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Monday, September 6, 2010

Music Therapy



Music Therapy is an established healthcare profession that uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals of all ages. Music therapy improves the quality of life for persons who are well and meets the needs of children and adults with disabilities or illnesses. Music therapy interventions can be designed to: promote wellness manage stress * alleviate pain * express feelings * enhance memory * improve communication * promote physical rehabilitation.


It is believed that music stimulates the pituitary gland, whose secretions affect the nervous system and the flow of blood. It is believed that for healing with music, it is necessary to vibrate the cells of the body, for it is through these vibrations that the diseased person's consciousness can be changed effectively to promote health. The right kind of music helps one relax and refresh. Even during the course of working, light music improves efficiency. Listening to music helps control negative aspects of our personalities like worry, bias and anger. In addition, it can help cure headache, abdominal pain and tension. Music therapy is one of the most effective ways of controlling emotions, blood pressure and restoring the functioning of the liver.

It is believed that classical Indian ragas can benefit a whole host of conditions ranging from insomnia, high and low blood pressure to schizophrenia and epilepsy.

What happens when we are listening to music?

Scientifically, many things are happening in our body while we are listening the music, while we are participating in a live music session with body movements, the music which we are listening/participating many parts of the brain functions in a coordinated pattern and helps to enjoy the music, if we are well versed in music. The mind has the tendency to relate or to identify things in a known pattern, accordingly come to a result/conclusion through our expressed behavior. Rather if we let the music flow into us without getting into the nuances or intricacies of the particular piece which has been provided for the therapeutic purposes it does wonder with the patients/clients/participants. Since these informantion and other pertaining to brain are available only through brain injured patients,

Does music have healing effect?

Healing effect on individuals with music is a known fact. It has centuries of claim behind it. But the quality of exposure the music with its specifications and other procedures plays a very vital role in speaking about its healing aspect.

Why instrumental music?

When classical music with its notes being played through a string instrument the impact is complete. The specific notes being presented in the classical flair the impact will be good on the individuals. The music with its notes when essayed in classical format the frequency and the wavelength it emanates in the atmosphere and its impact enormous on the listeners. It helps in the quality of neuro transmitters secreted in brain and the behavior of the individual.

Types of music therapy

One is active mode of music therapy.
The other one is passive mode of music therapy.

Active mode requires participation of the patients in the music therapy sessions, while the passive mode of music therapy requires mere involved listening.

The active mode of music therapy is useful in Pediatric areas and in few of the Neurological problems.

In the Pediatric areas, the active mode of music therapy helps for the hyper active child to reduce the over activity in a given period of time and enhance the quality of concentration in child. With regard to speech difficulties in children this active mode of music enhances the quality of fluency in speech.

Music training also enhances the Verbal Memory improvement in children.

Many of the behavior problems in children and developmental delays and other problematic behaviors also may be attended through active mode of music therapy.

Music Therapy in expressive behavior, imagination development in children, and projecting the ideas while participating etc., are all feasible in this active mode.

In the neurological areas the neurological aphasia; both the receptive and expressive aphasia may get the necessary stimulation, required to bring back the needed communication in patients. The lyrics in active music surely triggers the memory folders in the brains of patients and helps to revive the same.


Maximizing With Music Therapy

As we mentioned before, there is not a single music that is good for everyone. People have different tastes. It is important that you like the music being played.

The following are general guidelines to maximize the effectiveness of the music.


# To wash away stress, try taking a 20-minute "sound bath." Put some relaxing music on your stereo, then lie in a comfortable position on a couch or on the floor near the speakers. For a deeper experience, you can wear headphones to focus your attention and to avoid distraction.

# Choose music with a slow rhythm - slower than the natural heart beat which is about 72 beats per minute. Music that has repeating or cyclical pattern is found to be effective in most people.

# As the music plays, allow it to wash over you, rinsing off the stress from the day. Focus on your breathing, letting it deepen, slow and become regular. Concentrate on the silence between the notes in the music; this keeps you from analyzing the music and makes relaxation more complete.

# If you need a stimulation after a day of work, go for a faster music rather than slow calming music.


# When going gets tough, go for a music you are familiar with - such as a childhood favorite or favorite oldies. Familiarity often breeds calmness.


# Take walks with your favorite music playing on the walkman. Inhale and exhale in tune with the music. Let the music takes you. This is a great stress reliever by combining exercise (brisk walk), imagery and music.


# Listening to the sounds of nature, such as ocean waves or the calm of a deep forest, can reduce stress. Try taking a 15- to 20-minute walk if you're near the seashore or a quiet patch of woods.

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