By Elizabeth Herman┃Posted: May 08, 2019
Why did people in Paris kneel in the streets to sing on the night that Notre Dame cathedral’s roof burned, and then for days after? Why did they bring instruments along and play chamber music to help them honor their beloved ancient, architectural, artistic, national treasure, even in the face of a tragic and terrifying event?
Because music has healing power. Just about every religion and spiritual tradition uses music, especially singing and chanting of prayers and mantras, because it’s uplifting, healing, and a source of great solace and hope. During Art of Living courses, follow-ups, and big celebratory events, the chanting of Sanskrit bhajans helps new meditators and yoga practitioners to let go of anxiety and make celebration a way of life. In churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples all over the world, music, meditation, and prayer go together to heal the mind, body and soul of human beings.
Research on music for healing
As one of the most accessible modes of therapy, participation in music has been universally recognized and researched for its healing properties. In his article on the healing power of music, Michael Friedman, PhD states, “music, because of its ubiquity in our society as well as its ease of transmission, has perhaps the greatest potential among alternative therapies to reach people who do not otherwise have access to care.”
Studies have shown that music changes the chemistry in the nervous system, and promotes health in areas like immunity, social affiliation, and response to stress. Furthermore, medical patients respond more readily to treatment when music is incorporated into their healing process. Doctors use music to increase their capacity to concentrate and focus. A discussion of the benefits of music therapy from Harvard Medical School shows that invasive procedures become less traumatic and patients need fewer pain killers, the side effects of cancer treatments can be reduced, lost speaking ability can be restored, and dementia patients gain better quality of life with music therapy.
Qualities of music
What makes music so healing:
Accessibility- You can find music in the songs of birds, and other sounds in your environment. As the weather warms up, more musicians take to the streets and parks to practice or simply play their drums, flutes, radios, etc. Outdoor concerts usually start on a regular basis in most communities. Music can be found and made so easily, there is no excuse not to enjoy your own and others’ healing expressions of sound!
Affordability- Concert tickets don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Many musical events happen for free or on a donation basis, and it’s completely free to listen to the radio! Making your own music can always be done for free. If you don’t want to invest in instruments, they can be constructed from a few simple materials. The internet can provide free information on making your own instruments, as well as free recordings to help you listen to all kinds of music.
Expressiveness- Sometimes the experience of the outer world can inundate our senses with so much stimulation that we need to close our eyes and get in touch with our inner world. This happens naturally when we sleep, and we can learn techniques like meditation to easily do so when awake. It’s very restful. At the same time, the stored energy from the world’s input can be channeled into expressiveness. Whether through words, actions, or other forms of expression, how you feel and vibrate becomes part of the world around you. Music is one way to express how you feel inside, and it helps you communicate with others in your environment. You can use musical expression to create peace, belonging, and familiarity in your community.
Flexibility- You can sing in the shower, or anywhere alone, or you can perform before thousands of people. Private and public music not only complement one another, they help our individual and collective moods. If you can make your own music happily with no judgment from anyone, you can be confident that your expressions have value, regardless of what people think when you bravely expose your music in public.
Recordability- Nowadays it’s easy to make permanent recordings of the music you make. Phones, computers, tablets and all kinds of devices have the ability to record informal musical explorations as well as polished performances. Many applications also produce background sounds so you can generate several instruments at once, and produce band music all alone. If you want to look back someday on who you once were as a musician, you can do so. You can also access the sounds you love from other artists who lived throughout the ages.
Creativity- Whether or not music supports creativity in other fields, like math and science, it provides a creative outlet for leaders in any profession. Using language and music together allows for our poetic impulses to be used to create songs, draw the attention of audiences, and say what is on our minds in interesting ways.
Vibrations- Sound vibrates in our vocal chords when we sing and chant, and just as breath and emotion are intimately linked, so the vibrations we create from making sound also closely interacts with how we feel. Making coarse, angry sounds can worsen your sense of helplessness, while making harmonious, beautiful melodies and peaceful tones can enhance your ability to calm down in a difficult situation. This truth has been clear to many wise teachers throughout human history, which is why many of them advise us to wait and consider before making a sound.
To become more attuned to the potential for healing with music, you might want to find an Art of Living center near you that offers regularly scheduled satsangs (Sanskrit word for the company of truth) where you can sing and chant with others. Or, find and listen to a song on the radio or internet that will calm you down during an upsetting situation at work. If you don’t have a device or space to yourself, public libraries have computers with headphones and private study rooms for public use. The ways to get involved with and use music for health and sanity are endless.
Consider increasing your own private and public musical activities as a way to create health, harmony, and happiness in your own life!
By Elizabeth Herman - PhD in English, with concentrations in Rhetoric and Composition, and Literature, she offers writing support to clients, teaches locally, lives in Boone, NC, and volunteers for a better world.
