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Music Therapy Essay Research Paper Music therapy

Music Therapy Essay, Research Paper


Music therapy is the prescribed use of music and musical interventions in order


to restore, maintain, and improve emotional, physical, physiological, and


spiritual health and well-being (Lindberg). So one finds the selections under


the New Age/Relaxation section of the record store about as relaxing as water


torture? Just because one’s taste runs more to Sousa than to soothing doesn’t


mean one can’t reap all these relaxation benefits music is supposed to have.


Music therapy works primarily by changing moods, which alters brain chemistry.


This can have many effects–making concentration easier, easing anxiety and


fostering patience(Hendrick-16). "Music," as the old saying goes,


"has charms to soothe the savage beast." It can improve a person’s


psychological, cognitive, and social functioning–especially when it has


familiar lyrics that evoke pleasant memories and a strong , repetitive beat that


makes it easy to follow along (Sacks). "(Rhythm) is there in the cycles of


the seasons, in the migrations of the birds and animals, in the fruiting and


withering of plants, and in the birth, maturation, and death of


ourselves."–Mickey Hart of Grateful Dead "(Music Therapy) can make


the difference between withdrawal and awareness, between isolation and


interaction, between chronic pain and comfort, between demoralization and


dignity."–Barbara Crowe (Quotes About…) "It lifts us from our


frozen mental habits and makes our minds move in ways they ordinarily


cannot…when the sound stops, we fall back into our mental wheelchairs."–


Robert Jourdain (McDonnel-C05) Music Therapy benefits many types of people, such


as the mentally ill, abused, terminally ill, developmental learning disabled,


and academic learning disabled. The goals of music therapy include improving


self-esteem, improving social interactions with peers, increasing participation,


developing coping skills, reducing stress anxiety, creating a non-abusive


lifestyle, decreasing fear, decreasing pain, and behavior management, just to


name a few (Lindberg). "Almost all children respond to music. Music is an


open-sesame and if you can use it carefully and appropriately, you can reach


into that child’s potential for development." –Dr. Clive Robbins (Quotes


About..) Preliminary findings of a nearly completed study at Beth Israel to be


published in 1998, show that music performs as well as or sometimes better than


sedation in calming children before tests such as EEG’s and CAT scans. Music has


a lot of universality. You bypass so many barriers to communication, and it


seems to reach more of the child than anything else." –Clive Robbins


(McDonnel-C05) "In people who are depressed, the ratio of pleasant to


unpleasant events gets out of balance." (Munson;Walsh42) It’s likely that


both the music and the human contact increased the number of pleasant events for


people involved. "With music, it’s not just that these pleasant events are


happening to you. You are in some ways taking control to make the pleasant


events happen." –Larry Thompson,PhD (Munson;Walsh-42) If anxiety is


involved in depression, as it often is, the right kind of music may help someone


de-stress. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can blast Pearl Jam and call it


therapy, or that you can write off your CD collection as a medical expense, but


it might reinforce your idea that Glenn Miller means more than ocean sounds to


your mental state (Munson;Walsh-42). Music can relieve stress whether the stress


comes from the work-place or something more serious like a major illness (Luque).


Ancient cultures used sound to affect the chemical balance of the brain. The


positive statements were added to remove the feelings of helplessness from


patients and retur

n them to a sense of control. "(It might) not neccesarily


cure them, but it can change things. It might not be quantity for extending


life, but it is quality in enjoying life more. The brain is impacted by what it


perceives. What we are trying to do is change the negative to a positive, and it


all translates into physiology. It’s more than just sounding mystical, a


fantasy. There’s medical reality. There is real potential for healing in music,


imagery, and positive affirmations."–Dr. Lee S. Berk (Luque) It’s hard for


many mental patients to put their frustrations into words, but music therapy


lets them communicate their feelings freely through the expression of enjoyment


of music (Lindberg, B.). The music helps underscore the message (Hendrick-16).


The order, harmony, and beauty of music seizes our imaginations and emotions and


contrasts with the chaos of everyday life. "While physical movement is


choked with the starts and stops and stumbles, music establishes a continuous


flow, and does it in perfect proportions." –Robert Jourdain (McDonnell).


"Patients can benefit from using music therapy as an active, creative,


expression of their personality." –Rachel McCaffrey (Lindberg).


"Music is an excellent therapy because is meets with little or no


intellectual resistance and does not need to appeal to logic." –Dr. Ira


Altchuler (Koch-19). Scientists believe that different kinds of music interact


with the brain to release certain mood-altering chemicals. This explains


"why music appears to ease some physical symptoms–like the pain associated


with surgery, childbirth and cancer–and ameliorates some cases of high blood


pressure, gastric disorders and migraine headaches." –Nancy Butcher


"Their response to music is amazing; people who can hardly move suddenly


move vigorously to the sound of music." –Connie Tomain, music therapist at


Beth Abraham Hospital (Marvin,23). Music is definitely more than just notes on a


page. Anyone can listen to music, but if one doesn’t learn how to feel music,


they’re really missing out. Music provides a communication tool that enables one


to state what they are unable to voice. The rewards are incalculable! Here’s to


better health and well being through the enjoyment of music!


Hendrick, Bill. "Science Watch: Toe-tapping therapy." The Atlanta


Journal and Constitution. 19 Oct. 1997, pp.P16. Koch, George. "Valium or


Vivaldi?" Alberta ReportWestern Report. 20 Nov. 1995, pp.19. Lindberg,


Brad. "Reaching Out Through Art and Music Therapy." Michigan


Chronicle. 30 July 1996, pp.PG. Lindberg, Katherine A. "Music Therapy and


Mental Illness." July 12, 1997


(10 Nov. 1997). ——-."Music Therapy with Abused Children and


Adolescents." September 28, 1997.


(10 Nov. 1997). ——-."Music Therapy with the Learning Disabled."


Sept. 28, 1997.


(10 Nov. 1997). ——-."Music Therapy with the Terminally Ill." Sept.


28, 1997.


(10 Nov. 1997). ——-."What is Music Therapy?" April 8, 1997.


(10 Nov. 1997). Luque, Sulipsa. "Good Music Reduces Bad Hormones Caused By


Stress, Pain." Gannett News Service. 6 May 1997. Marvin, Matthew. "Closeup:Facing


the Music Patients Recovery Stimulated by Songs." Newsday. 5 Jan. 1993,


pp.23. McDonnell, Sharon. "Melodic Medication/Music Seems to Work Magic


with Pain, Poor Memory." Newsday. 14 Oct. 1997, pp. C05. "Mellow


Tunes." Prevention. 1 Dec. 1995, pp. 70(2). Munson, Marty; and Therese


Walsh. "Soothing Sounds:Even Raucous Tunes May Be Relaxing."


Prevention. 1 Oct. 1995, pp. 42(2). "Quotes About Music Therapy."


March 29, 1997.


(10 Nov. 1997) Sacks, Michael J. "Healing Harmonies." 10 Feb. 1995,


pp.PG.

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