Home »
Healing Music

Healing Music

Healing Aspects of Music Physically and Medicinally

From "Consuming Music Together: Social and Collaborative Aspects of Music Consumption Technologies" by Kenton O’Hara (Editor) and Barry Brown (Editor)

While the greatest pieces of music will energize and inspire all levels of one’s being, there are musical works that may appeal more specifically to certain aspects of an individual. “Music is not only seen as art and entertainment but as an essential manner of sensorial patterning that increases long-range memory, reading skills and physical development (emphasis Carin Smit).”[1] Students who sing or play an instrument score up to 51 points higher on SATs than the national average. [2] The remarkable work of Dr. Alfred Tomatis in France has opened remarkable “vistas of education and medicinal possibilities through the music of Mozart and other composers.”[3] “Dr. Tomatis continued his study of listening and its fascinating relationship to a wide variety of skills—including balance, posture, musicality, attentiveness, language ability and expressiveness (emphasis Carin Smit) .”[4] In humans, the ear is the first sensory organ to develop, and it is fully functional four and a half months before we are born.[5] Don Campbell lists “50 common conditions ranging from migraines to epilepsy for which music can be used as a treatment or a cure (Emphasis Carin Smit). The director of a Baltimore Hospital coronary care unit says that, half an hour of classical music produces the same effect as 10 milligrams of Valium.”[6] Campbell states that in the “orchestration of perception, consciousness and expressions we are at a new frontier where arts and sciences can merge.[7] The physical body reflects the sounds we perceive down to the biochemical level. According to Clynes, leader of the research center at the New South Wales Conservatorium of music, “several of the great classical composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert or Brahms, produced a characteristic pulse that became a hallmark of their work.”[8] And it is the pulse, which does much to determine the subtle characteristics of music, which creates a heartbeat effect (80 beats per minute) “that synchronizes the listener’s rhythms to the pulse of relaxation”.[9] A variety of new research techniques are now being used to investigate the various effects of music and sound on the body, mind and spirit. The material summarized below relates to the many physical conditions drawn from current scientific and medical research.

Dr. Dale Taylor provides a clear and fascinating look at “neurophysiology, auditory function and music perception as it applies to stress and pain management, recovery of physical and communication skills and cognition.”[10] And Vollerno believes that music can “excite and strengthen complex patterns for the performance of higher brain functions.”[11] The following data was collected in regard to the physical healing effects of music. “In 1994 and 1997, Frances Rauscher and her colleagues used behavioral tests to examine the effect of music instruction on young children’s brain functioning. They found that children who had received music instruction, including keyboard lessons scored higher in spatial task ability than those who had not.”[12] Lois Hetland discusses how “listening to music enhances spatial-temporal reasoning.”[13] In 2003, Vesna Ivanov and John Geake were the first to find a Mozart Effect for school children in a natural setting, in contrast to the original study of Rauscher, Shaw and Ky (1993). “This study found evidence for the existence of a Mozart Effect with upper-primary school-aged children in a school setting.”[14] At Horizon House, an assisted living facility for people with HIV/AIDS in Jacksonville, Florida, sound therapy is an important part of daily activities and the staff employs a vibrotactile technology called Therasound, involving a special mattress with built in speakers.” They swear by its effectiveness reports Ann Bozzuto, R.N., executive director of the Mind/Body Institute of Florida, “especially in the treatment of pain, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness and hypertension.”[15] Ralph Spintge, M.D., executive director of the German-based International Society for Music in Medicine, studies the effects of music on nearly 97,000 patients before, during and after surgery. He found that 97% reported that music helped them relax during their recovery and many said that they felt less of a need for anesthesia. “Soft, tonal music was particularly effective. Listening to slow Baroque or classical music several days prior to surgery and hearing it again in the recovery room reduced their postoperative disorientation.”[16] In a study of nineteen children aged seven to seventeen with ADD or ADHD, researchers played recordings of Mozart during thrice-weekly neurofeedback sessions for some of the subjects and nothing for the others. “The researchers reported that those who listened to Mozart reduced their theta brain waves in exact rhythm to the underlying beat of the music, and displayed better focus and mood control, diminished impulsivity, and improved social skills. Among subjects who improved, 70% maintained that improvement six months after the end of the study without any further training.”[17] At the Ireland Cancer Center at the University Hospital of Cleveland, music therapist Deforia Lane reported in 1996 that children given a single half hour music therapy session had improved immune function. “In nineteen subjects, she found significant increase in salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA) after the music session, while in seventeen controls there was a small but not significant decrease.”[18] IgA is an antibody in saliva that protects against harmful bacteria and toxins and is a principal marker in enhanced resistance to disease. Today’s common killer is heart-disease, and the following provides evidence that patients with this fatal disease can still benefit from music therapy:

“After installing a music listening system in its six-bed intensive care unit in 1976, Saint Joseph Hospital in New York reported a drop in heart attacks and a death rate 8 to 12 percent below the national average. In 1987, two researchers studied the cardiac reported a significant decrease in heart rate with no clinical arrhythmias and a change toward a happier emotional state.”[19]

“In the journal Heart Lung they reported a significant decrease in heart rate with no clinical arrhythmias and a change toward a happier emotional state.”[20] These examples suggest that the mind can influence the body, so if music influences the mind, what exactly is altered on the emotional level? Emotions are the most challenging areas of our being because they are unpredictable and innumerable.

[1] Don Campbell, Introduction to the Music Brain, (Saint Louis, Mo.: MMB Music, 1992)

[2] Don Campbell, Tapping the power of music to heal the body, strengthens the mind, and unlocks the creative spirit. Foreword.

[3] Ibid., 23

[4] Don Campbell, The Mozart Effect for Children: Tune Up Your Mind, (Pickering, Ontario, Canada: The children’s Group Inc., 1997), 11.

[5] Don Campbell, Music and Miracles, (Wheaton, Il.: Quest Books, 1992) 91

[6] Ibid., foreword.

[7] Ibid., 53

[8] M. Clynes, Beyond the Score, Somatics Vol. V, No. 1., (Autumn – Winter 1984 –1985) 57

[9] Elizabeth Miles, Tune Your Brain. (New York, New York 1998), program notes.

[10] Dale Taylor Ph. D. Biomedical foundations of music as therapy. (MMB Music Inc. 1997)

[11] Michael Vollerno, Nurturing the body and mind in physical education with Mozart, Yale – New Haven Teacher’s Institute 2004 [online] @ http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2001/6/01.06.07.x.html

[12] J.W. Flohr, Recent brain research on young children. Teaching music, Vol. 6 (June 1999) 41.

[13] Lois Hetland, Listening to enhances spatial-temporal reasoning: evidence for the “Mozart Effect.” The Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 34, No. 3-4 (Fall – Winter 2000) 110.

[14] Vesna K. Ivanov, and John G. Geake, The Mozart Effect and primary school children, Psychology of Music Vol. 31, Issue: 4, (October 2003), 403 Mozart effect and primary school children.pdf

[15] Don Campbell, Mozart Effect, 227.

[16] Don Campbell, Mozart Effect, 231.

[17] Ibid., 233.

[18] Ibid., 241.

[19] Ibid., 258.

[20] Ibid., 258.

Get Started
Evaluation & Financial Forms

Testimonials

The Berard Auditory Integration Training System has given us a ray of hope. Our daughter, Naomi, 4 years 11 months showed great improve

Tiffany

Read More »
“Thank you so much! Caleb is thriving! He attended Ohio Technical College and earned an Associate’s Degree in automotive repai

Jacalyn Newman

Read More »
Hi Sarah. Years ago, I did the AIT program through your ministry with my grandson Benjamin who was diagnosed with CAPD, autism, and sen

Kathleen

Read More »
We are seeing a definite improvement in how he is managing his life. Even though there is still a procrastination issue, he seems more

~Sherry C

Read More »
I am 31 years old and I have CAPD/APD. I was diagnosed in 5th grade with CAPD. They tried several strategies in school such as Ritalin,

Lacey Moody

Read More »
His listening went from K.6 (kindergarten 6 month) to 2nd grade 2nd month! This is amazing! I am excited about this. . . Thanks again

~J.D.

Read More »
Our son, Steven, was experiencing hearing sensitivity issues as a cashier which was causing him to miss some work. After doing the AIT

Warren R.

Read More »
Thank you for your help again. I do think this has been beneficial. We had an appointment the same day he finished his first [booster]

Annie E.

Read More »
Steven has just completed his 3rd 20-session AIT this time at 32 years old. We have seen a marked decrease in sound sensitivity and als

Steven Holady

Read More »
I found AIT easy and convenient to perform in the home. My son has shown some increased awareness of his surroundings and has been usin

~M. Lucas, 2015

Read More »
He LOVES AIT. We have a happier child that gets healthier and happier every week. My happy boy. This is a child that screamed all day

Jennifer Holloway

Read More »
He has gained lots of words, …much more understanding and great eye contact… He is smarter that kids his age…

Ben K’s Mom

Read More »
It’s like having a whole new husband!...happier, more relaxed, not depressed any more

Joy B. wife

Read More »
After AIT, Steph was like a different child. Happier, more normal voice tone, doing better in school. What a pleasure

Steph’s Mom

Read More »
Simeon “woke up” after AIT. He was able to focus and have better eye contact. He was able to “be there”

a. K Byrd, RN

Read More »
I first encountered Simeon when assigned to his case working pediatric home health. He was 4 1/2 years old at the time.....a beautiful

Kathryn Byrd, RN

Read More »
My eight year old daughter is a different child today as a result of the AIT program! She experienced 30 ear infections by the time she

Steph's Mother

Read More »