SP4 -7

Musical Medicine

The Greek philosopher Plato once said, “​Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the

universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to

everything.” Music has a way of influencing one's life in more ways than one. For as

long as I can remember music has been one of the most important things in my life,

helping me through the darkest times and making the good times even more

memorable. I have been surrounded by music my entire life and I fell in love with it.

My earliest memories of music, like most children, were songs from my favorite tv

shows and Disney movies. I used to hum the melody of every song I knew or sing every

word I could remember. I would fill the room with the annoying sound of my

prepubescent voice every time a song I liked came on and drive my family crazy. I didn't

care. All I knew was that the feeling I experienced was one of the best I have ever felt.

However, no musical influence was greater than my family when it came to music in my

life.

I grew up surrounded by musicians but no two were more influential than my

grandpa and my dad. Every evening I spent at my grandparents’ house I was entranced

by the smooth sound of my grandpa’s saxophone. I also loved the distorted sound of my

dad’s electric guitar screaming the sound of rock and roll. I fell in love with melodies

from ACDC, Led Zeppelin, and others now called “the classics.”

Music is a powerful thing and it can change how a person feels instantly. From

the joy brought on by happy songs, to the relaxing sounds of smooth jazz, music can
influence how one feels in every way imaginable. Why does that one song make a

breakup more bearable, and why does a different one “pump you up” for the big game

or workout? I have been in love with music my whole life and until recently I never

stopped to ask why it has such a great effect on how a person is feeling. I became

curious to why music can have such a large effect on mood and also health. This led

me to my research question: How can listening to music improve your physical and

mental health?

I am really bad at being on time. This time I was stuck in traffic on my way to

meet with John Mulcahy, a music therapist contracted by Bay Area Music therapy in

Santa Rosa, California. Driving aggressively I finally arrived at his house 10 min late. I

sprinted to the door and knocked. John answered and welcomed me in. We sat down

on his giant leather sofa in a room full of instruments and I began asking my questions.

As the interview went on he showed me all the different instruments he uses and

explained to me how beneficial music can be for one's health. During our brief interview

I learned so much about music therapy and therapists like John. He explained what

music therapists actually do and some of the people who can benefit, “​Music therapists

do many things, personally I work with a variety of clients through Bay Area music

therapy and the Oaklands children's hospital. I work with alot children with learning

disabilities and mental issues, and I work with clients with conditions ranging from

depression and anxiety to patients with schizophrenia”.​ At the end of the interview he

gave me a demonstration of some of the songs hell play for clients based on their

conditions. He also showed me some of the activities he has to help with various people
conditions like having make a beat to go along with the song he was playing. Exercises

like these can help people with developmental disabilities. I was amazed at all that

music can do for people to improve their health.

Music has the ability to improve one's learning and cognitive functions. Probably

one of the most popular theories of music and its effects on the brain is the “Mozart

Effect”. This study, conducted by researchers at UC Irvine revealed that the IQs of

those who listened to Mozart before a test rose by 8-9 points compared to those who

listened to nothing (“Music and Health”). Mozart also improved the groups spatial

reasoning measured by paper folding tasks and a short-term memory test. This theory

however has been questioned over the last 20 years. Despite the heavy scrutiny this

study received evidence still suggests music can improve learning and brain functions.

Music has the potential to take a person from the Beta brainwave state to deeper Alpha,

and then Theta brainwave states, depending on the music (“Can Music”). ​Beta brain

waves are associated with normal waking consciousness and a heightened state of

alertness, logic and critical reasoning. Alpha brain waves are present in deep relaxation

and usually when the eyes are closed, when you’re slipping into a lovely daydream or

during light meditation. It is an optimal time to program the mind for success and it also

heightens your imagination, visualization, memory, learning and concentration. Last

Theta waves are present during deep meditation and light sleep, including the

all-important REM dream state. It is the realm of your subconsciousness and only

experienced momentarily as you drift off to sleep from Alpha and wake from deep sleep
(Hall). Improvements in cognitive and mental functions are not the only psychological

benefits listening to music can present.

Not only can music can improve the mental state of a healthy mind, music can

also help to heal a disabled one. Music Therapy is a method of using musical

interventions to help treat a patient's condition. Music therapists are people that

specialize in treating patients with music, often using music to help those with mental

disorders such as ADHD, auditory processing disorder ( a disorder characterized by the

disability to process sounds such as language), Down syndrome, Retts syndrome ( a

rare disorder affecting brain development in young girls), and even traumatic brain

injuries such as a stroke (“Music Therapy”). After a stroke, part of the brain may be

damaged and sometimes the damage affects areas of the brain attributed with speech

and communication. Music can help a stroke victim to recover their use of the damaged

portion of the brain to help them communicate through singing. When one sings he or

she uses the half of their brain that is not responsible for speech, the right side. As

patients slowly works on dropping the melody when they sing it helps them verbally

communicate by using the right brain for speech to make up for the left sides failure due

to damage (Levitin). Music has the ability to “rewire” a person's brain by changing which

parts of the brain are used when one listens to music. This can help those with speech

disorders and well as people who have trouble communicating their thoughts. The age

group most commonly treated for these disorders are children whose learning capacity

is hampered by these disabilities. Music therapists often work with these young children

at schools to help them with their learning by teaching them rhythm patterns which
boost memory. Also, as the rhythm lengths the children will learn to stay on task longer,

because it requires them to focus for longer periods of time (“Music Therapy”).

The most common behavioral disorders that music can assist in treating are

depression and anxiety. One study conducted to observe the effect of music on stress

and anxiety in patients right before a surgery showed that those who listened to music

before, during, and after a cataract surgery had reduced levels of stress and anxiety

than the control group who listened to nothing (Jasemi). In addition to their stress and

anxiety going down the patients who listened to music before, during and after their

operations had lower blood pressure than those who didn't listen to music.

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the world affecting

more than 350 million people. Some of these victims have seeked music therapy as a

way of combating their depression. Music can be used to aid adolescents with

depression by assisting with relaxation, promoting the expression of feelings, and

developing better communication skills. Music therapists can use music as a tool to help

with the physical symptoms of depression, by affecting the heart and respiratory rates.

Music therapy can also improve adolescent depression by giving them tasks of lyrical

analysis and composition they learn to express their feelings. In a group setting this can

also help improve their self esteem as their musical compositions are acknowledged by

peers. Another benefit of a group setting in a musical intervention would be help with

isolation, music interventions in a group setting can promote reduced isolation and

increase expressive communication skills.

 As easily as music can lift you from a depression it can also lift you in the gym. A

survey done by ​Runners World ​found that 75% of participants in a survey prefer to listen

to music while they exercise. Music helps motivate and pump a person up before and

during exercise and also increases efficiency during exercise. In one study on music

and exercise, the oxygen levels of people on a stationary bike were measured while

they exercised. One group given music with a fast tempo that was synchronized to their

movement; it showed a more efficient use of oxygen in the exercisers when compared

to a control group ( a group listening to no music), and one where the participants

listened to music with a slower tempo (Kravitz).Different tempos of music can change

one's mood. ​Music with a strong beat stimulates the brain and causes brainwaves to

resonate in time with the rhythm. Slow beats encourage the slow brain waves

associated with hypnotic or meditative states while faster beats may encourage more

alert and concentrated thinking (Saarman).

A very common question people often ask about music is why it can affect their

moods. Music can affect one's mood because when a person listens to music their brain

releases certain chemicals such as, serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, all

chemicals responsible for how one feel (Taylor). Norepinephrine is a hormone released

that is responsible for the feelings of euphoria one can receive from listening to music.

The release of these hormones in the brain can heavily influence the mood. This makes

a person more happy when one is feeling depressed, or more relaxed when one is

anxious or stressed. A common category of music is “the breakup song”. Everyone has

gone through a breakup and knows the feeling of depression and sadness one feels
after they lose someone they cared so much about. When someone listens to music the

hormones in the brain are released providing you with that happy , uplifted feeling that

can make music one of the best treatments for a broken heart.

One of the many health benefits associated with listening to music is pain relief.

In one study, 60 patients with fibromyalgia - a disease in which patients experience

severe skeletal pain - were randomly assigned to listen to music once a day over a four

week period. Those who listened to music once a day experienced less pain and fewer

depressive symptoms opposed to those who either listened to a “calming track” or

nothing (Suttie).

In an interview with music therapist John Mulcahy, he said

“​ Over all music therapy decreases how much you perceive pain which can
significantly improve short term and chronic pain.I've had patients on pain meds that
would reduce the amount of meds they take after a musical intervention. It gives
patients the feeling they have more control over their pain which in turn reduces their
overall pain and stress levels.”

In ​another ​study, patients undergoing spine surgery were instructed to listen to

self-selected music on the evening before their surgery and until the second day after

their surgery. When measured on pain levels post surgery, the group had significantly

less pain than a control group who didn’t listen to music (Suttie). It has not been proven

exactly why music can relieve pain but most theories attribute it to the release of

dopamine and other neurotransmitters when one listens to music. Research also shows

a correlation between stress and pain. It suggests that ​music’s impact on stress

reduction may also partly explain the effects it has on pain as well.
 I am very amazed at how many ways there are to use music to help the human

mind and body. Through my research I learned how music can help people recover

from injuries, reduced pain, learn and retain more information, and promote better

moods. The research I found from many scientific studies and knowledge of specialists

in the field of music therapy taught me all about the amazing world of music therapy and

gave me a new look at how music can be used to treat people. Trying to explain why

music could have such a profound effect on one was not possible for me before my

research i would not have been able to give anyone an answer. Now I have the answer

to the question and it's amazing I got to learn all about music and its effect on people's

lives.
 Works Cited

Web:

“How Does Listening to Music Affect Studying?” ​Computer Systems Institute in MA & IL​,

30 July 2015,

www.csinow.edu/blog/how-much-does-listening-to-music-affect-your-studying/.

Jasemi, Madineh, et al. “The Effects of Music Therapy on Anxiety and Depression of

Cancer Patients.” ​Indian Journal of Palliative Care​, Medknow Publications & Media

Pvt Ltd, 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5072238/.

Kravitz, Len. “The Effects of Music on Exercise?” ​Music and Exercise​,

www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/musicexercise.html.

“Music and Health.” ​Harvard Health​, July 2011,

www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/music-and-health.

“Music Therapy Helps Reduce Depression in Kids and Teens.” ​Health Enews Health

Enews​, 5 Nov. 2014,

www.ahchealthenews.com/2014/11/05/music-therapy-helps-reduce-depression-in-kid

s-and-teens/.

Saarman, Emily. “Symposium Looks at Therapeutic Benefits of Musical Rhythm.”

Symposium Looks at Therapeutic Benefits of Musical Rhythm | Stanford News

Release​, 31 May 2006, news.stanford.edu/pr/2006/pr-brainwave-053106.html.

Suttie, Jill. “Five Ways Music Can Make You Healthier.” ​Greater Good​, 20 Jan. 2015,

greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_ways_music_can_make_you_healthier.
 Taylor, Kevin. “Does Music Affect Our Mood?” ​SiOWfa15 Science in Our World

Certainty and Controversy​, 11 Sept. 2015,

sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/09/11/does-music-affect-our-mood/.

Print:

Levitin, Daniel J. ​This Is Your Brain on Music: the Science of a Human Obsession​. Dutton,

2016.

Donald E. Michel and Joseph Pinson, Charles C. Thomas, “Music Therapy In Principle

And Practice.” ​Music Therapy In Principle And Practice​, 2012

Interviews:

Mulcahy, John, Personal Interview, March 1, 2018