The Benefits Of Music Therapy

Music therapy, while oddly unconventional, is an extraordinary alternative to modern medical treatment. Music is found in all aspects of life, from the heartbeat of an infant to the gait of an adult. Music therapy has been around much longer than most people are aware. Music therapists have not always had a degree. Even the most fundamental forms of human civilization had so called healers or shaman, who would heal by singing or chanting. In recent years, music therapy has taken on a much larger and thus controversial role in modern medicine. Due to the thought that it is an ineffective form of treatment, and thus a waste of money, many people are not in favor of it. With more and more studies being completed, music therapy has more scientific

One area that has come into the spotlight is the use of music therapy in the NICU. According to Clements-Cortes, “premature infants often suffer from impairment with respect to several abilities including: the inability to suck or swallow; difficulty with nutrient processing/absorption . . . ; smaller brain volumes; and challenges to regulate body temperatures” (qtd. 31). All of these problems could prove to be serious or even life threatening. Music that has “constant rhythm and volume, and stable and soothing melodies: ideally coming from a single female voice in a higher register or single instrument” would be most effective for the treatment of infants (qtd. in Clements-Cortes 31). When infants are exposed to quiet and consistent music up to four hours a day, infant stress levels go down, weight gain is seen, and many other health benefits appear (Clements-Cortes 31). Doctors and scientists also realize that infants are capable of recognizing a rhythm that is correlated to sucking, swallowing, and breathing. This rhythm is one of the first learned by infants. To help promote development of this rhythm, pacifiers have been created that play soothing music when infants suck correctly (qtd. in Clements-Cortes 32). With music therapy being implemented more and more in the NICU, results are becoming even more

Richardson, Babiak-Vazquez, and Frenkel speak about a clinical trial at the Anderson Cancer Center where patients learned how to play a musical instrument. The patients would practice daily and eventually put on a performance. During preparation and practice for the performance doctors could see “an improvement in self-esteem, self-confidence, and coping mechanisms and involvement in activities not associated with hospital life” (Richardson, Babiak-Vazquez, and Frenkel 78). As more trials and studies are concluded, reduced anxiety and overall pain levels will be seen thanks to the power of music