The music of the body: Music therapy in medical settings

Journal/Book: Advances. 1993; 9: 17-35.

Abstract: Discusses the use of music as therapy from a medical point of view. The principal emphasis of research reviewed is on the soothing ability of music and on the value of music as an antidote to an overly technological medical approach. Some areas in which music therapy has been successful include (1) manipulating heart rate and blood pressure, (2) relieving anxiety and stress in cancer patients, (3) aiding in pain management and hospice care, (4) rehabilitating people with neurological problems, and (5) diagnosing cognitive and motor impairment in the elderly. Time and the musical expression of disease is discussed, with the idea that people with disease may perceive and respond to music differently than do healthy people. People with language disorders, especially due to brain damage following head trauma, are also helped by the therapeutic stimulation of articulation, fluency, and shaping procedures akin to musical phrasing.

Note: incorporation of music therapy into medical practice

Keyword(s): Music therapy; medical treatment general

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