Music as Therapy

Music has long been a game changer when it comes to moods. It's sort of a given, even in scientific circles. Studies have also been done to show the effects of music on brain functionality, whether classical music makes someone smarter or more adept at a task than, say, rap music. Our brain waves, heart rate, breathing, and state of mind have all been shown to react to different musical stimuli, as have our blood pressure, immune systems, and muscular systems.

As music therapy steps more into the forefront as a viable healing mechanism, more research is being done to look at the various facets that lie within a musical work – be they emotional, physical, aesthetic, mental, social, or spiritual – to identify how best to maximize its benefits.

Last year, a Cleveland Clinic study showed that purely melodic music, quite literally, can calm someone's nerves by slowing the brain's thalamic and subthalamic neuronal firings. During surgery for problems such as brain tumors, epilepsy, and Parkinson's, patients must be awake during an incredibly stressful and often lengthy procedure. Dr. Damir Janigro used music to ease their anxiety and, in some cases, induce sleep.

Now, scientists at Glasgow Caledonian University are looking at the factors within music, such as melodic range, rhythm, lyrics, and pitch, not just to see whether a patient's health can be proved by listening to music, but to pinpoint which types of compositions are best.

Whereas traditional music therapy has been more focused on improving a patient's motor skills, emotional and affective development, cognitive functioning, behavior and social skills, results have also been shown in patients with ADD, cancer, and pain management. The new research at the intersection of psychology and sound engineering wants to know if depressive conditions might also be improved, as more than one in seven people suffer from severe depression at some point in their lives.

Dr. Don Knox, an audio engineer who is spearheading the project, said of the hypothesis, “The impact of a piece of music on a person goes so much further than thinking that a fast tempo can lift a mood and a slow one can bring it down. Music expresses emotion as a result of many factors. These include the tone, structure, and other technical characteristics of a piece. Lyrics can have a big impact, too.”

The composition doesn't stand alone in its power to affect. According to Knox, other more subjective factors are also part of the equation when it comes to music: “where or when you first heard it, whether you associate it with happy or sad events and so on. Our project is the first step towards taking all of these considerations – and the way they interact with each other – on board.”

Outside forces aside, Knox's team is analyzing various musical works in order to create a mathematical model that understands why a certain song has the effect it does. The idea is for a computer to then calculate and replicate the type of music that would improve a person's health.

Knox explains, “By making it possible to search for music and organize collections according to emotional content, such programs could fundamentally change the way we interact with music. Some online music stores already tag music according to whether a piece is ‘happy’ or ‘sad.’ Our project is refining this approach and giving it a firm scientific foundation, unlocking all kinds of possibilities and opportunities as a result.”

Copyright 2011 mind-funk-music.com