What is Music Therapy and How Does It Work?
In our rich Indian culture, we have intuitively used music’s ability to soothe and heal our mind’s wounds. We have all experienced this in some form - from our mother’s soothing lullabies to escaping to a different world with AR Rahman's music or MS Subbulakshmi’s songs.
In the west, researchers are trying to systematically use the powers of sound and music for healing. Bruscia (1998) suggested music therapy as ‘a systematic process of intervention wherein the therapist helps the client to promote health, using musical experiences and the relationships that develop through them as dynamic forces of change’.
Music therapy is more than simply music being used therapeutically. It is delivered by a trained specialist. This is a nascent field in India.
How does music therapy work? Well, it is claimed that five factors contribute to the effects of music therapy .
Modulation of Attention:
The first aspect is the modulation of attention. Music grabs our attention and distracts us from stimuli that may lead to negative experiences (such as worry, pain, anxiety and so on). This may also explain the anxiety and pain-reducing effects of listening to music during medical procedures.
Modulation of Emotion:
The second way music therapy works is through modulation of emotion. Studies have shown that music can regulate the activity of brain regions that are involved in the initiation, generation, maintenance, termination, and modulation of emotions.
Modulation of Cognition:
Music also modulates cognition. Music is related to memory processes (including the encoding, storage, and decoding of musical information and events related to musical experiences). It is also involved in the analysis of musical syntax and musical meaning. Learning a musical instrument is often recommended in slowing dementia.
Modulation of Behavior:
Music therapy also works through modulating behavior. Music evokes and conditions behaviors such as the movement patterns involved in walking, speaking and grasping.
Modulation of Communication:
Music also affects communication. In fact, music is a means of communication. Therefore, music can play a significant role in relationships. Interaction also takes place with listening to music by a process that generally includes choosing music that has meaning for the person, such as the music reflecting an issue that the person is currently occupied with.
A Kannadasan song may resonate so much with you, your friend will instantly understand how much you relate to the issue the song relates to. Songs of Pink Floyd or Doors for example have references to emptiness and loneliness that I relate to. Strangely, it is comforting to listen to these difficult situations in a creative, beautiful form.
Music therapy systematically tries to create these different impacts to help us with our well-being.