There is a long tradition of investigating various disorders of musical abilities after stroke. These impairments, associated with acquired amusia, can be highly selective, affecting only music perception (i.e., receptive abilities/functions) or expression (music production abilities), and some patients report that these may dramatically influence their emotional state. The aim of this study was to systematically test both the melodic and rhythmic domains of music perception and expression in left- and right-sided stroke patients compared to healthy subjects. Music perception was assessed using rhythmic and melodic discrimination tasks, while tests of expressive function involved the vocal or instrumental reproduction of rhythms and melodies. Our approach revealed deficits in receptive and expressive functions in stroke patients, mediated by musical expertise. Those patients who had experienced a short period of musical training in childhood and adolescence performed better in the receptive and expressive subtests compared to those without any previous musical training. While discrimination of specific musical patterns was unimpaired after a left-sided stroke, patients with a right-sided stroke had worse results for fine melodic and rhythmic analysis. In terms of expressive testing, the most consistent results were obtained from a test that required patients to reproduce sung melodies. This implies that the means of investigating production abilities can impact the identification of deficits.

This is a review of 140 musicians referred to a specialist hand therapy department in London, England. Musicians are referred from different sources and represent a fair cross-section. The musicians were analyzed in three different age groups: under 25 years of age, 25–40 years of age, and over 40 years of age; and by three different pathological groups: “trauma,” “degenerative,” and “non-specific arm and hand pain.” The results highlight three points: 1) Musicians of all ages are injured in coincidental accidents (“trauma”). 2) As musicians age, they are more likely to develop “degenerative” upper limb conditions such as Dupuytren’s contracture, nerve compression syndromes, or degenerative arthrosis in critical joints. 3) Non-specific arm and hand pain is overwhelmingly prevalent in young musicians and music students but is much less prevalent in the older age groups. This last point is the most worrisome statistic and perhaps the most preventable.