We All Need Some Musical Healing

A few weeks ago, JSorg's Spot published a post entitled "Can Your Therapist Really Prescribe Music", which talked about music therapy. After reading, I realized although I love music, I also was not that familiar with music therapy, so at one glance, as JSorg pointed out, music therapy sounded like something that had to do with

an eclectic gathering of reefer-smoking, tree-hugging hippies attempting to relive the “flower power” days of the 1960’s.

I think this has a lot to do with the fact that people, myself included, have often associated music therapy and the like with some metaphysical development. This almost ethereal quality, I think, has resulted in a lot of skeptics who still remain under doubt about the validity of musical therapy.



The exact goal of musical therapy is to achieve non-musical goals through musical means. JSorg points out the American Music Therapy Association's goals are "to promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, express feelings, enhance memory, improve communication, and promote physical rehabilitation". But this is only the tip of the iceberg as it supposedly is capable of several other functions:

It can be used in a wide range of therapeutic techniques from prenatal to hospice care. Musical therapy is often used in mental institutions and it can be used for both adults and children. Musical therapists apply music in psychology to treat depression, schizophrenia, and eating disorders for adults. It can also be used to help children learn counting, numbers, colors, and even social skills.

Aside from these specific treatments and applications, the post also refers to practical applications of musical therapy:

Specifically, music can be used in certain daily applications to promote a healthy lifestyle. Listening to music provides a beat which encourages our rhythm while exercising. It can also be effective while eating, helping us to savor taste, aiding in digestion, and helping us to eat less. Music can also be used during meditation which helps lower blood pressure, depression and stress.

I'm sure there are a lot of psychological terms, figures and numbers that can attest to the validity of these effects and services musical therapy does for a person. But I'm reading this, and asking myself, "doesn't music do these things in the first place?". I guess I'm scratching my head a little bit, but I feel like they've taken a natural phenomenon, branded and patented it as their own. Reading about all these formal functions of musical therapy, I realized that these things happen for me or any other person every day. I mean, I listen to music to relax, to fall asleep, to pump myself up, or simply to keep me entertained as I do work. So by this definition, am I some "sick" person who is a patient of this phenomenon? or am I someone who just enjoys music? To be sure, I do agree that there are some peripheral benefits that are key for those going through unnatural depression, sicknesses, etc, but I just find it a little silly to take the musical experience and to give it a name, or pigeonhole as though it's only available for those who need it.

I guess the line that is drawn, and pointed out by JSorg is that there are supporters of musical therapy on one side, but on the other, are those who can't seem to place their faith in it.

Despite the research in music therapy, some people still believe that its claims seem improbable. Although some forms of music therapy are not an exact science, they have proven to be rather effective. Anyone who is critical and doubtful of music therapy may not be receptive to it simply because they are close-minded. The power of the brain is something that we will never be able to understand or grasp. Sometimes believing in something alone seems to be enough to let if affect you. Those who lack faith in music therapy may never see its true potential or embrace it.

Although, a point that I would raise, and JSorg could have further elaborated on, is that we're all capable of musical experiences everyday. After all, most of us listen to music for leisure, for fun, and to enjoy ourselves. If we're capable of that, it isn't too much of a stretch to say that music can have some sort of positive effects on some higher-functions of our brains and minds. It may not be tangible in logic and numbers, but that's what makes emotion, well, exactly that, emotional.