The benefits of Music Therapy

Therapy is known as a treatment with a goal to help people go through their struggles. Although, there are many ways that therapy is broken down and used. Music Therapy being one of them. Music therapy is a specific branch of therapy aimed to focus on music to clinically relieve stress and accomplish goals therapeutically.  

In Music Therapy, the article, Rachel Darnely-Smith states, “Music is increasingly acknowledged as a medium of therapy – of inspiration, relaxation, motivating and integration.” Just as the basis of music therapy, music can have this much impact on many different people just by improving health and much more. Darnely-Smith also states, “The process that many believe stands at the centre of the music therapy is the development of a therapeutic relation within music that facilitates the therapy.” This just shows that in depth, one has to create a relationship with the music to really dive into all the benefits from it. Darnely-Smith continues to dive more into depth with music therapy, but these points stem from the music itself being a very powerful entity. One creating a relationship can have very beneficial effects and impacts physically, emotionally, mentally, and more skills can be provided. 

Music therapy is not something you typically hear of everyday, although music therapy itself is flexible to all cultures, genders, ages and more. Similar to everyday regular therapy, it is broken down into factors, although music therapy tends to focus on specific parts within the music including the tempo, rhythm, lyrics and more. The profession of a music therapist has become new and relatively popular over the recent decades. Written by Leslie Bunt and Catherine Warner, they stated, “In addition to the international undergraduate and postgraduate trainings available, a growing number of institutions worldwide offer music therapy doctoral studies and support research programs. These developments run in parallel with progress in music therapy assessment and published research, furthering the development of music therapy both as a profession and academic discipline.” Showing that it has even become a part of the education system within colleges and universities. 

This specific type of therapy can be used anywhere, whether it is just someone with anxiety and the music therapy calms them, or music therapy is being used within hospitals or schools. Some schools have even recently started their own music therapy programs such as Brooklyn Music School. They offer many different programs for many different ages targeting different areas of the brain. With some of the younger groups they target developmental and cognitive skills as well as socialization. With the older generation they target focus, memorization, motor skills and more.  The Brooklyn Music School claims they aim for, “In the therapeutic relationship, the emotional, psycho-social, and developmental needs of our clients are considered and addressed in the process of creating music together through mutual and mindful listening, creative inquiry, and self-expression.” The school offers Music Therapy to all to incorporate the use of music in one’s life to connect people as well as maintain good health. 

Music therapy has even been a hit within the medical field. Medical practices even use this type of therapy as an easier way to calm down some patients without running straight to a drug or medication. Shown by many studies through hospitals and patients, music therapy helps patients through their stay in the hospital to calm nerves. In Bellevue General Hospital a research was done within the hospital for those using music therapy. These patients completed questionnaires, which focused on four categories being physical discomfort, affective state, individual response to music therapy and feelings about being in the hospital. The patients would rate certain feelings and responses to the question on a scale of 1 to 5 for each of the different categories. For each there was a pre-session and post-session to get a feel for results. The results were overall positive and in favor of music therapy. Most patients have said that they were less gloomy and sad and more satisfied and cheerful post session. 

Music therapy is not only one who just listens to music and finds relation through that, it can also consist of patients playing a range of instruments. This type of music therapy allows patients to express themselves and really improve their physical, mental, emotion and all different sides to themselves. Although with this type of therapy, it is typically children, as they start young. In Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, they use one of two approaches with these children, “…either as a one-on-one session or in a group setting. Music therapy can help children with communication, attention, motivation, and behavioral problems.” This allows the young generation to start learning these helpful skills early in life, which allows them to adapt easier as they become older. Not only do these skills begin early, it also allows them to also use it as a de-stressor as they get older to relax and use their skills. 

Similar to regular therapy, music therapy is open to all ages and genders. Typically it is seen for the younger audience to allow them to adapt to these skills at a young age. Although it can also be very useful to the older audience to help. In Benefits of Music Participation for Senior Citizens: A Review of the Literature, Lisa Lehmberg writes, “Due to the age of senior citizens, they are more prone to have various health issues…. Compared to the control group with limited arts participation, those who participated in weekly arts programs, including music, showed better health, fewer doctor visits, less medication usage, more positive responses on mental health measures, and more involvement in overall activities.” Showing that the old generation does have these help problems, but through music therapy can improve their health and more as stated above. Although the target is more than just developmental skills because they have lived through that. The goal is a better focus, and a better health improvement. 

Overall, Music Therapy is beneficial to all in various ways such as emotional, physical, skills and much more. It is used in many different settings, such as within a school setting, a medical or hospital setting, a home setting and more.

Citations –

Bunt, Leslie, and Catherine Warner. “Music Therapy .” Grove Music Online, https://www-oxfordmusiconlinecom.ezproxy.rowan.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-90000361441?rskey=RLdwb4&result=1.

Brooklyn Music School Launches New Music Therapy Program: Tradition of Music Therapy at BMS Dates Back to First World War. https://www.proquest.com/central/docview/2099010351/91B62FD192544E96PQ/1?parentSessionId=dQtYj3NPMy5XHTt6QHfHdhwLqC1l8uq3fb3kVyHgQy8%3D&accountid=13605.

https://web-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=656b8190-95e6-409e-a75b-2733129a0d78%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=155432523&db=a9h

“CITESEERX.” CiteSeerX, https://web-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=656b8190-95e6-409e-a75b-2733129a0d78%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=155432523&db=a9h.

“Music Therapy.” Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei., https://www1.cgmh.org.tw/intr/intr2/c3390/en/music-therapy.htm.

“Music Therapy.” Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei., https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5ThlUezbIBcC&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=what+is+music+therapy&ots=F3kVP-kDr2&sig=U48kd0W-2vPYuEIo_Y6uYbeigZM#v=onepage&q=what%20is%20music%20therapy&f=false.

Lisa J. Lehmberg University of … – College of the Arts. http://cmer.arts.usf.edu/content/articlefiles/3122-meri04pp.19-30.pdf.