The Importance Of Music Therapy

Music therapy has been a healing ritual long before recorded history. The word music derives from the muses in greek mythology. The muses were leaders of music, medicine, poetry, and the arts, some of which include, Apollo, Socrates, and Aristotle. Historical texts such as the Bible and Homers Odyssey have also referenced the therapeutic value in music therapy. “In the Bible, Sauls melancholy disappeared while David played the harp (hughes, 1984); In Homers Odyssey, the bleeding of Odysseus ceased when he heard a magic song sung to him by Autolycus (gruhn, 1967)” (Silverman 2257). In ancient cultures and traditions, exorcising the healing of diseases and pain through the therapeutic value in music was a magical practice for change.

Following the developing of social sciences, everybody has started to get concerned about the issue if music is good for healthy body and mental recently. This phenomenon makes the music therapy becomes popular. Music therapy is defined as “ the therapeutic use of music as to reduce anxiety, improve cognitive functioning, promote physical rehabilitation, or enhance interpersonal communication that typically involves listening to music, singing, playing musical instruments, or composing music “ in the Merriam-Webster.com. In other words, through the activity of music people can improve physical or psychological disease that achieves cure and health.

A recent study of music therapy interventions was conducted on 1,891 participants. The study was offered by music therapists and medical staff.

More than 5,000 musical therapists work in hospitals, schools, rehabs, nursing homes, prisons, and at people’s homes in the United States today and more than half of them are working with the mentally ill, disabled, or the elderly(Campbell 126). As early as the 19th and early 20th centuries Americans have been using music for medicinal reasons(Campbell 121). In early 1899 James L. Corning conducted the first controlled study using music to treat his patients(Campbell 122). Using the musical styles of Wagner and other Romantic composers he concluded their styles helped reduce the morbid thoughts of the patients and

“The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) defines music therapy as ‘an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals’” (Barnett & Shale, 2013, p.48). Music Therapy (MT) is shown to be able to help people with many different kinds of mental health problems such as anxiety, stress, and minor cases of depression. There have been many studies done showing that MT is an effective form of therapy that can improve someone’s overall Quality Of Life (QOL). MT is known as an alternative technique therapy. It is often used instead of, or along with, medication to produce a result in the patience who need it. MT involves all aspects of the music process, including listening to, writing, singing, and analyzing music. Overall MT addresses physical and emotional problems and is used to enhance the life and health of the patient. This review is simply to inform readers of the effects music and MT has on mental health, specifically:

There are many different ways that we benefit from music. Music can inspire better self-esteem, and confidence. It’s a great way to set the mood, and a wonderful tool. Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program (Gram, 2005). Music therapy can reach out to anyone, age, race, gender it doesn’t matter. Children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly with mental health needs can benefit from music therapy. As well as, those who have developmental and learning disabilities, those who suffer from Alzheimer's

Because of this musical therapy has received many positive remarks, because music heard by the human ear that can impact someone's emotional state is more powerful than any medicine.

Music therapy is not a new idea. In fact, it’s been used in thousands of civilizations throughout history. The Incan nation thought that a soul was connected to the gods through music and it determined the health, success, and future of every living thing (Stobart et al, 26). But most every nation, from Africa, to Asia, to Europe, has had a history of music being used as a healing tool. There is evidence of music therapy leading to an increase in emotional functions and motor control skills (Warner et al, 15).

Not only is musical therapy an extremely effective practice to use for many different issues, it is also very fast acting with long term benefits as well. Patients often experience the positive effects of therapy during or immediately following their session. The benefits are also felt long after the music has stopped, especially if sessions continue over a span of several days or weeks (Ramsay). For thousands of years, humans have relied on music therapy; it is one of the most successful and cheapest treatments available to

The ancient Hebrews employed music in several recorded cases of physical and mental illness." The Chinese thinker and social philosopher named Confucius "was a great lover of music; it was his belief that music was a definite aid to harmonious living." There were also Plato and Aristotle who regarded music very highly. Plato expressed in The Republic his belief that "health in mind and body could be obtained through music." (Podolsky). Shamanism has been studied in depth with the connection to use of music therapeutically (Wigram 17). Music therapy in the United States began in the late 18th century. However, using music as a healing medium dates back to ancient times (MAM).

Music is used to Michael Thaut of Colorado State University said, “Music is hard-wired into the brain. We’re only now realizing how important it is to us”(Wendel). In his studies, he found scientists thought music had little or nothing to do with important matters of the brain or your body. In recent years, he has seen views change, but many physicians are still questioning whether music can really be an alternative to medicine. Now, “Doctors believe music therapy… not only makes people feel better, but also makes them heal faster”(SOURCE). Psychologists have found great improvements with patients they are treating with music therapy. It makes the patient feel better and heal faster. Doctors are also seeing, “We’re only beginning to understand the value of music,” according to Deforia Lane, a music therapist at University Hospital in Cleveland. Finally music is used to comfort people at hard times in their lives. After September 11th, 2001, musicians of all kinds took part in performances on television and other settings. The reliance on music helped the nation deal with the tragedy. Even opera singer Denyce Graves said, “It’s soothing, comforting and reminds us that there’s still beauty in the world.” Music speaks to us what cannot be expressed in our day to day lives. Many music therapy patients see music as a magical healing tool while others just listen to music, but no matter what we are doing with

Centuries ago many wise men with bright grey beards and many hours in the day to sit and ponder the cosmos, Greek philosophers’, Believed in using music to help maintain homeostasis with any of their patients. Plato, Pythagoras, and Aristotle were firm believers. Pythagoras was said to have believed that,” Both the body and the soul could be influenced by music through the implementation of law and order. While Plato said “Music is always changing and re-harmonizing, just like humans as a whole and the human body, rebalancing, this is why music has a therapeutic value.” If a person was presented with an anxiety attack they were prescribed flute ballots, the smooth sound of the flute was calming enough. Patients with depression were sent to study the sounds of “dulcimer music” (a guitar like

Music therapy has the ability to change lives in a very powerful way, and science has shown us that it can have a positive effect on the quality of a person’s life. Music therapy is a healthcare practice that utilizes clinical and evidence-based music therapy methods to address stress, wellness, pain, physical rehabilitation, and to improve a person’s quality of life. It can have a significantly positive effect on people—physically and emotionally. While the earliest known mention of music being used as a therapy appeared in 1789 in a Columbian Magazine unsigned article, "Music Physically Considered”, the idea really started to evolve when the profession formally began after World War I and World War II. Musicians of all types went to Veterans hospitals to play for large numbers of veterans that were suffering from both emotional and physical trauma from the wars. The patients ' beneficial physical and emotional responses to the music led the doctors and nurses to hire a staff of in-house musicians by the hospitals to support the recovery of the troops. Music therapy has long been used to help people emotionally as well as physically. The results have been powerful and are seen to be positive—yet still people are sceptical about the practice of this therapy. How can music possibly affect the human body physically? Why does it change our emotions? It almost sounds a bit new age; more like an “alternative” medicine than something that has been scientifically proven and is more

Needle pricks, medicine, exhaustion, sickness, pain, feeling different ‒ these are just a few of the things that people with mental disabilities and serious diseases have to go through on a daily basis. But what if there was a different kind of treatment that could comfort them or reduce their pain even a little bit? Fortunately, for the people facing these issues, there is. Music therapy is a relatively new approach that doctors, teachers, and many others are taking to help heal and improve the quality of life for their patients and students. It’s starting to become more common around the United States and is expected to become even more popular in the future. Books like Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart support the idea of music therapy by demonstrating how music can be used to soothe and improve the moods of individuals regardless of what they may be going through. Music therapy is an effective way to speed up the healing process and improve the emotional state of a wide range of people facing different obstacles in life.

Music therapy, a clinical use of music interventions to accomplish therapeutic goals, involves a broad range of activities including playing an instrument, singing, or listening to music. Similar to occupational and physical therapy, this expressive arts therapy remedies psychological conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or hypertension to maintain the well-being of an individual. Likewise, music has been a therapeutic tool that has shown positive effects to parts of the brain including regions involved in emotion, sensation, movement, and cognition. Although music therapy is a somewhat new-found treatment, it is used prominently today. Administered by a trained therapist, this type of therapy is used in correctional facilities, nursing homes, hospices, and special education schools.