost always just a portion of a whole cultural experience in day-to-day life?

Those of us who are Western classical musicians or audience members are lucky to be able to have a different way of including music in our lives. It is pretty powerful stuff, as evidenced by its persuasive and emotional effect. The more ways we have of experiencing this cultural force, the fuller that experience can be.

Reference

The item I chose for my blog entry is an article by Michael Thaut, Ph.D., and Gerald McIntosh, M.D. The article is found in Cerebrum, an online journal published by The DANA Foundation. http://www.dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=26122

Summary

The article explains how, in the past two decades, neuroscientists have used brain imaging and electrical recording techniques to discover that the areas of the brain activated by music are not unique to music, and that “the networks that process music also process other functions.” With these findings as a starting point, neuroscientists hypothesized that music can be used in rehabilitation, because of its ability to re-educate different modalities (cognitive, motor, speech, and language functions) thanks to the brain’s neuronal plasticity. In the past decades, studies about brain and music developed in two main directions: first, the research about “shared mechanisms between musical and non-musical functions in motor control,” in particular the study of the effects of rhythm and timing on brain; second, the study of how music can implement motor functions and rehabilitation of speech, language, and cognitive functions. The next frontier lies in the question of whether music is also able to help injured and depressive brains to overcome their emotional un-balanced states. Neurologic music therapy (NMT) has now become a reality with its “increasing number of standard clinical techniques supported by research evidence.”

Reflections

In their article, Thaut and McIntosh convincingly present a close interaction between music and neuroscience, and confirm that “biomedical research in music has come a long way to open new and effective doors for music to help re-educate the injured brain.” This conclusion, which generates numerous questions about the role of music within the scientific and therapeutic domains, also creates philosophical issues about the purely ontological dimension of music. For example, in the article music is presented not only as a tool for brain damage therapy, but also as the therapy itself (“trying music as therapy in speech, language, and cognitive rehabilitation”). Besides the fascinating scientific and medical outcomes of the field, I find extremely interesting how Thaut and McIntosh seem to suggest a re-definition of music as something different from its generally accepted definition as a form of art, or as a therapeutic tool. Within the context of this article, music is also the object around which a whole theoretical framework is build to support the notion that music influences “changes in non-musical brain functions and behavior." As a last comment, I would like to express my appreciation for the authors’ ability to present and handle complex concepts and intricate factual information in an easy-to-follow fashion. Their writing style, together with the chronological organization of the material and the subdivision by topic makes the article easy to follow and pleasant to read.

Live Music Now - Quality of Life

Live Music Now is a national charity in Britain that was founded by Yehudi Menuhin

32 years ago. It has two main aims; one is to take live music into the community

and the other is to develop professional musicians at the start of their careers.

The Quality of Life project looks at new ways of using music as a way to improve the

lives of those with dementia.

Summary

LIVE Music Now South West won a European funding bid, bringing much-needed cash to the region and hit national priorities to help people with dementia. The charity, based in Wellington, Somerset, teamed up with Reminiscence Learning and Abbeyfield Nursing Home to deliver a groundbreaking new project to older people in and around the county. They hope to widen the scheme throughout the West country. LMN SW has been providing a series of musical workshops at The Abbeyfield, Bishops Hull, Taunton , Somerset, with a wide variety of leading musicians from around the world agreeing to perform, including, James Sherlock, winner of the 2007 BBC Fame Academy: The Next Generation and vocalist and bassist Miranda Sykes from Show of Hands. With the help of Reminiscence Learning’s ‘Angels’ the project looked at new ways to engage those suffering from the illness through a range of reminiscence activities and a variety of music. “This will trigger and stimulate our long term memory and enable us to record individual stories,” said Fiona Mahoney, Chief Executive Reminiscence Learning. “It is really important to older people in the community as it gives them the opportunity to access high quality music outside of the concert hall. It has been proven to have positive impacts on mental health and wellbeing within residential homes.”

Reflection on "Live Music Now - Quality of Life"

Over the past three years, I have been spending time in a senior's residence north of Toronto, a unique classroom environment, learning to be a supportive caregiver to a parent who is struggling with all aspects of "getting old!" Dementia is a chronic and persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning. My loved-one is living with the condition of dementia.

What struck me most about this short video was the reciprocal nature of benefits, for the elderly listening and humming along and for the live performer offering their gifts of song. It confirmed a lifelong belief that relationships are at the core of caring and in nurturing the health and wellbeing of the young and the older. Those working in the Arts have a role to play in the building and maintaining of healthy communities!

More specifically, my loved-one has often expressed a fear and anxiety about "getting old." With a sedentary lifestyle and a significant amount of time to contemplate while sitting alone in one's room, ample time for an elderly person's mind to turn inward can often lead to depression as one considers their plight of what lies ahead. Fear of falling, pain, dizziness and confusion cause the elderly to lose confidence in their abilities, to disengage from interactions with others, to stay put rather than to participate. Fear of dying tops the list! As my loved-one says, "We seem to lose someone every day."

Musical programs similar to Live Music Now offer the elderly an opportunity to face their fears or at least to put them away for a brief time. This video is evidence that Live Music Now brings people together, creating opportunities for the nurturing of relationships and in turn, improving the Quality of Life for each other. From the simplist of touch, the holding of hands, the beating of a drum, the singing of a standard, a turn and a look and a smile, a moment to be in the now - a safe place, a time for putting away one's fear of tomorrow. There is an old saying that rings true, "there is safety in numbers."