RECOMMENDED READINGS
What is Healing Music?
Healing Music—A Closer Look
by Amrita Cottrell © 2000
Amrita
Since the beginning of recorded history,
music has played a significant role in the healing of
humankind. Music and healing were communal activities
that were natural to everyone. In ancient Greece, Apollo
was both the god of music and medicine. Ancient Greeks
said, “Music is an art imbued with power to penetrate
into the very depths of the soul.” These beliefs
were shared through their Doctrine of Ethos. In the mystery
schools of Egypt and Greece, healing and sound were considered
a highly developed sacred science.
Plato shared this profound belief, “Music is a moral
law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety
and life to everything. It is the essence of order, and
leads to all that is good, just, and beautiful, of which
it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate
and eternal form.” Deepak Chopra has beautifully
written, “Where is music? You can find it at many
levels in the vibrating strings, the trip of the hammers,
the fingers striking the keys, the black marks on the
paper, or the nerve impulses produced in the player brain.
But all of these are just codes; the reality of music
is the shimmering, beautiful, invisible form that haunts
our memories without ever being present in the physical
world.”
Goldman & Gurin work on psycho-immunology revealed
that nerve fibers are contained in every organ of the
immune system, which provide biological communication
between the nerve endings and the immune system. He postulates
that there is a direct link between a person thoughts,
attitudes, perceptions, and emotions, and the health of
the immune system. This being the case, we have the ability
to be proactive in the health of our bodies and minds.
Music is a way to tap into the innate knowledge that resides
deep in our cells. We live “in” music. Great
music nourishes us in ways we don’t even realize.
It inspires us, relaxes us, energizes us—in short,
it heals us and keeps us well. It resides everywhere in
our world. While we may not always be listening to a Beethoven
Symphony or a Mozart Sonata, the universe is a tonal harmony
of many sounds interacting and vibrating together. Music
is the pulse of the energy that courses in and through
everything through vibrations. Don Campbell says that
music can be delicate and quiet, but never sedentary.
Even a tone that extends for hours at a time, unvarying,
carries a pulsing wave that affects our mind and body
at many levels. What we bring to each sound is also of
vital importance. He goes on to say, “You, the listener,
determine the final impact: You are an active conductor
and participant in the process of orchestrating health.”
The Power of Chant and Toning
Music of many different genres can help to enhance the
mind/body connection. Healing mantras, chants, and incantations
have ancient and obscure origins but are seen throughout
history and in every major world culture—Hinduism,
Muslim, Judaism, Native American, Polynesian, Asian, Sufi,
etc. The power of chant involves bridging the two worlds
of humanity and eternity. It allows a person to touch
a deeper world that is organic and flowing. Chant has
no set rhythm, and is based on the breath in combination
with tonal patterns of sustained vowels.
Another powerful form of chant is toning. There are many
definitions of toning. Laurel Elizabeth Keyes, forerunner
of toning as a healing art, and author of Toning: The
Creative Power of the Voice, says, “Toning is an
ancient method of healing…the idea is simply to
restore people to their harmonic patterns.” Don
Campbell describes toning as, “Simple and audible
sound, prolonged long enough to be identified. Toning
is the conscious elongation of a sound using the breath
and voice.” John Beaulieu, author of Music and Sound
in the Healing Arts says, “Toning is the simple
and natural process of making vocal sounds for the purpose
of balance…toning sounds are sounds of expression
and do not have a precise meaning.”
Keyes recounts the time when she first started to experiment
with toning. She said that it was more than just a release
of tension. When she allowed the tones to emerge without
trying to control them, she experienced a cleansing of
her whole body. “I was convinced that there had
to be a relationship between this natural body-voice and
the mind without conflict, and with benefit to both.”
Toning and chant have been making their way into mainstream
culture over the last twenty years. Chant, the popular
recording from the early 1990 by the Benedictine Monks
of Santo Domingo de Silos, Spain, sold over 4 million
copies in forty-two countries by the Spring of 1994. These
monks have committed themselves to a lifestyle that is
based on cycles. Others do not experience these cycles
in the world in the same way. The cycles revolve around
the sacred liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, and include
an intricate series of interlocking patterns within the
organization. By submitting themselves to these cycles,
the monks actually become part of this great tapestry
of history and sound.
Katherine Lee Mee, producer of the CD, says about this
recording, “Time seems to stop. The darting mind
falls still and attentive, arrested from its worldly concerns
and preoccupations...like fire, each line has its own
brightness and energy, a force that is called forth, raised
and then surrendered. Like water, the music rises and
falls in a gentle wave of love that bathes, cleanses,
and caresses our spirits, leaving us buoyed up and restored.”
The San Francisco Examiner music critic had this to say
about Chant, “What we’re talking about is
inner peace, transcendence, a serenity, beyond mortal
care. For a generation that frowns on organized religious
movements (or organized anything), this is, without a
doubt, the new soul music.”
Powerful affective responses to music can be witnessed
in the lives of spiritual masters. Their physical health
reflects their spiritual health as well. They experience
this power through practicing the art of music and chant
as a means of obtaining spiritual enlightenment. Where
did the ancient chants originate? Were they evolved from
logical thought processes that were later transferred
to a musical format? Or rather, were they birthed from
those who had learned to harness the healing powers of
their spirit, and given expression through their spiritual
practice to bring the ecstatic experience into vocal and
instrumental form through music?
Music as Therapy
Music allows us to transcend the everyday states of consciousness
and travel to places that we either have a memory of or
create in our imagination. This process of transcending
the mundane evokes psycho-physiologic responses when people
shift to altered states of consciousness. When an individual
uses music for relaxation, their abstract thinking is
slowed down as they remain in a normal waking state. As
they continue with their process of relaxation, the individual
moves through the remainder of the six states of consciousness;
expanded sensory threshold, daydreaming, trance, meditative
states, and rapture.
In these states of consciousness, time takes on a different
meaning for the individual. Often during music therapy
sessions, people will lose track of time for extended
periods, which in turn helps them to reduce feelings of
stress, anxiety, fear, and pain.
Stress has become, in modern society, the subject of many
best-selling books and is often a lead story in the news.
Non-invasive and easily accessible ways to deal with stress
have now become critical issues. People need to be educated
about the remedial effects of music as therapy. Many people
still feel that music used as therapy is just another
liberal health fad. Despite this belief, music therapy
continues to be a growing occupation. There are more than
5,000 certified and licensed music therapists in the United
States working in hospitals, rehabilitation units, health-care
and educational settings. The American Music Therapy Association
now recognizes 68 schools in the United States who offer
programs of study in Music Therapy.
Music Therapy is a non-verbal type of therapy, as opposed
to other types of therapy where the client talks about
feelings and experiences of life. Music Therapy presents
an alternative to traditional types of therapy, and provides
the following benefits to patients:
• More direct access to thinking and feeling states.
• Opportunity to “contain” feelings
for periods of time so that these can be explored, examined,
and worked through for the individual.
• Non-verbal expression of thinking and feeling
states that are not yet within the verbal domain for the
individual.
• Elicitation of imagery and associations that are
not accessible through verbal means.
More direct physiological benefits for the individual
than verbal methods.
Freedom to explore and try out various solutions to patient
thinking and feeling problems through exploration and
creativity.
There are many applications of Music Therapy in our everyday
lives and the fields of treatment are very broad, encompassing
psycho-therapeutic, educational, instructional, behavioral,
pastoral, supervisory, healing, recreational, activity,
and interrelated arts applications.
Barbara Crowe, past president of the National Association
of Music Therapy, suggests music and rhythm create their
healing effects by calming the constant chatter of the
left brain. “A loud repetitive sound sends a constant
signal to the cortex, masking input from other senses
like vision, touch, and smell,” she explains. When
sensory input is decreased, the normally noisy left brain
with its internal conversations, analyses, and logical
judgments subsides to a murmur, stimulating deeper parts
of the brain that are throne-rooms of symbols, visualization,
and emotions. “This is the seat of ritual in tribal
societies,” she observes. “There is a clear,
distinct parallel between traditional shamanism and the
practices we do in music therapy today.”
Raymond Bahr, Director of Coronary Care at St. Agnes Hospital,
Baltimore, Maryland, contends, Without a doubt, music
therapy ranks high on the list of modern day management
of critical care patients…Its relaxing properties
enable patients to get well faster by allowing them to
accept their condition and treatment without excessive
anxiety.
How Music Affects Us
How does music affect our well-being? It seems that there
is no definitive answer to that question. However, experts
in the field of music and sound therapy feel there are
two major ways in which music and sound can affect our
lives. The first is the principle of entrainment. This
refers to the phenomena of being in sync. In other words,
our bodies automatically adjust to the pace, rhythm, or
pulse of the music. How many times have you walked into
a room with other things on your mind and heard music
playing? You stop to listen for a few minutes and all
of the sudden, your foot is tapping to the music or you
are swaying your head or body with the beat. Or, a certain
piece of music evokes memories of a time when you heard
the music before, and the feelings of that time come immediately
back into your awareness? In scientific terms, our psyches
and bodies become entrained to the sonic environment created
by the music.
Music for Entrainment
Entrainment is a powerful tool in behavior modification.
In effect, the principle of entrainment directly relates
to the Greek word isomorphic (commonly referred to as
the iso principle). Isomorphic means same form or appearance.
Therefore, musical entrainment is actually a process of
joining with feelings conveyed in the music and sensing
the feeling of commonality with it. One might almost have
an experience of feeling a connection with the composer
or performer by sharing emotions and feelings conveyed
in the music, either through its creation or through the
performance itself. Music in this sense can be a powerful
tool in both positive and negative ways to the listener.
Music entrainment is more than just a tool to be used
for behavior modification, however. Music has the power
to integrate the whole, person allowing profound healing
on many levels.
Music is one of the few experiences that can touch a person
on all levels of consciousness. It is a powerful sensory
stimulus that can work simultaneously on the body, mind,
and spirit. Vibrational entrainment, as a result of listening
to music, can bring harmony to the body by actually entraining
the body with the music. It can have a transformative
affect on an individual by moving through the body systems
and bringing about harmony. Through the use of music,
positive affects have been seen in the nervous system,
affecting the endocrine system, which in turn enhances
the immune system.
For centuries shamans have used drums and vocal sounds
as an integral part of healing practices in indigenous
cultures. They often went into a trance themselves through
the power of music, which they used as a tool in assisting
the healing process.
Music for Diversion
A second principle that music utilizes in affecting patients
is the principle of diversion. This method of utilizing
music and sound is helpful in taking the attention away
from an unpleasant or unwanted situation. An example of
diversionary music is the playing of bright, happy, energizing
music when the listener feels down in the dumps. Music,
in this sense, can be used in a therapeutic situation
to reduce anxiety and pain, transporting the listener
to another reality temporarily during the healing process.
The International Association of Pain has defined pain,
“an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience
associated with actual or potential tissue damage.”
In more esoteric terms, pain is a symptom of disharmony.
Pain can be viewed as a series of sounds or vibrations
that send messages to the brain indicating a disharmony
in some part of the body. Think of this vibration as an
alarm sounding to warn of a problem in the body. The mind
and body can be re-programmed or harmonized to a place
of harmony and healing by entraining it with music.
Music as Medicine
Music enters into the body through the ear, and the bones
of the body act like a tuning fork. The neurological fields
of the body are then stimulated by music. Music is a means
by which all people can feel these healing vibrations.
Even people with profound handicaps can benefit from music
healing affects. Research in physiological responses to
music supports the hypothesis that listening to music
influences a person autonomic responses. Science has proven
that music focused in the higher register increases tension.
Conversely, music played in the lower register reduces
tension. Music that is played at a tempo of 80-90 beats
per minute increases tension, while music at played at
40-60 beats per minute decrease tension.
According to Dr. Arthur Harvey, there are four distinct
ways in which our brain responds to music: cognitive,
affective, physical, and transpersonal. See the article
titled The Interface between Music and Medicine in our
Newsletter for an explanation of these responses to music.
When Music is used as medicine it is used in a way that
directly affects the health of the patient. An example
is the use of music in “audio-analgesia.”
Music is used in this way to alleviate or lessen pain,
and can be used, at times, in lieu of pain medications.
When music is used in this way, it is a necessary component
in affecting the outcome of the treatment.
Vibrational therapy sessions can be used to affect physiological
changes such as lowering of blood pressure, heart rate,
and muscle tension. Studies have shown that music used
as medicine can increase the immune function and decrease
ACTH (stress) hormones. Music and sound has also been
shown to kill cancer cells. See Fabian Maman findings
in The Science of Sound in Healing.
Another benefit of “healing” music is to stir
our emotions and feelings, to help us deal with grief,
sadness, anger or other feelings. By allowing ourselves
to really experience the feelings, the intensity will
eventually lessen and even dissipate, resulting in healing.
When we avoid our feelings (consciously or subconsciously)
they nonetheless tend to build up inside. They don’t
just go away. Music and sound area wonderful tools for
helping us to deal with feelings within us, whether we’re
aware of them or not.
What Type of Music is Healing?
After all that has been said, we may ask ourselves what
type of music is healing?
Music that energizes our body
Music that stimulates our brain
Music that awakens our feelings
Music that ignites our soul
Music that relaxes our body
Music that calms our mind
Music that unwinds our emotions
Music that restores our soul
Music that motivates our actions
Music that helps us unwind
Music that wakes us up
Music that helps us sleep
Music that expands our thinking
Music that helps us not to think
Music used in the appropriate way can be healing. The
key is to use wisdom and listen to what our inner healer
tells us about how music makes us feel. There is no one
type of music that is healing music. Listen to a wide
variety of music and pay attention to how you respond
with your whole being (mind, body, and spirit). We have
compiled a large listing of music that can be used in
various situations.
By no means are these the only pieces of music that are
healing, and the lists may change dramatically over time
as more and more people become involved in this exciting
field of health and healing. We also would like to take
this opportunity to say that music should not take the
place of seeking sound medical and spiritual advice about
your health. On the other hand, some type of music can
always be beneficial whatever the situation. Happy listening.
Bruscia, K.E., Defining Music Therapy,
(Spring City, PA: Spring House Books, 1989.)
Beaulieu, John, Music and Sound in the Healing Arts, (New
York, New York: Tallman, 1987), 115.
Campbell, Don, The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of
Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock
the Creative Spirit, (New York, NY: Avon Books, 1997)
81.
Chopra, Deepak, M.D., Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers
of Mind/Body Medicine, (Bantam Books, New York, 1989)
21.
Goleman, D., & Gruin, J., Mind Body Medicine, (Yonkers,
New York: Consumer Reports Books, 1993)
Keyes, Laurel E., Toning: The Creative Power of the Voice,
(Marina delRey, California: Devorss and Co., 1973) 12-13.
Krippner, S., The Highest State of Consciousness, (New
York: Doubleday & Co., 1972) 1-5.
Le Mee, Katherine, Chant: The Origins, Form, Practice,
and Healing Power of Gregorian Chant, (New York, New York:
Bell Tower, 1994)
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