THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF MUSIC
Music and the Ancients
Ancient civilisations believed music, song and musical instruments to be gifts from the gods which were endowed with magic powers that could have beneficial effects on both mind and body. The Ancient Greek philosophers were particularly convinced of such powers and, as we will see later, the Ancient Chinese built up a whole philosophy if life around music and its healing powers!

As western civilisation progressed through various industrial and technological revolutions, music took on much more of an entertainment value as relief from the daily working routine, but its therapeutic qualities have been recently rediscovered and this has led to the recognition of music therapy as one of the most important "alternative" medicines to achieve a state of well-being and to promote healing.

The scientific world has had to open its eyes to the applications of music therapy mainly due to the efforts of the various associations dealing with the discipline which have sprung up in the second half of this century. However, before embarking on a discussion of modern day applications, let's first take a look at an area of the world where the conviction that that music was beneficial to the organism arrived a lot sooner than it occurred to recent western science.


Chinese Music/Health philosophy
For thousands of years the Chinese believed that music governed the course of the Universe. Chinese music has also long been rooted in the philosophical concept that men correspond with the universe.
Therefore Music, Man, and Nature are in tune with each other, they interact in harmony They are one and the same.
The Chinese philosophy of the interconnection between music and health was rooted on the Yin Yang theory. Yin and Yang represents all forms of opposition: night and day, female and male, hot and cold, and so on.

This theory lays great emphasis on the state of equilibrium and harmonious Yin and the Yang interaction.

As long as the state of equilibrium is maintained in the human body, health is assured. Ancient Chinese music theory and tonality were unified through a mutual basis on the Five Element principle evolving from the Yin Yang theory.

Since the Yin Yang laws and Five elements principle underlie both health and music, music was thought to be associated with health. In the Five Elements theory, all aspects of the phenomenological world can be divided into the categories of Fire, Water, Wood, Earth and Metal.

During the Han Dynasty (202B.C. - 220A.D.), its principles became inseparably intertwined with the Yin Yang theory of Changes, also known as the Yi Ching (I-Ching).



According to the "Book of Changes Cycle of Elemental Music", Earth Metal, Wood, Fire and Water correspond with the spleen, lung, liver, heart and kidney respectively. These body organs also correspond with certain musical modes. When we listen to music composed around one of the five modes, that particular organ of the body is stimulated in a positive way.

Therefore, these five modes (Kung, Shang, Cheuh, Jvy and Yu) of ancient Chinese music, through the use of rhythm, texture, intensity and instrumentation, assist in bringing about greater organ function efficiency. They help to regulate the circulation of "Qi" or "Life Force" in the body. The resonant frequencies of the five different tones stimulate the flow and circulation of "Qi" in the different body parts.

Musical compositions using the Five Tones are available on the market today and the companies producing such music emphasise strongly the beneficial effects. A whole industry has been built up around this idea, although perhaps we in the west are still a little too sceptical to accept such claims.

The ancient Chinese therefore teach us that music can be used directly to intervene and help regulate the functions of the organs in the body and restore biological equilibrium. So much for oriental theory, but how have westerners put music to use for therapeutic purposes?

Music therapy in the "modern" sense
We will now come back up to date and take a look at how it has been discovered in comparatively recent years that music can be of therapeutic help in dealing with certain problems which we may all have to deal with at some time or other.

Since 1950, when music therapy was officially recognised as a discipline and the National Association for Musical therapy was set up in the USA, various centres have been established throughout the west as fully fledged clinics and laboratories where patients can seek help in the treatment of pathologies usually of psychic and psychosomatic nature.

Music therapy finds its basis in the complex relationship that exists between sound and human beings. The theory is that sounds provoke both conscious and sub-conscious reactions leading to pleasant or unpleasant responses and consequent biological and psychological changes within our bodies.
Music therapy is therefore used to bring about positive changes in the patient's emotional and physical condition by using music as if it were a medicine acting on the organism.

There are two basic methods used in the discipline, one passive and the other active. The first approach involves the use of listening to music, sounds and voices while relaxation techniques and awareness of the patient's own perceptive capacities are concentrated on in an attempt to restore the vital energies and equilibrium.

The second therapeutic component consists of active experiences such as improvisation and music making through the use of normal musical instruments and objects together with the voice and parts of the body. Here the emphasis is on self-expression, using the imagination with the aim of encouraging socialisation and overcoming shyness.
The therapeutic session
The music therapist cannot just be a medical Dee Jay but must be able to guide the whole process towards its objective and appreciate fully the emotional processes stimulated by the musical activities.
Sessions may be either individual or group and the length of treatment will depend upon the seriousness of the problem.

The first thing to be done is for the patient, under the guidance of the therapist, to note down on a sort of 'musical identity card' sound recollections, sounds found in the patient's home environment, the family's 'musical history', attraction to and dislike of sounds, noises, music and instruments.

The therapist then uses this information to devise a personalised program with its various phases taking in techniques, instruments, sound effects and so on. Sessions are held in very quiet and sometimes soundproofed rooms which are not too large and where the decoration does not make itself too noticeable with no distracting objects or gaudy colours. The flooring is in wood to favour the optimum transmission of sound vibrations.

Listening to music in a therapeutic context involves both mind and body and brings into play the heart, nervous system, skin, respiration, the brain and subconscious. Both hemispheres are affected even though they deal with different mental activities: the left hemisphere controlling logic and rationality while the right looks after the emotions, irrationality and artistic faculties.

A musical listening experience is complete when both hemispheres are working in synchrony. This can only come about if we allow ourselves to be completely absorbed by the music and let our imaginations run freely while at the same time paying rational attention to the sounds we are hearing.


Specific indications
Music therapy is helpful in restoring a feeling of well-being which has been lost and in all cases where the body's energies have been blocked such as in anxiety, stress, anguish, depression, altered biological rhythms, insomnia, physical and mental fatigue, shyness and socialisation difficulties. One important use of music is as an aid to recovery rather than a medicine in its own right.

It has been found that musical therapy not only avoids the side effects of traditional medicine, but it also allows for long-term treatment. According to clinical reports, patients treated with music therapy, in addition to routine treatment, recover more efficiently than those treated without.
Because music can relieve psychological pressure and improve mental activity, it becomes one of the most effective means of removing the causative factors of illness. Furthermore, because of music's capacity to counter elemental imbalance on physiological, biological and psychic levels, it is ideal as a complement to herbal, acupuncture, and massage therapies.

Music therapy is indicated, as supportive treatment, in cases of mental, sensory and motory handicap, neurosis and psychosis (infantile autism and schizophrenia), alcoholism, drug addiction, dyslexia, psychosomatic illnesses, pain therapy.

The applications listed here cannot obviously be put right by any do-it-yourself type home-based approach but require specialist help in proper centres. Nevertheless, even though we may not all be in dire need of music therapy in the form discussed here, each of us can still take advantage of music's beneficial effects. Relax, get used to listening in a quiet atmosphere, these are the first requisites for becoming aware of the music itself.