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Techniques of Music Therapy

Various techniques are used in selecting the music used to provide the therapeutic healing effect of music therapy. Examples include prerecorded background music, improvisation, songwriting, live and recorded music, and guided imagery. For example, improvisation works by providing a person with a timely vehicle for expressing emotions beyond words while affording the individual a meaningful, intimate experience of being "heard." The songwriting approach provides a medium that enhances therapeutic relationships and produces powerful means of communication.

Music therapy is far more than just playing music; it is also about sound. Recorded music can be used to stimulate the senses; however, nature is also filled with sounds that can soothe, relax, and even energize a person. Sound healing can be achieved in a number of ways, including singing, speeches (both giving and listening to); karaoke; playing musical instruments; listing to bands, choirs, or orchestras; and even dancing to music and sounds.

Engaging in one of the above sound activities can take our minds off our problems, help us focus our minds on other important thought processes, distract us, and ultimately relax and sedate us. For example, loving speeches can make us relax and feel better and are extremely healing. Angry speeches have the opposite effect. Musical instruments allow us opportunities to express ourselves in unique and confident ways. They are tools that can be used to uplift our spirits and are a great way to manage stress.

One theory of how music therapy can achieve therapeutic responses claims that sensory and rhythmic stimuli that affect the limbic system through the auditory nerve and medulla evoke memories. Our bodies atoms, molecules, cells, glands and organs all have vibrational frequencies. Sounds from outside the body stimulate sympathetic vibrations in the molecules and cells that enhance the healing process.

Music therapy is both inspirational and therapeutic. It can conjure up memories and emotions and can serve as a source of relaxation and diversion to people who are emotionally burdened. Music can be an entertainer, a sedative, a hypnotic, an analgesic, a tranquilizer, and a spiritual counselor. Spiritually, music is used to represent different emotions, promote fellowship, prevent social isolation, and in some cultures, to march citizens to and from wars. Music can elevate our spirit by giving hope and balance when nothing else is left.

Different types of music can elicit different mood responses. Certain music can help reduce stress and feelings of isolation. Music can also contribute to the release of endorphins, the body's natural pain killers, thereby relieving pain, promoting pleasant emotions, and in turn, helping a person relax. The key is to select music to fit the individuals need and mood.

Examples of types of man made music and natural sounds are as follows:

Man made music: Classical, Pop, Country, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Instrumental, New Age, Orchestra, Hymn, Gospel, Opera, Folk, etc.

Natural sounds: Rain, Wind, Birds, Waves, Wild animals, Domestic animals, Crickets, Trains, Childhood sounds, etc.

Like an orchestra, each organ, bone, and cell in the body has its own resonant frequency. Modern medicine now uses sound waves to diagnose and treat certain diseases. In fact, scientists have suggested that listening to Mozart can improve our powers of concentration and enhance our ability to make intuitive leaps by organizing the firing patterns of neurons in the cerebral cortex. In the book, The Mozart Effect, it is explained how different types of music can produce different responses, even to an unborn fetus. Each musical instrument, whether blended with a palate of other sounds or of its own accord can evoke a vast array of emotions, memories, and thoughts that can be very useful in boosting the immune system, reducing stress and anxiety, and promoting spiritual and physical healing.

Types of Music Therapy

Therapeutic music can be classified as sedative or stimulating. Sedative music can lower anxiety, pain, tension, and stress levels, resulting in decreased use of anesthetics and pain medications. Stimulating music can be a source of motivation, both physically and psychologically, and it can be a positive reinforcement during physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Source: Holistic and Complementary Therapies

1 comment:

  1. One theory of how music therapy can achieve therapeutic responses claims that sensory and rhythmic stimuli that affect the limbic system through the auditory nerve and medulla evoke memories. cotton percale sheet sets , best satin sheets ,

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