Music and Healing The Power of Meaningful Words and Music

We All Have a Favorite Piece of Music that Moves Us to a Special Place in Our Hearts. This is a conversation About the Music We Love and How It Colors Our Lives.
JUSTIN:My favorite piece of music, depends on the mood, jazz is music for all moods. My favorite jazz piece would be - as a sax player - My Favorite Things by Coltrane, or anything by Thelonios Monk. Soft lighting, Kalhua and milk and company always suits Monk or vice versa.
Driving is made for music so anything by crowded house makes a trip to anywhere (even work) worth it. How can a song sound so simplistic yet be difficult to play. what does Neil do?
but my favorite piece would be from the shine soundtrack, a piece called “Nulla in mundo pax” by Vivaldi, which I am listening to now.
IMELDA:Every piece of music represents the expression of the composer of that music. The piece of music that I like the most is the piano instrumental music because it does not say in words as other kind of music. The person who listens to the instrumental music has to try to understand what messages the composer is trying to tell through the piece of music. It is challenging in finding the meaning. Furthermore, when I listen to the instrumental music, such as “A Maiden’s Prayer” by T. Badarzewska, I believe that this piece is messaging us to surrender to God. If I got chance, I’d love to play my favorite pieces.
KEN:This is old stuff to those who know me, but I am a huge James Taylor Nut. And my favorite song is ‘The Water is Wide’ If MP3s are legal I will put it up on this site. But I will have to check first.
Every time I hear it, I feel transformed to a different place, where everything is pensive, and people walk in the streets heartbroken, but with the hope that life will be kind to them again. It leaves me with a lump in my throat each time. There is something comforting in the song that leaves me appeased and convinced that whatever trial I’m facing, someone’s faced it before, and someone’s overcome it before.
That’s what music should do. The song and the artist both inspire me endlessly. It inspires me in a way I hope that I can inspire people.

To read the rest of this, go to http://dagobon.com/2008/07/31/music-and-healing-the-power-of-meaningful-words-and-music/

Music and the 4th of July!

Many, many holidays are associated with very specific music but the music associated with the 4th of July is jubilant and festive in a way that wins out over most other holidays! No other holiday is so filled with parades, picnics and fireworks as the 4of July! This YouTube clip is from a celebration at the famous Hollywood Bowl in California. Enjoy!!

Music Therapy and Bone Marrow Transplants

In some medical settings, such as mental health services, music therapy has been used widely to decrease patients' perception of pain, anxiety and depression, and boost their feelings of relaxation. It's also used in hospice to comfort terminally ill patients. But it's not commonly used with bone marrow transplant patients, who are often hospitalized for a month or more. Because their immune systems have been wiped out, visits are kept to a minimum to avoid infections, and feelings of isolation often set in. Patients can have a variety of side effects, including pain, nausea, fatigue, anemia and dehydration. 'One reason we began this study was because patients were requesting new ways of treatment,' says Sahler, a behavioral pediatrician who works with children who have chronic and terminal illnesses. 'The patients told the staff, 'I know I'm about to go through a major challenge that will be very painful and isolating. What do you have to offer me to help me get through this?' Music therapy was one answer. We originally began the study with children but quickly decided to enroll adults as well.' Sahler teamed up with Bryan Hunter, Ph.D., an associate professor of music and the coordinator of music therapy at Nazareth College and adjunct associate professor of pediatrics at the Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong, who has established music therapy programs in several hospitals. Hunter's students visited patients at the Wilmot Center's Samuel E. Durand Blood and Marrow Transplant Center, providing a range of music-therapy services. Sometimes students simply brought and played music the patients requested; other times they helped the patients play music themselves, or write their own songs, or talk about a favorite set of lyrics. Patients were also encouraged to visualize a peaceful and joyful setting during each session. 'The program has been very well received,' says Hunter. 'When a program like this is first introduced, typically we get mixed reactions. Some in the health care field are skeptical at first. But when they see the positive effects on patients, they usually change their mind. And other doctors and nurses are excited when it's introduced - they think it's a great idea right from the beginning.' An early problem with the study, Sahler says, was that staff members frequently turned the music therapists away, saying the patients were too ill. 'It's taken awhile for staff members to recognize that music therapy can be very helpful to people when they feel most distressed,' Sahler says. 'Nurses and doctors originally thought that the patient had to be playing an instrument or singing along, but passive listening or simply the presence of the therapist providing music itself can be therapeutic.' Now with funding from the National Institutes of Health, the team is conducting a larger study to check its results. In the current study, scientists will also measure the amount of medicine that patients receive for pain and nausea, and they'll monitor levels of the patients' cytokines - molecules in the body that are key to helping a patient's immune system establish itself after a transplant. In addition to Sahler and Hunter, immunologist Jane Liesveld, M.D., medical director of the bone marrow transplant unit, helped direct the study.Contact: Tom Rickeytrickey@admin.rochester.edu585-275-7954University of Rochester Medical Center

Are you watching the KY Derby today?

The KY Derby will be run at 6:05 EDT today! It’s a beautiful day here in Louisville and the favorites include Big Brown, Pyro and Colonel John.
I want you to watch the crowd as they pan across faces of people from all over the world singing together “My Old KY Home.” There something about this beautiful melody from Stephen Foster that just touches the heart of everyone and makes them feel overwhelmed with love for their fellow man (and woman) on this beautiful day. For two minutes everyone has a dream that their turn will come today! It’s just magical…do not miss it!

Korean piano prodigy...5 y.o. and also blind!

A friend sent me this video clip of a 5 y.o. Korean piano prodigy who happens to be blind. It's a rather long clip but worth watching. The little girl has never had any formal training but can play most anything by ear after hearing it once. She also composes her own music! Kids like this are truly very rare! Enjoy!

Have you hear about "Dvorak Diplomacy?"

SEOUL (Reuters) - The New York Philharmonic will try a dash of Dvorak diplomacy with an unprecedented concert in North Korea next week, hoping America's oldest orchestra can bring a change of tune to one of the world's most isolated countries.
U.S. government officials may be expecting some rare harmony between the bitter foes, but analysts say they should brace for a different note from the North's propaganda machine, which is likely to bill the concert as homage to its jump-suited leader Kim Jong-il.
The New York Philharmonic arrives in Pyongyang on Monday for a stay of about 48 hours which will culminate in a concert on Tuesday featuring the works of Antonin Dvorak and George Gershwin played before the hermit state's elite members.
"If we are gradually to improve U.S.-Korean relations, such events have the potential to nudge open a door that has been closed too long," the orchestra's music director Lorin Maazel wrote in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week.
The orchestra has tried to break the ice between Cold War foes before with a celebrated visit to the Soviet Union in 1959.
The Bush administration has called the North an outpost of tyranny and part of an axis of evil.

The North's official media say Washington is run by political philistines bent on toppling its leaders and igniting nuclear war on the Korean peninsula.The two states have no diplomatic ties, are technically still at war and have troops staring each other down across the heavily fortified border that has divided North and South Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease fire.
It will be the biggest group from the United States since North Korea seized the U.S. spy ship Pueblo 40 years ago and held its 82 crew members for months.
The concert will be broadcast live in both North and South Korea.
One person who will be watching intently is Kim Cheol-woong, a classically trained piano prodigy from North Korea who defected to the South to pursue his passion for Western music.
"The message that will be delivered to North Koreans is: 'the U.S. is kneeling to our Dear Leader Kim Jong-il'," he said.
But pianist Kim believes the concert does have the potential to change hearts and minds in the reclusive state.
Access to foreign music is banned and under normal circumstances, listening to the works that will be played at Tuesday's concert could land a person in prison, he added
GIRLS AND ACCORDIONS
The concert will be a study of contrasts.
The North's "Dear Leader" is a music buff whom state media says has penned revolutionary operas. A staple of state TV are broadcasts of groups of school girls playing accordions to tunes such as "Our General is Best."
The New York Philharmonic's program includes Gershwin's "An American in Paris," about a foreigner discovering the "the city of light."
A shortage of electricity means most of impoverished North Korea is in the dark at night.
The other piece, Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World," highlights an immigrant's discovery of America's music. It will be played in a country that forbids most citizens from leaving.
Brian Myers, a North Korea specialist who teaches at the South's Dongseo University, said U.S. and New York Philharmonic officials are mistaken if they think the concert will create any goodwill with the North's leaders.
"The United States is seen as a very duplicitous paper tiger. In other words, as a country that is very frightened of North Korea and its strength and is now trying to while its way into the hearts of the North Korean people," Myers said.
An emboldened North often says it developed nuclear weapons to fend off a hostile United States and that the might of its 1.2-million man military can turn back an invasion.
The chief U.S. envoy in international talks to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program said he hopes this concert will help draw the hermit state out of its shell.
"Sometimes the North Koreans don't like our words," Christopher Hill told reporters in Seoul earlier this week.
"Maybe they will like our music."

Can any music be healing?

One of the questions that I get asked most is whether or not any type of music can be healing. We know that Mozart is really great for healing purposes, as is Gregorian chant, simple vocal toning and Baroque slow movements. But what about jazz, folk music, hip-hop, or the Blues??
Well, I'm here to tell you that any music can indeed be healing for you. It's a very personal and individual process and it dependent on your personal life experience and all of the associations you have with any particular song or piece of music.
The process of choosing healing music is not a quick and easy process. When I work with people to choose music for their surgery, it takes at least an hour of my interviewing them about their life history, their own personal music history and understanding why they are having surgery.
If you're interested in having a personal consultation in preparation for surgery, childbirth, or amy other life event, please go HERE to sign up for a consultation. The price is very reasonable and either you can make your own playlist or CD or I can do it for you.
The benefits of healing music are well-documented. Give yourself and your family the gift of healing music.

Teleseminar on Healing with Music...Replay

Greetings to all my friends and students! Last night we had a great teleseminar experience with lots of listeners and many important healing music topics covered. I wanted you to be among the first to get the replay while it's still free! There is also, on my homepage, a link to a very special offer that I have up for you for a limited time only! Go to my site, http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/ and you will see it there! You can click on the layer below to hear the entire teleseminar. Please post comments on this blog if you have some! Thanks so much!

Alice

10 Top Tips for Using Music in 2008

Looking for some powerful New Year's Resolutions, resolutions that you can start right now and that won't cost you a penny? Resolutions that can utilize things you already have (like CD's, MP3 player and a voice?) Are you trying to steer away from traditional prescription medications or even over-the-counters medications? Then this year, give music a try! Humans have used music for healing purposes for hundreds of thousands of years. They have used it for lulling a newborn, for calming a toddler, for energizing a tired adult, for celebrating a birthday, a wedding, or a graduation. We use music in nearly every possible aspect of life to enhance the positive effects of the occasion. Music as medicine, complimentary medicine is becoming as well-known as OTC medications. Here are some of the top ways I recommend using music to my patients on a daily basis:
1. If you are a pregnant woman, sing softly to your growing infant for 20-30 minutes each evening. It will calm and comfort both baby and you. more
2. If you sang to your infant, now these same songs will calm your toddler and pre-schooler. If you didn't sing to your infant, start now to associate soothing songs with comfort; crying will stops quickly. more
3. Having relationship problems? Try finding some of the songs that were "your songs" during your courtship. Playing them when your spouse arrives home in the evening or just humming them softly changes the mood and energy in the room quickly and effectively. more
4. Feeling stressed out with work, family and bills? Choose your favorite soothing music and listen to it for 5 minutes upon awakening, while driving to work, during lunch, on the way home, right after dinner and right before bed. These five-minute doses of calming music will do wonders for your body and mind. more
5. Anxiety, nervousness, jittery? Try the technique of vocal toning. It is quite simple and does not require a "beautiful" voice, vocal training or even knowledge of music. Toning just involves make along vowel sound such as "ahhhhhhhh" or "ohhhhhhhhhhhhh" on the exhaled breath. Five minutes of vocal toning 2 or 3 times a day has a very centering and calming effect on the mind and the body. more
6. Trying to quit smoking, or cut back on eating or drinking? Vocal toning can also help you through the craving moments when you're most tempted to give in to your habit. Once you've mastered this technique you'll find all kinds of uses for it. more
7. Insomnia keeping you from getting the rest you need? Music, whether making it or listening to it quietly though headphones, will calm down your heart rate, your breathing, and help you release and relax muscles. As you get more relaxed, your thoughts slow down and your mind empties itself as you drift into peaceful sleep. more
8. Having surgery or a medical procedure this year? If you're having anything requiring anesthesia whether local or general, bring your headphones and iPod or Discman. Listening to music through headphones before, during and after the procedure will allow you to use less anxiety meds, anesthesia, and pain meds afterwards. This is a well-documented phenomenon that few people take advantage of! more
9. Do you struggle with arthritis, fibromyalgia or other achy joint pains? Listening to favorite music through headphones can help you relax and simply take your mind off of your aching body and joints. Music will not take the place of analgesics but it will definitely help you to need less and your stomach will thank you for that! sample healing music
10. Have a family member of loved one with Alzheimer's or other dementia? In the latter stages of Alzheimer's, after the patient no longer knows their family members or where they are or what year it is, they can still hear the music of their courting years and youth, and recognize it and sometimes sing along to it!! You can get this music and lots of other healing music on my website, including "Music for Memory Care," and a "how-to" tape on singing with Alzheimer's patients. more
Make 2008 the year that you tap into the healing power of music and cut back on chemicals to feel better, Music allows your brain to release the natural endorphins and serotonin that makes you feel like yourself again. Give it a try!Dr. Alice H. Cash is a clinical musicologist who has devoted much of her career to researching the healing powers of music and teaching professionals and patients about using music for health and wellness. Her website http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/ has been viewed and enjoyed by people around the world. She also has ten blogs, each one focusing on a different aspect of music healing. See http://www.healingmusicenterprises.blogspot.com/.

Can Christmas Music Be Healing for You?

Please enjoy this excellent article by Duane Shinn
How many times have you turned to music to uplift you even further in happy times, or sought the comfort of music when melancholy strikes?Music affects us all. But only in recent times have scientists sought to explain and quantify the way music impacts us at an emotional level. Researching the links between melody and the mind indicates that listening to and playing music actually can alter how our brains, and therefore our bodies, function.It seems that the healing power of music, over body and spirit, is only just starting to be understood, even though music therapy is not new. For many years therapists have been advocating the use of music in both listening and study for the reduction of anxiety and stress, the relief of pain. And music has also been recommended as an aid for positive change in mood and emotional states.Michael DeBakey, who in 1966 became the first surgeon to successfully implant an artificial heart, is on record saying: "Creating and performing music promotes self-expression and provides self-gratification while giving pleasure to others. In medicine, increasing published reports demonstrate that music has a healing effect on patients."Doctors now believe using music therapy in hospitals and nursing homes not only makes people feel better, but also makes them heal faster. And across the nation, medical experts are beginning to apply the new revelations about music's impact on the brain to treating patients.In one study, researcher Michael Thaut and his team detailed how victims of stroke, cerebral palsy and Parkinson's disease who worked to music took bigger, more balanced strides than those whose therapy had no accompaniment.Other researchers have found the sound of drums may influence how bodies work. Quoted in a 2001 article in USA Today, Suzanne Hasner, chairwoman of the music therapy department at Berklee College of Music in Boston, says even those with dementia or head injuries retain musical ability.The article reported results of an experiment in which researchers from the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, Pa., tracked 111 cancer patients who played drums for 30 minutes a day. They found strengthened immune systems and increased levels of cancer-fighting cells in many of the patients."Deep in our long-term memory is this rehearsed music," Hasner says. "It is processed in the emotional part of the brain, the amygdala. Here is where you remember the music played at your wedding, the music of your first love, that first dance. Such things can still be remembered even in people with progressive diseases. It can be a window, a way to reach them."The American Music Therapy Organization claims music therapy may allow for "emotional intimacy with families and caregivers, relaxation for the entire family, and meaningful time spent together in a positive, creative way".Scientists have been making progress in its exploration into why music should have this effect. In 2001 Dr. Anne Blood and Robert Zatorre of McGill University in Montreal, used positron emission tomography, or PET scans, to find out if particular brain structures were stimulated by music.In their study, Blood and Zatorre asked 10 musicians, five men and five women, to choose stirring music. The subjects were then given PET scans as they listened to four types of audio stimuli - the selected music, other music, general noise or silence. Each sequence was repeated three times in random order.Blood said when the subjects heard the music that gave them "chills," the PET scans detected activity in the portions of the brain that are also stimulated by food and sex.Just why humans developed such a biologically based appreciation of music is still not clear. The appreciation of food and the drive for sex evolved to help the survival of the species, but "music did not develop strictly for survival purposes," Blood told Associated Press at the time.She also believes that because music activates the parts of the brain that make us happy, this suggests it can benefit our physical and mental well being.This is good news for patients undergoing surgical operations who experience anxiety in anticipation of those procedures.Polish researcher, Zbigniew Kucharski, at the Medical Academy of Warsaw, studied the effect of acoustic therapy for fear management in dental patients. During the period from October 2001 to May 2002, 38 dental patients aged between 16 and 60 years were observed. The patients received variations of acoustic therapy, a practice where music is received via headphones and also vibrators.Dr Kucharski discovered the negative feelings decreased five-fold for patients who received 30 minutes of acoustic therapy both before and after their dental procedure. For the group that heard and felt music only prior to the operation, the fearful feelings reduced by a factor of 1.6 only.For the last group (the control), which received acoustic therapy only during the operation, there was no change in the degree of fear felt.A 1992 study identified music listening and relaxation instruction as an effective way to reduce pain and anxiety in women undergoing painful gynecological procedures. And other studies have proved music can reduce other 'negative' human emotions like fear, distress and depression.Sheri Robb and a team of researchers published a report in the Journal of Music Therapy in 1992, outlining their findings that music assisted relaxation procedures (music listening, deep breathing and other exercises) effectively reduced anxiety in pediatric surgical patients on a burn unit."Music," says Esther Mok in the AORN Journal in February 2003, "is an easily administered, non-threatening, non-invasive, and inexpensive tool to calm preoperative anxiety."So far, according to the same report, researchers cannot be certain why music has a calming affect on many medical patients. One school of thought believes music may reduce stress because it can help patients to relax and also lower blood pressure. Another researcher claims music allows the body's vibrations to synchronize with the rhythms of those around it. For instance, if an anxious patient with a racing heartbeat listens to slow music, his heart rate will slow down and synchronize with the music's rhythm.Such results are still something of a mystery. The incredible ability that music has to affect and manipulate emotions and the brain is undeniable, and yet still largely inexplicable.Aside from brain activity, the affect of music on hormone levels in the human body can also be quantified, and there is definite evidence that music can lower levels of cortisol in the body (associated with arousal and stress), and raise levels of melatonin (which can induce sleep). It can also precipitate the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkiller.But how does music succeed in prompting emotions within us? And why are these emotions often so powerful? The simple answer is that no one knows yet. So far we can quantify some of the emotional responses caused by music, but we cannot yet explain them. But that's OK. I don't have to understand electricity to benefit from light when I switch on a lamp when I come into a room, and I don't have to understand why music can make me feel better emotionally. It just does - our Creator made us that way.
Duane Shinn is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions" with over 84,400 current subscribers.

My Thanksgiving Healing Music Special for you

It's now Saturday of the Thanksgiving Weekend and I'm watching the final college football games, eating the last of the pumpkin pie and enjoying the bounty of friends and family that have been around me, by telephone or in person, this cold, crisp Thanksgiving week. I've enjoyed singing and listening to the music that means Thanksgiving to me and I've enjoyed putting the finishing touches on some of my new healing music products for you.

Typically, when I introduce new products, I offer them at a great price because I really want people to enjoy them and benefit from them. I am very excited this time because I have my first professionally done DVD which is a talk I did on the Healing Power of Music at Clemson University in September of 2007. I have two new ebooks and a CD/download of "Babyboomers and Music: Together Forever!" It you're interested in getting these new products at a introductory price that probably won't last more than a week, click HERE right now!

Music binds us to our families in a way that only food and love can otherwise accomplish. Click HERE right now for all the information about music and healing that you'll get when you order these four brand-new products. Don't miss it!

Music and Holiday Stress: How do you cope?

The holidays are coming, the holidays are coming!!! Do you have a plan? Do you have a musical plan? People feel very differently about holiday music. It seems to me that most people love it but I have had numerous clients and friends who absolutely don't like it and don't want to hear the first note of it.

People have all kinds of memories tied in with holiday music and for many, many people, holidays were times when certain family members got drunk (or high) and totally ruined the holidays for everyone.

For me, holiday music and Christmas music is totally connected to warm, cozy, loving, exciting memories. I feel the anticipation that I felt as a child when holiday music starts playing! Because I never feel like I'm ready to give it up in early January, I decided this year to start playing it in early November. And not because it puts me in a shopping mood because it really doesn't. No, I'm listening to it because it does help me cope with the stress of company, money management issues, and traveling to far-away places.

Do you have a stress management plan? Is music a part of it?

Music Therapy, Autism, and Dr. Tomatis

The fields of music therapy, music healing, and music medicine have been around for centuries. But I don't know exactly when therapists discovered the power of music with autistic children. Autistic children have, among other things, a great difficulty or even an absence of speech. Typically these children rarely make eye contact but miraculously they respond powerfully to music! Dr. Alfred Tomatis, with whom I studied in 1991 was one of the first therapists of our time to focus extensively on working with autistic children as well as children with PDD, and other learning disabilities. Enjoy the following story:

"By the time Debbie Clark took Adam, her autistic three year-old son, to a music therapist, he could barely speak. At the music-therapy clinic at California State University in Northridge, USA, therapists encouraged the autistic child to express himself by playing instruments and beating out rhythms on drums. They put conversations to song in order to get Adam talking."In tree months, the change was phenomenal," says Clark. "Before, Adam would never look a stranger in the eye, let alone speak. Now, after his music therapy session, he waves to the therapists and says, "Bye, Jim. Bye, Ron. See you next week." Believe me, that's music to my ears."Music, researchers around the world are discovering, can help healing in a variety of ways. Burn victims encouraged to sing while having their dressing changed experience less pain. Cancer patients who listen to music and practice improvising on instruments, for example, see their levels of stress hormones drop and their immune systems get stronger. Part of music's power comes from ability to relieve anxiety, which can suppress immune defenses as well as intensify the experience of pain. Music, especially singing, takes a person's mind off the suffering and soothes tension. "By helping patients relax, music eases pain and may even speed recovery," says Richard Fratianne, a noted professor of surgery. The experiences of autistic children like Adam Clark suggest that music's effects reach deeper, even influencing brain development. The therapeutic use of music seems to activate different parts of the brain, including networks associated with motor control, memory, emotion and speech, explains neuroscientist and musician Michael Thaut. In his own work, Thaut is using the close link between music and movement to help people slowed by strokes, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease.Says Northridge music therapist Ron Borczon: "Traditional healers have used songs and drumming for centuries. We're simply rediscovering what they always knew -- that music, through its profound effect on mind and body, can be a potent way to help people get well."

More testimonials for music's healing power

From Beethoven to the Beatles, music has the unique ability to uplift people’s hearts and provide a sense of hope as they travel on an often-difficult road. Without a doubt, the most rewarding concerts we’ve played over our careers have been during the two years we volunteered at the Connecticut Hospice in Branford, Conn. The peaceful, serene, and intimate setting overlooking the ocean moved us to write and perform music that would uplift and soothe patients and their families.By performing for residents at the nation’s first hospice, we hoped we’d be able to provide a sense of much-welcomed solace. But we had no idea just how much of an effect it was going to have – on patients, their families, and on us. The music, whether it was upbeat or relaxing, made an incredible impact on the patients, and only reinforced our beliefs about its power to heal.You could see people’s faces light up as soon as our fingers hit the keys. They hummed and sang along. The songs elicited mixed emotions – from great happiness over hearing a familiar tune, to a deep sadness as they realized that they were nearing the end of their journeys. But even when a song brought up a bittersweet memory, it allowed them to connect with fond memories from their past, or re-experience long-hidden emotions. “As Time Goes By” from “Casablanca” was a particular favorite, and seemed to allow people to turn inward and reflect on their lives.One patient’s daughter told us that her mother had been a musician decades before, and hearing the piano music transported her back to the happy days of her childhood. Another family member told us that their father looked forward to our weekly performances more than words could even describe.We’ve had doctors tell us they play CDs of our relaxing piano music in the hospital to calm patients before surgery. They say the gentle melodies alleviate anxiety, and that if someone is relaxed, they need less anesthesia. Hearing familiar tunes can trigger strong sensory images and feelings. Music can wrap a person in a calming blanket of memories.When our own father was ill, he listened to our music in the hospital, and it brought him a great sense of peace. And for us, his family, it warmed our hearts to know he was experiencing tender memories and feelings, even while he was in great pain.We’re convinced that music has an amazing ability to offer a tangible sense of hope and encouragement for people dealing with the difficulties of life and death. Whether it’s coping with the illness of a loved one, or trying to understand a tragedy that doesn’t seem to make any sense at all, people remind us time and again about music’s power to soothe, heal, and help them get through difficult times.

Take it to heart folks! It's really true!

Alice

Using music to cleanse mind and body

Today I found an interesting blog called "Cleansing Blog" that presents lots of different methods for "cleaning" and "cleaning out" the mind and body. Enjoy this unusual post:

Music has always been a very important part of our lives, from childhood to our being an adult. As a part of our experience, music can have both a physiological and psychological affect upon us as human beings. In addition to the influence that it has on our life, music also has many therapeutic qualities and has been utilized in promoting a variety of healings throughout the ages. As we know further, music can be a very powerful medium for altering our state, of changing how we actually feel. More specifically music can be very effective in producing a very deep and healing state of relaxation and in the process, reduce stress and even promote sleep. Music can also be used to assist one in improving his or her self-esteem and furthering an individual’s personal growth and development, transformation.

New book on music as medicine

Wanted to let you know about a new book in the field of Music as Medicine: Please feel free to add your own review!

Music is Healing, a new book by Dr. Frances le Roux, Ph.D., highlights the effect of music on the immune and endocrine systems, pain, emotions and spiritual well being.
In Music is Healing, author Dr. Frances le Roux provides practical guidelines and evidence related to the effectiveness of music's therapeutic applications in medicine, particularly physiotherapy in practice and in hospitals. Dr. le Roux demonstrates how music can affect health directly by changing a patient's biomedical and psychosocial levels and altering spiritual dimension. Therefore, suggests the author, music can infiltrate all aspects of healthcare.
In a global world, the power of technology and science has reduced the role of personal virtue in medicine, but music puts the practice of medicine as both a science and an art together again. Not only does music look after the biomedical and psychosomatic aspects of an illness, but it also builds better relationships. In a world of suffering, music can restore empathy and spiritual well-being for both the patient and the health professional.
Dr. le Roux's own belief in the practical value of music in medicine was realized when she encountered a thyroid problem 16 years ago. She was diagnosed late with hyperthyroidism and as a result, developed hypothyroidism and a thyroid eye disease. However, by listening to music, she has mastered the sub-clinical symptoms. Like the author, readers will discover how music energizes the body and mind in Music is Healing.
Dr. Frances le Roux has been a practicing physiotherapist for the past three decades. For the last 18 years, le Roux has been in private practice at Hove To Medical Centre in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, South Africa, where she uses music as a functional intervention during physiotherapy treatment. She holds a master's degree (University of Western Cape, South Africa) and a doctorate degree (Stellenbosch University, South Africa). The author is a member of the International Society of Music in Medicine and has authored several articles on the subject of music in medicine, which have appeared in various academic journals.

The Healing Power of Music

Shakespeare once said, “If music be the food of love, play on”. The power of music over the human mind is enormous, and that’s putting it lightly. Music therapy is the use of music for therapeutic purposes by a trained professional. The idea of using music as a healing influence dates back to the time of Plato and Aristotle. In the modern world, music for therapy came to the fore when musicians played for war veterans to cure them of physical and emotional trauma. Since many of the patients responded well, nurses and doctors began requesting the services of musicians for therapy.
Soon, music therapy became recognized as an effective and scientifically-backed mode of treatment. The first music therapy degree program ever was established in 1944 in the State of Michigan, U.S.
A trained music therapist gauges the emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning and cognitive skills through the patient’s responses to music. Once the assessment is complete, the practitioner designs music session for individuals or groups. The therapeutic music is prepared based on client needs and uses music improvisation, song writing, lyric discussion, imagery and musical performances.
Using music for therapy can be a very powerful way to reach children and adolescents. Elderly people and people with developmental and learning disabilities, people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and age related problems and people in acute pain also benefit from music therapy. Music therapy is a powerful way to help people express their feelings.
Professional music therapists are usually found in rehabilitative facilities, psychiatric hospitals, medical hospitals, drug and alcohol programs, nursing homes, correctional facilities, schools and private practice.
Some people mistakenly believe that a patient needs to have some particular musical ability to benefit from therapy. There is no one particular style of music that is more therapeutic than the rest. Any style of music can be equally effective. Any person can be a patient. The patient’s background, needs and history help determine the type of music used.
Even healthy people can make use of the healing powers of music. Listening to or making music, playing or drumming can greatly reduce stress and improve productivity. Research shows that music is a vital support for physical exercise. Music therapy is even said to assist labor and delivery.
In hospitals, music therapy is used to alleviate pain and is often used in conjunction with anesthesia or pain medication. A question that is often raised is why use music if anesthesia does the same thing? Music helps because it dissolves emotional barriers and elevates the patient’s mood. Music also counteracts depression, calms and even sedates patients. In a nutshell, music helps reduce muscle tension and brings on a deep and satisfying relaxation.
Since 1994 music therapy has been identified as a reimbursable service in the U.S. Music therapy is considered ‘active treatment’ when it meets the following criteria:
-Is prescribed by a physician
-Is reasonably necessary for the treatment of the injury or condition
-Is based on a documented treatment plan
-Is showing some sort of result in the patient
The future of music therapy is indeed very promising as more and more research supports the effectiveness of music against diseases like Alzheimer’s and chronic pain.
Homeopathic Medicine
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Cho

Healing, Feeling, and Rhythm: What's it all about?

Can music alter the way we think? Of course it can! Recently I ran into one of my former piano professors, a man that I had studied with long ago at a seminary here in Louisville, KY. His name is Maurice Hinson and he is retired but still quite a productive scholar. He mentioned some of the things he is engaging in and proceeded to explain how music can actually alter the way we think. Being very interested in the role of music and rhythm in relation to healing, I asked for his opinion on the therapeutic role of music. The reason this has taken on a very important role for me has to do with my research on depression and spirituality. While working with individuals with chronic depression, many indicated that music played a very important role in helping them cope with depression. I've heard this over and over and I know it to be true personally. What role does rhythm play? In my opinion, music is about emotion. Music expresses the type of emotions that words are not capable of. I believe that perhaps when one listens to music, in a way, one is able to find an expression to what goes on deep within one’s soul. And through the process of identification, this becomes a form of self-expression that articulates deep feelings that transcend words. What do you think?

Nurses sing lullabies to unborn sextuplets

Recently the TODAY show featured a mother who is expecting sextuplets! During the feature, a picture of six nurses standing at the bedside, singing in close harmony a lullaby to the unborn babies. The words were "sleep, sleep my dear little angels, until at least May 31st!" The babies are at 28 weeks gestational age and they need to be 30-32 if at all possible to be healthy enough.

Just about this time many, many years ago, I was born! In order that you might also benefit from this I'm offering you a really special deal on some of my music healing products.

This link will expire on May 31st.

A visit with my music healing mentor

This week I have been on vacation in Sarasota, Florida and I had the supreme pleasure of visiting with my dear friend and mentor, Arthur Harvey. Arthur has recently moved from Honolulu to Sarasota area and so we made plans to meet when I found I would be in his "neck of the woods!" If you've ever heard one of my workshops, seminars, or lectures, you've heard about Arthur and how he gave three day-long seminars on "Music and the Brain" "Music and Stress" and "Music and Your Health." After attending these seminars back in Spring 1990, I knew that this was the field I wanted to be in. Arthur has patiently guided me through some treacherous waters and enabled me to do workshops in Hawaii and other exotic locations. Arthur, thanks for everything!