Different Theories On How It Works
Vibration is key to music’s healing abilities. Everything that is matter vibrates with its own unique vibratory pattern. When illness occurs, that pattern is interfered with. Sound has the ability to restore this harmonic balance through a process called entrainment. According to Jonathan Goldman, author of Healing Sounds, more powerful vibrations from one source can override less powerful ones so they re-align in step. A good example of this would be the healing work that has been done by Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, Medical Director of Cornell Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine. He has utilized several modalities in support groups and treatment including Tibetan singing bowls, whose tone has been known to induce profound relaxation.

Understanding why music, and Mozart’s in particular, are therapeutic, requires an understanding of how vibration affects matter. According to the work of Swiss engineer and doctor Hans Jenny, vibrations cause forms and shapes to be created in physical matter, which can be altered just by changing pitch, tone and the vibrating material. When it comes to the sensitive structures of the human body, vibrations from the surrounding space and the patterns and energy fields they create, interact and alter our systems, having an effect on blood pressure, temperature, breath, pulse, body rhythms and even tension. The rhythms of music affect the rhythms of the autonomic nervous system. Tomatis believed that Mozart’s music, above all others, excelled at bringing harmony to our bodies and minds.

All cranial nerves lead to the ear, which means sound has a direct effect on the brain. Soothing tones have been shown to induce serenity and affect breathing and other body functions. From this basis Tomatis has theorized that religious chants actually “charge” the cerebral cortex. Neuroscientists suspect that music strengthens and builds connections among nerve cells in the cerebral cortex. Mozart’s music is believed to “organize” the brain, supporting creative processes between the hemispheres that have to do with space-time reasoning, and facilitating higher brain functions.

And when it comes to the relaxation implications of Music Therapy, Herbert Benson, M.D., mind-body specialist and author, has studied the effects of repetition of a single tone, such as the mantra used in meditation. He has found evidence of measurable changes in the use of energy, respiration, metabolism and heart rate, and an increase in alpha waves which are a part of any relaxed state.

Conditions It Works Best For
The use of music therapy for a wide variety of conditions by music therapists, nurses, psychologists, and other health professionals has been well studied. Music has proven effective in reducing anxiety and promoting relaxation in a variety of circumstances, from premature infants to coronary care patients to those undergoing stressful medical procedures. The use of music in the management of pain has also been well studied and overall has been shown to be effective in reducing post-operative pain, pain associated with chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, and pain during medical procedures and labor. Music has also been helpful in improving performance outcomes in diverse areas such as exercise, cognitive functioning in patients with dementia, and in children and adults with aggressive or agitated behavior.

Specific physiologic findings include reduction of heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and respiratory rate; reduction in length of time nausea was experienced and length of severity of vomiting in chemotherapy; and reduction in cortisol levels, which are chemical markers for the stress response.

Content last modified on Mar 25, 2003