Michigan Music History Podcast -- MMHP989 · Scott Baker, Gary Johnson, Fred Reif, Mike Beattie

Michigan Music History Podcast-Dr. Ed Roth: Michigan's Music Therapist Connects Notes Part 1 of 2

·48 min·3 clips

Dr. Ed Roth says rhythmic music can help Parkinson's patients lengthen their stride and improve balance.

1. Michigan Music History Podcast -- MMHP989 centers on Dr. Ed Roth and his work in Michigan music and music therapy. 2. Scott Baker hosts the discussion with Fred Reif, Dr. J, Mr. Mike, and guest Ed Roth, whose clinical and research work shapes the episode. 3. The episode asks how a drummer from Saginaw became a music therapist who uses rhythm, improvisation, and research in health care. 4. Roth says his first drum kit was borrowed in seventh or eighth grade for a Michael Jackson medley in Bridgeport schools. 5. He remembers practicing on his mother’s car dashboard on the way to marching band rehearsal and breaking it into pieces. 6. Roth describes playing small garage startups, school parties, and graduation events rather than one steady rock band. 7. He recounts a New York period as a full-time music therapist at a children’s hospital in Westchester County. 8. In New York, he played Broadway and off-Broadway sub jobs, including a touring production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. 9. He tells a Philadelphia story where sneakers kept him out of a supper club until he came back in black socks. 10. He says a bandleader had to tell him to hit “the one” after he played too much offbeat rhythm. 11. Roth explains that he trained as a therapist at Western Michigan University after first entering college as a criminal justice major. 12. He says an advisor finally told him that music therapy, music education, jazz studies, music performance, and music theory were separate majors. 13. Roth links his decision to help people in Saginaw neighborhoods where friends would disappear for days and sometimes not return. 14. He describes early research showing preferred music could lower anxiety measures such as fingertip sweat. 15. He says later studies used blood and saliva to track cortisol, pleasure responses, and oxytocin during singing and improvisation. 16. Roth reports that improvising together produced stronger markers of bonding than simply making music together. 17. The conversation stays informal, with Scott Baker and Fred Reif prompting stories while Roth answers in detailed, example-driven stretches. 18. The tone mixes local-history reminiscence, clinical explanation, and lived musician anecdotes from New York, Michigan, and Baltimore. 19. Listeners interested in music therapy, Parkinson’s care, and jazz improvisation will get the most from it. 20. Listeners wanting a short, nontechnical music-history chat may skip the research-heavy sections.

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