Related Terms

• Active music listening, active music therapy, auditory integration training, Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music, "brain music" treatment, calming music therapy, contingent music, creative arts therapy, dinner music intervention, evocative music, expressive therapy, group chanting and singing, group drumming, Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), Hemi-Sync®, Heidelberg Model, improvisational music therapy, Individualized Music-Focused Auditory Therapy (IMAT), instructional music therapy, interactive music therapy, karaoke therapy, live music therapy, lullaby therapy, lyric analysis, mandalas, Medical Resonance Therapy Music (MRT-Music), medicine song, MT, muscle relaxation, music and movement, music and sign language, music-assisted progressive muscle relaxation, music-assisted reframing, music-based exercise, music-based imagery, music-based intervention, music exposure therapy, music in therapy, music intervention, music listening intervention, music stimulation, music therapy, music-reinforced therapy, music-video therapy, musical games, musical motor feedback (MMF), musical training program, musicokinetic therapy, Orff-based music therapy, rāgas (Sanskrit), recreational music-making (RMM), relaxation music, rhythmic training, self-selected music therapy, soothing music therapy, tactile music therapy, Therapeutic Application of a Musically Modulated Electromagnetic Field (TAMMEF).

Background

• Music has been used as a tool of healing since ancient times, appearing in the writings of the Greek philosophers Pythagoras, Aristotle, and Plato. Native Americans and other indigenous groups have used music to enhance traditional healing practices for centuries. References to music for healing have appeared in ancient Native American pictographs, African petroglyphs and other ancient inscriptions. Healing songs and music have also been passed down through oral traditions worldwide. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners have used music for healing. Traditional rāgas ("melodic modes" used in classical music in India) have also been used to create different states of mind for healing.
• Some scholars believe that "modern" music therapy began in the mid-1700s, when Louis Roger wrote his "A Treatise on the Effects of Music on the Human Body." Others say that the modern discipline of music therapy began early in the 20th Century to treat recovering soldiers during and after both World Wars. Patients' responses led to growth of such programs and wider scientific curiosity about the possible clinical effects of music.
• Music has been used to influence physical, emotional, cognitive, and social well-being and improve quality of life for healthy people as well as those who are disabled or ill. Therapy may involve either listening to or performing music, with or without the presence of a music therapist.
• Music therapists are professionally trained to design specialized applications of music according to an individual's needs using improvisation, receptive listening, song writing, lyric discussion, imagery, performance, and learning through music.
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Theory

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Evidence

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Safety

Many complementary techniques are practiced by healthcare professionals with formal training, in accordance with the standards of national organizations. However, this is not universally the case, and adverse effects are possible. Due to limited research, in some cases only limited safety information is available.

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Author Information

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References

Natural Standard developed the above evidence-based information based on a thorough systematic review of the available scientific articles. For comprehensive information about alternative and complementary therapies on the professional level, go to www.naturalstandard.com. Selected references are listed below.

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