Healing with Music

The healing effects of music have raised my curiosity ever since I heard about an indigenous people whose system of healing is based on music. When you are sick a song is created for you. I love that idea and know how deeply affected I can be by music. Then there is the research on certain music enhancing the function of the brain. One of the course descriptions in the California Institute of Integral Studies has a Certificate in Sound, Voice and Music Healing describes sound as:

…an ancient healing modality that has retained its potency throughout modern times. Ancient wisdom complements new technologies to impart a deeper understanding of molecular reactions, neurological benefits, and the emotional effects of sound in healing. Psychoacoustics -the study of the effect of music and sound on the human nervous system-forms the foundation upon which the emerging field of soundwork builds.

In an interview, Deborah Brown, Certified Music Practitioner says:

“I played for the newborns at Stevens Hospital,” she recollects. “When I arrived they were screaming, but as soon as I started playing they all stopped crying. I play lullabies for them – Brahms, a slowed-down Mozart sonata theme, and similar gentle music.”

In an article about the Symposium on Music and Medicine at the University of Arizona, Gene Jones, founder of Opening Minds through the Arts, a national program that interweaves arts with education, said:

“If we can get them to show that, yes, there is a change that takes in the brain, and it is affected by music, then we can fine tune what were doing,” Jones said. “We know we’re doing good things. … We don’t know how it’s happening.”

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I’m taking a music appreciation class. It’s very basic but I’m really enjoying going beyond the simple enjoyment of music and listening a little deeper.