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The Healing Power of Music

Music therapy is increasingly used to help patients cope with stress and promote healing.

By Richard Schiffman

“Focus on the sound of the instrument,” Andrew Rossetti, a licensed music therapist and researcher said as he strummed hypnotic chords on a Spanish-style classical guitar. “Close your eyes. Think of a place where you feel safe and comfortable.”

Music therapy was the last thing that Julia Justo, a graphic artist who immigrated to New York from Argentina, expected when she went to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Union Square Clinic for treatment for cancer in 2016. But it quickly calmed her fears about the radiation therapy she needed to go through, which was causing her severe anxiety.

“I felt the difference right away, I was much more relaxed,” she said.

Ms. Justo, who has been free of cancer for over four years, continued to visit the hospital every week before the onset of the pandemic to work with Mr. Rossetti, whose gentle guitar riffs and visualization exercises helped her deal with ongoing challenges, like getting a good night’s sleep. Nowadays they keep in touch mostly by email.

The healing power of music — lauded by philosophers from Aristotle and Pythagoras to Pete Seeger — is now being validated by medical research. It is used in targeted treatments for asthma, autism, depression and more, including brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and stroke.

Live music has made its way into some surprising venues, including oncology waiting rooms to calm patients as they wait for radiation and chemotherapy. It also greets newborns in some neonatal intensive care units and comforts the dying in hospice.

While musical therapies are rarely stand-alone treatments, they are increasingly used as adjuncts to other forms of medical treatment. They help people cope with their stress and mobilize their body’s own capacity to heal.

“Patients in hospitals are always having things done to them,” Mr. Rossetti explained. “With music therapy, we are giving them resources that they can use to self-regulate, to feel grounded and calmer. We are enabling them to actively participate in their own care.”

Even in the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Rossetti has continued to perform live music for patients. He says that he’s seen increases in acute anxiety since the onset of the pandemic, making musical interventions, if anything, even more impactful than they were before the crisis.

Mount Sinai has also recently expanded its music therapy program to include work with the medical staff, many of whom are suffering from post-traumatic stress from months of dealing with Covid, with live performances offered during their lunch hour.

It’s not just a mood booster. A growing body of research suggests that music played in a therapeutic setting has measurable medical benefits.

“Those who undergo the therapy seem to need less anxiety medicine, and sometimes surprisingly get along without it,” said Dr. Jerry T. Liu, assistant professor of radiation oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

A review of 400 research papers conducted by Daniel J. Levitin at McGill University in 2013 concluded that “listening to music was more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety prior to surgery.”

“Music takes patients to a familiar home base within themselves. It relaxes them without side effects,” said Dr. Manjeet Chadha, the director of radiation oncology at Mount Sinai Downtown in New York.

It can also help people deal with longstanding phobias. Mr. Rossetti remembers one patient who had been pinned under concrete rubble at Ground Zero on 9/11. The woman, who years later was being treated for breast cancer, was terrified by the thermoplastic restraining device placed over her chest during radiation and which reawakened her feelings of being entrapped.

“Daily music therapy helped her to process the trauma and her huge fear of claustrophobia and successfully complete the treatment,” Mr. Rossetti recalled.

Some hospitals have introduced prerecorded programs that patients can listen to with headphones. At Mount Sinai Beth Israel, the music is generally performed live using a wide array of instruments including drums, pianos and flutes, with the performers being careful to maintain appropriate social distance.

“We modify what we play according to the patient’s breath and heart rate,” said Joanne Loewy, the founding director of the hospital’s Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine. “Our goal is to anchor the person, to keep their mind connected to the body as they go through these challenging treatments.”

Dr. Loewy has pioneered techniques that use several unusual instruments like a Gato Box, which simulates the rhythms of the mother’s heartbeat, and an Ocean Disc, which mimics the whooshing sounds in the womb to help premature babies and their parents relax during their stay in noisy neonatal intensive care units.

Dr. Dave Bosanquet, a vascular surgeon at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, Wales, says that music has become much more common in operating rooms in England in recent years with the spread of bluetooth speakers. Prerecorded music not only helps surgical patients relax, he says, it also helps surgeons focus on their task. He recommends classical music, which “evokes mental vigilance” and lacks distracting lyrics, but cautions that it “should only be played during low or average stress procedures” and not during complex operations, which demand a sharper focus.

Music has also been used successfully to support recovery after surgery. A study published in The Lancet in 2015 reported that music reduced postoperative pain and anxiety and lessened the need for anti-anxiety drugs. Curiously, they also found that music was effective even when patients were under general anesthesia.

None of this surprises Edie Elkan, a 75-year-old harpist who argues there are few places in the health care system that would not benefit from the addition of music. The first time she played her instrument in a hospital was for her husband when he was on life support after undergoing emergency surgery.

“The hospital said that I couldn’t go into the room with my harp, but I insisted,” she said. As she played the harp for him, his vital signs, which had been dangerously low, returned to normal. “The hospital staff swung the door open and said, ‘You need to play for everyone.’”

Ms. Elkan took these instructions to heart. After she searched for two years for a hospital that would pay for the program, the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton, N.J., signed on, allowing her to set up a music school on their premises and play for patients at all stages in their hospitalization.

Ms. Elkan and her students have played for over a hundred thousand patients in 11 hospitals that have hosted them since her organization, Bedside Harp, was started in 2002.

In the months since the pandemic began, the harp players have been serenading patients at the entrance to the hospital, as well as holding special therapeutic sessions for the staff outdoors. They hope to resume playing indoors later this spring.

For some patients being greeted at the hospital door by ethereal harp music can be a shocking experience.

Recently, one woman in her mid-70s turned back questioningly to the driver when she stepped out of the van to a medley of familiar tunes like “Beauty and the Beast” and “Over the Rainbow” being played by a harpist, Susan Rosenstein. “That’s her job,” the driver responded, “to put a smile on your face.”

While Ms. Elkan says that it is hard to scientifically assess the impact — “How do you put a number on the value of someone smiling who has not smiled in six months?”— studies suggest that harp therapy helps calm stress and put both patients and hospital staff members at ease.

Ms. Elkan is quick to point out that she is not doing music therapy, whose practitioners need to complete a five-year course of study during which they are trained in psychology and aspects of medicine.

“Music therapists have specific clinical objectives,” she said. “We work intuitively — there’s no goal but to calm, soothe and give people hope.”

“When we come onto a unit, we remind people to exhale,” Ms. Elkan said. “Everyone is kind of holding their breath, especially in the E.R. and the I.C.U. When we come in, we dial down the stress level several decibels.”

Ms. Elkan’s harp can do more than just soothe emotions, says Ted Taylor, who directs pastoral care at the hospital. It can offer spiritual comfort to people who are at a uniquely vulnerable moment in their lives.

“There is something mysterious that we can’t quantify,” Mr. Taylor, a Quaker, said. “I call it soul medicine. Her harp can touch that deep place that connects all of us as human beings.”

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What to Know About Music Therapy

Music can help improve your mood and overall mental health.

Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Verywell / Lara Antal

Effectiveness

Things to consider, how to get started.

Music therapy is a therapeutic approach that uses the naturally mood-lifting properties of music to help people improve their mental health and overall well-being.  It’s a goal-oriented intervention that may involve:

• Making music
• Writing songs
• Listening to music
• Discussing music  

This form of treatment may be helpful for people with depression and anxiety, and it may help improve the quality of life for people with physical health problems. Anyone can engage in music therapy; you don’t need a background in music to experience its beneficial effects.

Types of Music Therapy

Music therapy can be an active process, where clients play a role in creating music, or a passive one that involves listening or responding to music. Some therapists may use a combined approach that involves both active and passive interactions with music.

There are a variety of approaches established in music therapy, including:

• Analytical music therapy : Analytical music therapy encourages you to use an improvised, musical "dialogue" through singing or playing an instrument to express your unconscious thoughts, which you can reflect on and discuss with your therapist afterward.
• Benenzon music therapy : This format combines some concepts of psychoanalysis with the process of making music. Benenzon music therapy includes the search for your "musical sound identity," which describes the external sounds that most closely match your internal psychological state.
• Cognitive behavioral music therapy (CBMT) : This approach combines cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with music. In CBMT, music is used to reinforce some behaviors and modify others. This approach is structured, not improvisational, and may include listening to music, dancing, singing, or playing an instrument.
• Community music therapy : This format is focused on using music as a way to facilitate change on the community level. It’s done in a group setting and requires a high level of engagement from each member.
• Nordoff-Robbins music therapy : Also called creative music therapy, this method involves playing an instrument (often a cymbal or drum) while the therapist accompanies using another instrument. The improvisational process uses music as a way to help enable self-expression.
• The Bonny method of guided imagery and music (GIM) : This form of therapy uses classical music as a way to stimulate the imagination. In this method, you explain the feelings, sensations, memories, and imagery you experience while listening to the music.
• Vocal psychotherapy : In this format, you use various vocal exercises, natural sounds, and breathing techniques to connect with your emotions and impulses. This practice is meant to create a deeper sense of connection with yourself.

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Music Therapy vs. Sound Therapy

Music therapy and sound therapy (or sound healing ) are distinctive, and each approach has its own goals, protocols, tools, and settings: 

• Music therapy is a relatively new discipline, while sound therapy is based on ancient Tibetan cultural practices .
• Sound therapy uses tools to achieve specific sound frequencies, while music therapy focuses on addressing symptoms like stress and pain.  
• The training and certifications that exist for sound therapy are not as standardized as those for music therapists.
• Music therapists often work in hospitals, substance abuse treatment centers, or private practices, while sound therapists may offer their service as a component of complementary or alternative medicine.

When you begin working with a music therapist, you will start by identifying your goals. For example, if you’re experiencing depression, you may hope to use music to naturally improve your mood and increase your happiness . You may also want to try applying music therapy to other symptoms of depression like anxiety, insomnia, or trouble focusing.

During a music therapy session, you may listen to different genres of music , play a musical instrument, or even compose your own songs. You may be asked to sing or dance. Your therapist may encourage you to improvise, or they may have a set structure for you to follow.

You may be asked to tune in to your emotions as you perform these tasks or to allow your feelings to direct your actions. For example, if you are angry, you might play or sing loud, fast, and dissonant chords.

You may also use music to explore ways to change how you feel. If you express anger or stress, your music therapist might respond by having you listen to or create music with slow, soft, soothing tones.

Music therapy is often one-on-one, but you may also choose to participate in group sessions if they are available. Sessions with a music therapist take place wherever they practice, which might be a:

• Community health center
• Correctional facility
• Private office
• Physical therapy practice
• Rehabilitation facility

Wherever it happens to be, the room you work in together will be a calm environment with no outside distractions.

What Music Therapy Can Help With

Music therapy may be helpful for people experiencing:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Anxiety or stress
• Cardiac conditions
• Chronic pain
• Difficulties with verbal and nonverbal communication
• Emotional dysregulation
• Feelings of low self-esteem
• Impulsivity
• Negative mood
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Problems related to childbirth
• Rehabilitation after an injury or medical procedure
• Respiration problems
• Substance use disorders
• Surgery-related issues
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Trouble with movement or coordination

Research also suggests that it can be helpful for people with:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Schizophrenia
• Stroke and neurological disorders

Music therapy is also often used to help children and adolescents:

• Develop their identities
• Improve their communication skills
• Learn to regulate their emotions
• Recover from trauma
• Self-reflect

Benefits of Using Music as Therapy

Music therapy can be highly personalized, making it suitable for people of any age—even very young children can benefit. It’s also versatile and offers benefits for people with a variety of musical experience levels and with different mental or physical health challenges.

Engaging with music can:

• Activate regions of the brain that influence things like memory, emotions, movement, sensory relay, some involuntary functions, decision-making, and reward
• Fulfill social needs for older adults in group settings
• Lower heart rate and blood pressure
• Relax muscle tension
• Release endorphins
• Relieve stress and encourage feelings of calm
• Strengthen motor skills and improve communication for children and young adults who have developmental and/or learning disabilities

Research has also shown that music can have a powerful effect on people with dementia and other memory-related disorders.

Overall, music therapy can increase positive feelings, like:

• Confidence and empowerment
• Emotional intimacy

The uses and benefits of music therapy have been researched for decades. Key findings from clinical studies have shown that music therapy may be helpful for people with depression and anxiety, sleep disorders, and even cancer.

Depression 

Studies have shown that music therapy can be an effective component of depression treatment. According to the research cited, the use of music therapy was most beneficial to people with depression when it was combined with the usual treatments (such as antidepressants and psychotherapy). 

When used in combination with other forms of treatment, music therapy may also help reduce obsessive thoughts , depression, and anxiety in people with OCD.

In 2016, researchers conducted a feasibility study that explored how music therapy could be combined with CBT to treat depression . While additional research is needed, the initial results were promising.

Many people find that music, or even white noise, helps them fall asleep. Research has shown that music therapy may be helpful for people with sleep disorders or insomnia as a symptom of depression.

Compared to pharmaceuticals and other commonly prescribed treatments for sleep disorders, music is less invasive, more affordable, and something a person can do on their own to self-manage their condition.

Pain Management

Music has been explored as a potential strategy for acute and chronic pain management in all age groups. Research has shown that listening to music when healing from surgery or an injury, for example, may help both kids and adults cope with physical pain.

Music therapy may help reduce pain associated with:

• Chronic conditions : Music therapy can be part of a long-term plan for managing chronic pain, and it may help people recapture and focus on positive memories from a time before they had distressing long-term pain symptoms. 
• Labor and childbirth : Music therapy-assisted childbirth appears to be a positive, accessible, non-pharmacological option for pain management and anxiety reduction for laboring people.
• Surgery : When paired with standard post-operative hospital care, music therapy is an effective way to lower pain levels, anxiety, heart rate, and blood pressure in people recovering from surgery.

Coping with a cancer diagnosis and going through cancer treatment is as much an emotional experience as a physical one. People with cancer often need different sources of support to take care of their emotional and spiritual well-being.

Music therapy has been shown to help reduce anxiety in people with cancer who are starting radiation treatments. It may also help them cope with the side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea.

Music therapy may also offer emotional benefits for people experiencing depression after receiving their cancer diagnosis, while they’re undergoing treatment, or even after remission.

On its own, music therapy may not constitute adequate treatment for medical conditions, including mental health disorders . However, when combined with medication, psychotherapy , and other interventions, it can be a valuable component of a treatment plan.

If you have difficulty hearing, wear a hearing aid, or have a hearing implant, you should talk with your audiologist before undergoing music therapy to ensure that it’s safe for you.

Similarly, music therapy that incorporates movement or dancing may not be a good fit if you’re experiencing pain, illness, injury, or a physical condition that makes it difficult to exercise.  

You'll also want to check your health insurance benefits prior to starting music therapy. Your sessions may be covered or reimbursable under your plan, but you may need a referral from your doctor.

If you’d like to explore music therapy, talk to your doctor or therapist. They can connect you with practitioners in your community. The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) also maintains a database of board-certified, credentialed professionals that you can use to find a practicing music therapist in your area.

Depending on your goals, a typical music therapy session lasts between 30 and 50 minutes. Much like you would plan sessions with a psychotherapist, you may choose to have a set schedule for music therapy—say, once a week—or you may choose to work with a music therapist on a more casual "as-needed" basis.  

Before your first session, you may want to talk things over with your music therapist so you know what to expect and can check in with your primary care physician if needed.

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Jasemi M, Aazami S, Zabihi RE. The effects of music therapy on anxiety and depression of cancer patients . Indian J Palliat Care . 2016;22(4):455-458. doi:10.4103/0973-1075.191823

Chung J, Woods-Giscombe C. Influence of dosage and type of music therapy in symptom management and rehabilitation for individuals with schizophrenia . Issues Ment Health Nurs . 2016;37(9):631-641. doi:10.1080/01612840.2016.1181125

MacDonald R, Kreutz G, Mitchell L. Music, Health, and Wellbeing . Oxford; 2012. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199586974.001.0001

Monti E, Austin D. The dialogical self in vocal psychotherapy . Nord J Music Ther . 2018;27(2):158-169. doi:10.1080/08098131.2017.1329227

American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). Music therapy with specific populations: Fact sheets, resources & bibliographies .

Wang CF, Sun YL, Zang HX. Music therapy improves sleep quality in acute and chronic sleep disorders: A meta-analysis of 10 randomized studies . Int J Nurs Stud . 2014;51(1):51-62. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2013.03.008

Bidabadi SS, Mehryar A. Music therapy as an adjunct to standard treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder and co-morbid anxiety and depression: A randomized clinical trial . J Affect Disord . 2015;184:13-7. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2015.04.011

Kamioka H, Tsutani K, Yamada M, et al. Effectiveness of music therapy: A summary of systematic reviews based on randomized controlled trials of music interventions . Patient Prefer Adherence . 2014;8:727-754. doi:10.2147/PPA.S61340

Raglio A, Attardo L, Gontero G, Rollino S, Groppo E, Granieri E. Effects of music and music therapy on mood in neurological patients . World J Psychiatry . 2015;5(1):68-78. doi:10.5498/wjp.v5.i1.68

Altenmüller E, Schlaug G. Apollo’s gift: New aspects of neurologic music therapy . Prog Brain Res . 2015;217:237-252. doi:10.1016/bs.pbr.2014.11.029

Werner J, Wosch T, Gold C. Effectiveness of group music therapy versus recreational group singing for depressive symptoms of elderly nursing home residents: Pragmatic trial . Aging Ment Health . 2017;21(2):147-155. doi:10.1080/13607863.2015.1093599

Dunbar RIM, Kaskatis K, MacDonald I, Barra V. Performance of music elevates pain threshold and positive affect: Implications for the evolutionary function of music . Evol Psychol . 2012;10(4):147470491201000420. doi:10.1177/147470491201000403

Pavlicevic M, O'neil N, Powell H, Jones O, Sampathianaki E. Making music, making friends: Long-term music therapy with young adults with severe learning disabilities . J Intellect Disabil . 2014;18(1):5-19. doi:10.1177/1744629513511354

Chang YS, Chu H, Yang CY, et al. The efficacy of music therapy for people with dementia: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials . J Clin Nurs . 2015;24(23-24):3425-40. doi:10.1111/jocn.12976

Aalbers S, Fusar-Poli L, Freeman RE, et al. Music therapy for depression . Cochrane Database Syst Rev . 2017;11:CD004517. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004517.pub3

Trimmer C, Tyo R, Naeem F. Cognitive behavioural therapy-based music (CBT-music) group for symptoms of anxiety and depression . Can J Commun Ment Health . 2016;35(2):83-87. doi:10.7870/cjcmh-2016-029

Jespersen KV, Koenig J, Jennum P, Vuust P. Music for insomnia in adults . Cochrane Database Syst Rev . 2015;(8):CD010459. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010459.pub2

Redding J, Plaugher S, Cole J, et al. "Where's the Music?" Using music therapy for pain management . Fed Pract . 2016;33(12):46-49.

Novotney A. Music as medicine . Monitor on Psychology . 2013;44(10):46.

McCaffrey T, Cheung PS, Barry M, Punch P, Dore L. The role and outcomes of music listening for women in childbirth: An integrative review . Midwifery . 2020;83:102627. doi:10.1016/j.midw.2020.102627

Liu Y, Petrini MA. Effects of music therapy on pain, anxiety, and vital signs in patients after thoracic surgery . Complement Ther Med . 2015;23(5):714-8.doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2015.08.002

Rossetti A, Chadha M, Torres BN, et al. The impact of music therapy on anxiety in cancer patients undergoing simulation for radiation therapy . Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys . 2017;99(1):103-110. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2017.05.003

American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). Guidance for music listening programs .

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• v.18; 2021 Dec

Music, mental health, and immunity

Music is a crucial element of everyday life and plays a central role in all human cultures: it is omnipresent and is listened to and played by persons of all ages, races, and ethnic backgrounds. But music is not simply entertainment: scientific research has shown that it can influence physiological processes that enhance physical and mental wellbeing. Consequently, it can have critical adaptive functions. Studies on patients diagnosed with mental disorders have shown a visible improvement in their mental health after interventions using music as primary tool. Other studies have demonstrated the benefits of music, including improved heart rate, motor skills, brain stimulation, and immune system enhancement. Mental and physical illnesses can be costly in terms of medications and psychological care, and music can offer a less expansive addition to an individual's treatment regimen. Interventions using music offers music-based activities in both a therapeutic environment (Music therapy) with the support of a trained professional, and non-therapeutic setting, providing an atmosphere that is positive, supportive, and proactive while learning non-invasive techniques to treat symptoms associated with various disorders – and possibly modulate the immune system.

1. Introduction

Music can play a crucial role to support people at all stages of life: from helping new-born babies develop healthy bonds with their parents to offering vital, sensitive, and compassionate palliative care at the end of life. Singing to new-borns, a widespread activity practised worldwide, has been demonstrated to have valuable benefits such as improving mother-infant interaction and reducing infant distress ( Vlismas et al., 2013 ; Mualem and Klein, 2013a ). In the same way, music has been reported as an aid in the reduction of anxiety and agitation in older adults with senile dementia ( Sung et al., 2012 ).

The clinical and evidence-informed use of music interventions to accomplish individualised goals within a therapeutic relationship is defined as Music therapy ( Press Release on Mus, 2014 ). Established as a profession after World War II, Music therapy has become an important part of internationally therapeutic and healthcare settings ( Greenberg and Rentfrow, 2017 ). Even long before that, Pythagoras (c.570 – c.495 BC), the Ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician, prescribed various musical scales and modes to cure an array of physical and psychological conditions ( Greenberg and Rentfrow, 2017 ). Music therapy is part of the Creative Arts Therapies ( Mind [Internet]. [cited 2, 2021 ), in which arts-based activities are used in a therapeutic environment, with the support of a trained professional. Creative Arts Therapies are particularly effective for people who face barriers in expressing themselves with spoken languages, such as individuals with communication deficits or people with mental health difficulties who find it difficult to talk about their experiences and feelings in words. These therapies provide a safe and supportive environment to enable and encourage the patients to express themselves in whatever way possible, encouraging self-expression and development supported by the therapeutic relationship ( Ahessy, 2013 ). Music therapy interventions involve a therapeutic process developed between the patient (or client) and therapist through the use of personally tailored music experiences ( de Witte et al., 2019 ).

This distinguishes Music therapy from other music interventions, offered mainly by medical or healthcare professionals ( de Witte et al., 2019 ; Agres et al., 2021 ). In fact, music can be utilized not only through a setting lead by a professional Music therapist, but also with individuals and groups in a variety of settings. A wide range of musical styles and instruments can be used, including the voice, enabling people to create their unique musical language to explore and connect with the world and express themselves. Bringing out emotions and thoughts through methods of verbal and nonverbal expression and exploration - such as dance and body movement, music, art ( Havsteen-Franklin ), and expressive writing ( Pennebaker and Chung, 2007 ; Rebecchini, 2019 ) - may deactivate the avoidance mechanism and enable the elaboration of emotions and distress. As Juslin and Vastfjall (2008) , and Levitin ( British Association for M, 2021 ) have underlined, music has evolved from emotional communication, and the musical components of speech provide honest communication about emotions. Because musical participation and response do not depend solely on the ability to speak, music is particularly effective for people who have difficulty communicating verbally ( British Association for M, 2021 ). Hence, working with music can be life-changing for people affected by disability, injury, or mental disorders.

The potential of music to affect mood, cognition, and behavior has been demonstrated in several studies. On a negative side, some studies have shown that men who were exposed to music with misogynistic lyrics displayed higher levels of aggressive behavior than did those who were exposed to neutral music, especially when the aggressive behavior was directed at a female target person. Men also recalled more negative attributes of women after exposure to misogynistic music ( Barongan, Hall ). And when the music contained men-hating lyrics, women recalled more negative than positive attributes about men ( Fischer and Greitemeyer, 2006 ). Furthermore, playing loud music incessantly to prisoners has been reported as a form of “music torture” designed to cause extreme discomfort. In fact, it's been a practice against which the legal charity Reprieve set up its “zero-dB” campaign ( zero, 2021 ) the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December 2008.

There is a vast body of evidence demonstrating that Music therapy is beneficial both physically and mentally. Recently the attention has also focused on whether general music activities, not led by therapists, can enhance the mental health and wellbeing of service users ( de Witte et al., 2019 ; Fancourt et al., 2016 ). Studies on patients diagnosed with mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia have shown a visible improvement in their mental health after general music and Music therapy interventions ( Fancourt et al., 2016 ; McCaffrey et al., 2011 ; Mössler et al., 2011 ; Erkkilä et al., 2011 ). Moreover, studies have demonstrated other benefits of music and Music therapy, including improved heart rate, motor skills, stimulation of the brain ( Bradt et al., 2013 ; Magee et al., 2017 ; Norton et al., 2009 ) and enhancement of the immune system ( Taylor, 1997 ; Fancourt et al., 2014 ; Li et al., 2021 ).

Although music might have initially evolved as a pure art expression with entertainment scopes, it is now clear that music can affect physiological processes, improving physical and mental wellbeing. Consequently, it can have critical adaptive functions.

1.1. The role of music since first interactions

The use of the voice through singing is a unique form of interaction and expression. Singing is closely linked to the first forms of interaction between a mother and her infant. The body of research on parent-infant communication has shown that humans' earliest contact has many musical qualities ( Trevarthen and Malloch, 2000 ; Stern, 2010 ). As Dissanayake suggested ( Dissanayake, 2000 ), a mother's use of rhythmical movement appears to be an essential component for the expression communicated while singing with her infant.

Evidence has underlined that a mother's touch and rhythmical movements, co-created with her infant during musical interactions, are central to the infant's feelings of pleasure ( Longhi, 2008 ) and a healthy mother-infant relationship ( Hatch and Maietta, 1991 ). As a mother emotionally engages with her infant, her sensitivity and affection are communicated through her voice ( Fernald, 1989 , 1992 ; Rock et al., 1999 ), touch and facial expressions ( Papoušek and Papoušek, 1987 ; Stack and Muir, 1992 ), and rhythmical movements ( Hatch and Maietta, 1991 ). This co-created communicative interaction has been demonstrating a ‘communicative musicality’ due to its intrinsic music and dance-like qualities of the regularity of pulse and sensitive exchange of gestural narratives ( Malloch and Trevarthen, 2009 ). The positive emotional arousal and synchronisation between a mother and her child could be the root of a positive mother-infant relationship, thus essential for future child development ( Hodges, 1980 ; Mualem and Klein, 2013b ).

A study conducted by Vlismas et al. (2013) on the effect of music and movement on mother-infant interactions showed that maternal engagement in a music and movement programme resulted in changes to both mothers' and infants' behavior. Specifically, it showed that the effect of the programme increased the mothers' self-reported use of music and enjoyment of interactions with their infants; the mothers' self-reported attachment to their infants; the dyadic reciprocity between mother and infant; and the attentional and affective aspects of mothers' speech.

2. Music, music therapy and mental health

Utilising music as a structured intervention in treating mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and schizophrenia has been reported as beneficial in relieving symptoms ( Mössler et al., 2011 ; Erkkilä et al., 2011 ), while improving mood and social interactions ( Edwards, 2006 ). Some people with mental disorders may be too disturbed to use verbal language alone efficiently as a therapeutic medium. Thus, the musical interaction might support and provide musical resources and competencies very beneficial for patient's everyday life. Music can have unique motivating, relationship-building, and emotionally expressive qualities ( Solli, 2008 ; Rolvsjord, 2001 ).

Numerous studies have focused on the effect of music interventions on individuals in clinical settings. Many of these studies concluded that music interventions positively impact mood and anxious or depressive symptoms in both children ( Kim and Stegemann, 2016 ; Yinger and Gooding, 2015 ; Kemper and Danhauer, 2005 ) and adults ( Carr et al., 2013 ; van der Wal-Huisman et al., 2018 ). Reviews of the evidence have suggested that Music therapy may improve mental health in children and adolescents and communication in children with autistic spectrum disorder ( Gold et al., 2007 ; Whipple, 2004 ). In the same way, clinical reports and pre-experimental studies have suggested that Music therapy may be an effective intervention for adult patients with mental health problems across the world. A recent review which aimed to identify, summarise, and synthesise different experimental studies addressing the effects of Music therapy alone or Music therapy added to standard care on mental health ( Lee and Thyer, 2013 ) has shown the therapy alone or added to standard care to have significantly better effects than psychotherapy ( Castillo-Pérez et al., 2010 ), verbal relaxation ( Lin et al., 2011 ), standard care ( Erkkilä et al., 2011 ; Lin et al., 2011 ; Yang et al., 2009 ) and no treatment ( Mohammadi et al., 2011 ; Siedliecki and Good, 2006 ).

Mental health diseases such as depression and anxiety can have devastating consequences both for patients and their families. Symptoms can be severe and debilitating, leaving individuals alone and isolated. Relationships among family and friends may suffer, and individuals may not receive the support needed to manage their disease. Music can improve symptoms associated with mental illness, but it can also provide an environment for social interaction. As Choi, Lee, and Lim described ( Choi et al., 2008 ), Music therapy helps the individual to express emotions while producing a state of mental relaxation, and consequently it can be beneficial in decreasing symptoms of depression and anxiety, while enhancing interpersonal relationships.

Other music interventions - not lead by a professional music therapist - such as group drumming have been very effective, leading to the enhancement of psychological states, specifically fewer depressive symptoms and greater social resilience ( Fancourt et al., 2016 ): there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the effects of community group on mental health ( Estevao et al., 2021 ; Clift and Morrison, 2011 ; Coulton et al., 2015 ). For example, a study conducted with mothers suffering from postnatal depression found that mothers with moderate-severe depressive symptoms who participated in 10 weeks of music and singing classes with their babies had a significantly faster improvement in symptoms than mothers who participated in usual care groups ( Fancourt and Perkins, 2018 ).

In the same way, using Music therapy to decrease psychological stress during pregnancy has been reported as an appropriate alternative therapy for pregnant women suffering from mental health problems attempting to avoid the side effects associated with medication. A study conducted in 2007 with the aim of examining the effects of Music therapy on reducing psychological stress during pregnancy reported that listening to music for at least 30 minutes daily substantially reduced psychological stress, anxiety, and depression ( Chang et al., 2008 ). Hence, listening to music daily during pregnancy can generate considerable health benefits.

These experimental results indicate that music promotes psychological health both during pregnancy, and the entire lifetime; it can be easily used in many environments, and it can also be tailored to personal preferences to enhance mental health.

2.1. Music and immune system

The immune system, composed by molecular and cellular components, is a complex system of structures and processes that have evolved to protect us from disease. The function of these components is divided up into nonspecific mechanisms, those which are innate to an organism, and responsive responses, which are adaptive to specific pathogens. The innate immune system represents the first line of defense against infection and includes cells and proteins that are nonspecific to particular antigens. The adaptive immune system provides a secondary, antigen-specific response during which cells with a memory for specific pathogens are created. The adaptive immune system has the capacity to recognize and respond to virtually any protein or carbohydrate imaginable; yet, without the innate immune system to instruct it—in effect, telling it whether, when, how, and where to respond—it is powerless ( Clark and Kupper, 2005 ). As the literature shows, the immune system is strongly associated with mood, psychological condition, and hormonal balance ( Segerstrom and Miller, 2004 ). Thus, as a result of negative mood, psychological stress affects the immune system and may cause dysregulation leads to a change in the humoral and cellular immunity and increases health risks.

Psychological stress can have detrimental effects on both immune system responses, leading to a weakening of defenses against new pathogens and increasing in systemic inflammation ( Chanda and Levitin, 2013a ; Maddock and Pariante, 2001 ). While inflammation is a local, protective response to microbial invasion or injury, it must be fine-tuned and regulated precisely, because deficiencies or excesses of the inflammatory response cause morbidity and shorten lifespan ( Tracey, 2002 ; Bassi et al., 2018 ). Because stress can be a predisposing factor to diseases associated with immunologic responses ( Maddock and Pariante, 2001 ), increased exposure to stressful situations expands the risk of mental and physical disorders ( Hazelgrove et al., 2021 ). Acute stress can affect basal sensitivity, increasing or decreasing pain threshold in acute and chronic pain processes. For the fact that acute and chronic pain are potent stressors, they can alter the body homeostasis: pain can be an activator of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis), the major system responsible for stress responses, which may be hypoactive or hyperactive under chronic or persistent stress conditions ( Timmers et al., 2019 ). In turn, the HPA axis modulation directly affects the release levels of glucocorticoids, ‘hormones of stress’, which induce anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects at pharmacological doses, whereas at physiological levels they play an essential regulatory role in the immune system ( Pariante and Miller, 2001 ). Thus, stress can negatively affect the cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune systems, which, consequently, may impair recovery, increase the risk for adverse effects, and delay hospital discharge ( Biondi and Zannino, 1997 ).

Although psychological stress cannot be eliminated, there are ways in which the perception of stress and ability to adapt to stressors can be altered: music has been adapted as a form of stress management and studies have confirmed the effect of music on the reduction of stress responses in the cardiovascular and endocrine system ( Taylor, 1997 ; Mojtabavi et al., 2020 ). Specifically, music has been shown to modify heart rate, respiration rate, perspiration, and other autonomic systems ( Blood et al., 1999 ), supporting reports that many people use music to achieve physical and psychological balance. Lifestyle choices that reduce stress are thought to be highly protective against diseases ( Dimsdale, 2008 ), and music may be among these ( Dileo et al., 2007 ; Nilsson, 2008 ).

The human's biological stress response is highly adaptive in the short term: it is an elegant choreography ( Chanda and Levitin, 2013b ) of neuroendocrine, autonomic, metabolic, and immune system activity that involves multiple feedback loops at the level of the central and peripheral nervous systems ( Landgraf and Neumann, 2004 ). Together these systems trigger short term adaptive behaviours, including arousal, vigilance, focused attention, and temporarily inhibit functions that are nonessential during a crisis, such as eating, digestion, growth, and sex drive. At the same time, cardiovascular changes such as elevated heart rate and rapid breathing are helpful to increase oxygenation and glucose supply to the brain and skeletal muscles.

However, as already mentioned, the prolonged activation of these systems has devastating consequences for health. Continuous and elevated circulating levels of glucocorticoids (e.g., cortisol) act as neurotoxins, weakening the ability of neurons and other cells to resist injury and making them more vulnerable to the effects of toxins and the normal attrition process ( Landgraf and Neumann, 2004 ). Furthermore, although glucocorticoids act as an immunosuppressant under acute stress conditions, they may promote a state of chronic low-grade inflammation in the long term ( Gouin et al., 2008 ). These neurotoxic and pro-inflammatory effects of chronic stress have been linked to a host of adverse health outcomes such as susceptibility to infectious diseases, anxiety and depression ( Pitharouli et al., 2021 ), and cardiovascular diseases ( Chrousos, 2009 ; Lupien et al., 2009 ).

As many studies have demonstrated, neuroinflammation is the cause of several mental diseases such as depression and anxiety ( Zheng et al., 2021 ; Troubat et al., 2021 ). Hence, attention has increasingly focused on the effect of music as a possible anti-inflammatory mechanism in these central inflammatory conditions. A recent work conducted by Dasy Fancourt (2014) - the first systematic review that aimed to assess published studies dealing with psychoneuroimmunological effects of music - showed that music can have effects on various neurotransmitters, cytokines, and hormones ( Fancourt et al., 2014 ). Specifically, fifty-six of the sixty-three studies included in the author's systematic review linked psychoneuroimmunological effects of music to the stress response.

Salivary Immunoglobulin A (s-IgA), a first-line in the defence against bacterial and viral infections ( Woof and Kerr, 2006 ) and a reliable marker of the functional status of the entire mucosal immune system ( Hucklebridge et al., 2000 ), has been revealed to be particularly responsive to music, increasing following exposure to a range of styles of music including both relaxing and stimulating music, as well as for both active involvements and simply listening to recorded music ( Fancourt et al., 2014 ). Strong patterns have also been noticed concerning cortisol, which repeatedly decreased in response to relaxing recorded music ( Fancourt et al., 2014 ). There also appeared to be patterns in the response of epinephrine and norepinephrine, which have been shown to decrease in response to relaxing recorded music ( Leardi et al., 2007 ).

Another study conducted to determine if (i) musical activity could produce a significant change in the immune system measured by s-IgA, and if (ii) active participation in musical activity had a different effect on the immune system than passive participation showed that S-IgA levels of the active group (playing music and singing) had more significant increase than those of the passive group (listening only) ( Kuhn, 2002 ). This result suggested that active participation in musical activity produces a more significant effect on the immune system than passive participation.

Overall, changes have been observed across various immune response biomarkers, including leukocytes, cytokines, immunoglobulins, and hormones and neurotransmitters associated with immune response ( Fancourt et al., 2014 ). Music has begun to be taken seriously in healthcare settings as research findings have started to link the beneficial effects of music on stress to a broader impact on health ( Haake, 2011 ). If music can mediate anti-inflammatory effects, evidenced by decreased levels of inflammatory biomarkers (see Table 1 ), there may be biological plausibility for its use in the care of ill patients. The results of these studies provide further confirmation that the immune system can be enhanced by music and, as Daisy Fancourt has underlined, the trend towards positive findings of the effect of music on psychoneuroimmunological response strongly supports further investigation in this field ( Fancourt et al., 2014 ).

Table 1

Markers of inflammation and immune response influenced by music .

2.1.1. Other biological effects

In the last decade, there has been growing interest in music's chemical and biological effects ( Table 1 ) ( Khan et al., 2018 ). Some studies have focused on whether music can affect the same neurochemical reward systems as other reinforcing stimuli. Does music have the earmarks of a rewarding stimulus, including the ability to motivate an individual to learn and engage in goal-directed behavior to obtain a pleasurable feeling ( Chanda and Levitin, 2013b )? As Salimpoor et al. have underlined ( Salimpoor et al., 2015 ), dopamine activity can explain why an individual would be motivated to keep listening to a piece of music, or to seek out that music in the future. However, it cannot alone explain the experience of pleasure when listening to music. Berridge and colleagues described ‘hedonic hotspots’ in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral pallidum that are explicitly linked to the display of pleasure and are triggered by opioid signalling ( Berridge and Kringelbach, 2013 ). Thus, there are crucial interactions between the dopamine and opioid systems. A rapid increase in dopamine release in humans induces euphoria, with the level of euphoria correlating with the level of ventral striatal dopamine release, which also leads to robust increases of endorphin release in the NAc ( Drevets et al., 2001 ). On the other hand, opioid antagonists block the subjective ‘high’ caused by strong dopamine release ( Jayaram-Lindström et al., 2004 ). Consequently, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that a strong induction of dopamine release caused by music can trigger opioid stimulation of so-called hedonic hotspots. In the other direction, the opioid system robustly modulates dopamine release in to the NAc ( Hjelmstad et al., 2013 ). This likely provides a mechanism through which music that is experienced as pleasing can enhance dopamine-mediated positive prediction error signaling and reinforcement learning. Thus, the association of dopamine release and NAc activation during peak musical pleasure may be a direct manifestation of this opioid–dopamine interaction ( Salimpoor et al., 2015 ).

There is an increasing body of evidence demonstrating the functional activation ( Blood and Zatorre, 2001 ; Brown et al., 2004 ; Jeffries et al., 2003 ; Koelsch et al., 2006 ), network connectivity ( Menon and Levitin, 2005 ), and central dopamine release ( Salimpoor et al., 2011 ) during the perception of pleasurable music. A review conducted by Chanda and Levitin (2013b) showed that studies that used positron emission tomography (PET) to investigate regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during experienced musical pleasure ( Blood and Zatorre, 2001 ; Brown et al., 2004 ; Jeffries et al., 2003 ) suggested that music reward involve the activation of the NAc, as well as opioid-rich midbrain nuclei known to regulate morphine analgesia and descending inhibition of pain ( Jeffries et al., 2003 ). NAc activation was also reported during listening to unfamiliar pleasant music compared to rest ( Brown et al., 2004 ) and during singing compared to speech ( Jeffries et al., 2003 ). On the other hand, listening to techno-music induced changes in neurotransmitters, peptides and hormonal reactions, related to mental state and emotional involvement: techno music increased plasma cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone, prolactin, growth hormone and norepinephrine levels ( Gerra et al., 1998 ). The neuroendocrine pattern induced by this fast music (techno music) turned out to be similar to the biological reaction to psychological stress ( Henry, 1992 ).

Other studies that used higher resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of music pleasure ( Koelsch et al., 2006 ; Menon and Levitin, 2005 ; Salimpoor et al., 2011 ; Janata, 2009 ) showed that musical reward is dependent on dopaminergic neurotransmission within a similar neural network as other reinforcing stimuli: pleasant (consonant – positive emotional valence) and unpleasant (dissonant – negative emotional valence) music were contrasted, and the results confirmed activation of the ventral striatum and Rolandi operculum during pleasurable music listening, while strong deactivations were observed in the amygdala, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and the temporal poles in response to pleasant music ( Koelsch et al., 2006 ). Activation of the anterior superior insula in response to pleasant music has also been observed: a significant finding because of the insula's connectivity to the NAc and its role in the activation of the emotional circuitry and reward system ( Pavuluri et al., 2017 ) which, in turn, increases the innate and adaptive immune system ( Ben-Shaanan et al., 2016 ). All these structures have previously been implicated in the emotional processing of stimuli with (negative) emotional valence ( Heinzel et al., 2005 ; Siegle et al., 2002 ). The results of the studies mentioned above indicate that these structures respond to auditory information with emotional valence, and that listening to music has the capacity to up-as well as down-regulate neuronal activity in these structures.

3. Conclusion and limitations

The increasing evidence of the benefits of music activities and Music therapy provided by the literature is a driving force for developing music-based therapies services in the health care sector. By promoting physical and psychological health, music can be an effective treatment option suitable for every environment and people of every age, race, and ethnic background.

Since music is a complex topic, there are some aspects that this mini review has not fully addressed, such as the role of the autonomic nervous system involved in musical activities; the involvement of music as a possible component of an “enriched environment” ( Kempermann, 2019 ); and, finally, the beneficial effects of rhythmical movements and physical musical activities, and their contribution to the preference for treatment options.

Figure 1. Lavinia Rebecchini is an Italian psychologist currently doing a Ph.D at the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London. She graduated from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan and, after completing her Master of Science in Developmental Psychology with full marks, she decided to move to London to broaden her horizons. She started as an intern at the Perinatal Psychiatry section of the Stress, Psychiatry, and Immunology Laboratory (SPI Lab) at the IoPPN and, after being hired as a Research Assistant, she then decided to further cultivate her strong interest in the perinatal mental health field with a PhD. She has always been interested in perinatal psychiatry and the relationship between mothers and their children. Her Ph.D at the SPI Lab is concentrating on mother-infant interaction with mothers suffering from perinatal depression. With her Ph.D project, she focuses on which implications perinatal depression may carry for the developing mother-infant relationship. She looks at whether an intervention of music and singing sessions can help mothers develop compensatory skills to interact with their children appropriately so to better respond to their infants' needs. In addition to her academic experiences, during her free time, she has always volunteered to help children and families in need. She is determined and enthusiastic, and her eight years' experience in alpine skiing competitions has allowed her to build strong determination in achieving her goals.

Declaration of competing interest

The author Lavinia Rebecchini declares that there are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements

Dr Rebecchini is supported by a kind gift from Michael Samuel through King's College London & King's Health Partners, by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and by the Wellcome Trust SHAPER programme (Scaling-up Health-Arts Programme to scale up arts intervention; award reference 219425/Z/19/Z).

Dr. Lavinia Rebecchini.

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Here’s how you know

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• National Institutes of Health

Music and Health: What You Need To Know

.header_greentext{color:green!important;font-size:24px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_bluetext{color:blue!important;font-size:18px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_redtext{color:red!important;font-size:28px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_darkred{color:#803d2f!important;font-size:28px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_purpletext{color:purple!important;font-size:31px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_yellowtext{color:yellow!important;font-size:20px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_blacktext{color:black!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_whitetext{color:white!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_darkred{color:#803d2f!important;}.Green_Header{color:green!important;font-size:24px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Blue_Header{color:blue!important;font-size:18px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Red_Header{color:red!important;font-size:28px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Purple_Header{color:purple!important;font-size:31px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Yellow_Header{color:yellow!important;font-size:20px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Black_Header{color:black!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.White_Header{color:white!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;} Can music be good for you?

Yes, according to a growing body of research. Listening to or making music affects the brain in ways that may help promote health and manage disease symptoms.

Performing or listening to music activates a variety of structures in the brain that are involved in thinking, sensation, movement, and emotion. These brain effects may have physical and psychological benefits. For example, music causes the release of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters and hormones) that can evoke emotional reactions, memories, and feelings and promote social bonds. Music can even affect the structure of the brain. Certain structures in the brain have been found to be larger in musicians than nonmusicians, with particularly noticeable changes in people who started their musical training at an early age.

Increasing evidence suggests that music-based interventions may be helpful for health conditions that occur during childhood, adulthood, or aging. However, because much of the research on music-based interventions is preliminary, few definite conclusions about their effects have been reached. Many reports on the potential benefits of music-based interventions come from observations of individuals or small groups of people. Evidence of this type is valuable for suggesting new ideas, but carefully designed, scientifically rigorous studies of larger numbers of people are needed to provide stronger evidence on whether music-based interventions are effective for specific purposes.

.header_greentext{color:green!important;font-size:24px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_bluetext{color:blue!important;font-size:18px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_redtext{color:red!important;font-size:28px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_darkred{color:#803d2f!important;font-size:28px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_purpletext{color:purple!important;font-size:31px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_yellowtext{color:yellow!important;font-size:20px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_blacktext{color:black!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_whitetext{color:white!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_darkred{color:#803d2f!important;}.Green_Header{color:green!important;font-size:24px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Blue_Header{color:blue!important;font-size:18px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Red_Header{color:red!important;font-size:28px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Purple_Header{color:purple!important;font-size:31px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Yellow_Header{color:yellow!important;font-size:20px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Black_Header{color:black!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.White_Header{color:white!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;} What is music therapy?

Music therapy is a health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs. The term “music therapy” is not a description of a specific type of intervention. Instead, it indicates the education, training, and credentials of the therapist who is delivering the intervention.

Music therapy may involve a variety of different activities, including music improvisation, music listening, song writing, music performance, and learning through music. Music therapists may work in many different settings, such as hospitals, outpatient clinics, nursing homes, senior centers, rehabilitation facilities, or schools.

Some of the music-based interventions described in this fact sheet fit the definition of music therapy, but others do not. For example, music-based interventions that involve listening to recorded music are often delivered by health professionals other than music therapists (such as nurses), and therefore do not fit the definition of music therapy.

You can learn more about music therapy on the website of the American Music Therapy Association .

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In general, research studies of music-based interventions do not show any negative effects. However, listening to music at too high a volume can contribute to noise-induced hearing loss. You can find out about this type of hearing loss on the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders website .

In addition, because music can be associated with strong memories or emotional reactions, some people may be distressed by exposure to specific pieces or types of music. Extensive playing of musical instruments can lead to pain and injury. Music-based interventions that involve exercise or other types of movement could also lead to injury if appropriate safety precautions are not taken.

.header_greentext{color:green!important;font-size:24px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_bluetext{color:blue!important;font-size:18px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_redtext{color:red!important;font-size:28px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_darkred{color:#803d2f!important;font-size:28px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_purpletext{color:purple!important;font-size:31px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_yellowtext{color:yellow!important;font-size:20px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_blacktext{color:black!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_whitetext{color:white!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.header_darkred{color:#803d2f!important;}.Green_Header{color:green!important;font-size:24px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Blue_Header{color:blue!important;font-size:18px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Red_Header{color:red!important;font-size:28px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Purple_Header{color:purple!important;font-size:31px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Yellow_Header{color:yellow!important;font-size:20px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.Black_Header{color:black!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;}.White_Header{color:white!important;font-size:22px!important;font-weight:500!important;} What does research show about music-based interventions for people with health conditions?

The preliminary research that has been done so far suggests that music-based interventions may be helpful for anxiety, depressive symptoms, and pain associated with a variety of health conditions, as well as for some other symptoms associated with dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and other conditions. 

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As mentioned in other sections of this fact sheet, there’s evidence that music-based interventions may help to relieve pain associated with specific health conditions. The two review articles listed below describe evidence indicating that music may be helpful for pain more generally. Newer research continues to find evidence that music may be helpful for pain from a variety of causes, but not every study has shown a beneficial effect. 

• A 2016 review looked at 97 studies (9,184 participants) of music-based interventions for acute or chronic pain associated with a variety of health problems and medical procedures. The overall evidence suggested that music-based interventions may have beneficial effects on both pain intensity and emotional distress from pain and may lead to decreased use of pain-relieving medicines.
• A 2017 review of 14 randomized trials (1,178 participants) of music-based interventions for various types of chronic pain found that the interventions reduced self-reported chronic pain and associated depressive symptoms, with a greater effect when the music was chosen by the participant rather than the researcher. The study participants had a variety of conditions that can cause chronic pain, including cancer, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, or osteoarthritis, and most of the interventions involved listening to recorded music.
• Many but not all newer studies of music-based interventions for pain have had promising results. For example, in recent studies, music-based interventions were helpful for pain associated with childbirth, cancer chemotherapy, a procedure in which shock waves are used to break up kidney stones, retrieval of eggs for in vitro fertilization, treatment of nose fractures, and sickle cell disease. However, music didn’t seem to be helpful for reducing moderate pain further after use of a lidocaine spray for loop electrosurgical excision (a gynecological procedure), and the results of studies on pain during cystoscopy (a procedure in which a tube is inserted into the bladder) and pain during colonoscopy were inconsistent.

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Music-based interventions have been evaluated for their effects on anxiety in a variety of disease conditions and health care settings. Some examples are given in this section, and others are discussed in the sections on specific health conditions. Most studies have had promising results, except for studies on anxiety associated with dental care.

• A 2013 review of 26 studies (2,051 participants) showed that listening to recorded music significantly reduced anxiety in people who were waiting to have surgery. However, there was potential for bias in most of the studies because the investigators who performed the studies knew which participants had listened to music.
• A 2016 review of 17 studies (1,381 participants) that evaluated the effect of music-based interventions on anxiety in adults with cancer suggested that the interventions may have a large anxiety-reducing effect. However, there was a high risk of bias in the studies. 
• A 2015 review of 5 studies (290 participants) in people who were having dialysis treatments suggested that listening to music reduced anxiety. However, these studies have limitations because of their small size and high risk of bias.
• A 2018 review concluded that it’s unclear whether listening to music is helpful for dental anxiety. Some studies have suggested that listening to music as a distraction may not be adequate to reduce anxiety in children or highly anxious adults who are having dental care. More active types of music-based interventions (for example, a music-assisted relaxation technique that’s taught to the patient in advance) might be helpful in dental settings but have not been evaluated in formal studies.  

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It’s uncertain whether music-based interventions are helpful for people with ASD.

• A 2021 review of 22 studies (850 participants) on music therapy for children with ASD was unable to reach any definite conclusions on whether adding music therapy to their care is beneficial, although some studies had promising results. For example, some studies of educational music therapy (involving techniques such as musical games) showed possible benefits on the children’s speech, and some studies of improvisational music therapy (in which children produce music) showed possible benefits on social functioning.
• One particularly notable study of music therapy for children with ASD (which was included in the review described above) was a multinational trial involving 364 children from 9 countries. It is the largest study completed so far, and its design was especially rigorous. In this study, the severity of symptoms related to difficulties in social communication did not differ between children who received music therapy along with standard care and those who received standard care alone.

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Preliminary evidence suggests that music-based interventions may be helpful for several types of distress in people with cancer.

• A 2021 review of randomized controlled trials (studies in which participants were randomly assigned to a music-based intervention group or a control group), which included 81 trials and 5,576 participants, concluded that in adults with cancer, music interventions may have a large anxiety-reducing effect, a moderately strong beneficial effect on depression, a moderate pain-reducing effect, and a large effect on the quality of life. Most of the trials had a high risk of bias, so their results need to be interpreted with caution. Only seven of the studies included in this review involved children. Two of these studies suggested a beneficial effect on anxiety; no other conclusions could be reached from the small amount of evidence available.
• A 2021 review of 11 studies (491 participants) on music interventions for children and adolescents with cancer, which included some studies that were less rigorous than a randomized controlled trial, found evidence suggesting that music-based interventions may decrease anxiety, perceived pain, and depression symptoms and improve state of mind, self-esteem, and quality of life.

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A 2021 systematic review of 12 studies (812 participants) showed that music-based interventions were helpful for shortness of breath, anxiety, and sleep quality in adults with COPD but were not helpful for depression. Because the studies were brief (several days to 12 months) and because researchers measured effects in different ways in different studies, there is some uncertainty about the conclusions.

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Much research is being done on the potential benefits of music-based interventions for people with cognitive impairment or various types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Limited evidence suggests that music-based interventions may improve emotional well-being, behavioral challenges, and quality of life in people with these conditions. Whether the interventions have benefits for cognitive functioning is unclear; effects might depend on the population studied or the type of intervention used.

• A 2018 review evaluated 22 studies (1,097 participants) of music-based interventions for people with dementia who were living in institutions. Some of the interventions were receptive (listening to music), some were active (singing, playing instruments, moving to music, etc.), and some were a combination of the two. The evidence from these studies indicated that music-based interventions probably reduce depressive symptoms and improve overall behavioral challenges. They may also improve emotional well-being and quality of life and reduce anxiety. However, the interventions may have little or no effect on agitation, aggression, or cognitive function.
• A 2021 review looked at 21 studies (1,472 participants) of people with either mild cognitive impairment or mild or moderate dementia; some of the people studied were living in institutions, but others were living in the community. All the music interventions were active; studies that only involved listening to music were not included. Nine of the studies (495 participants) were included in a quantitative analysis of effects on cognitive functioning; this analysis indicated that the music-based interventions had a small beneficial effect. There was also some evidence for beneficial effects on mood and quality of life.

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A 2017 review looked at 9 studies (421 participants) of music-based interventions in adults or adolescents with depression. There was moderate-quality evidence that adding music-based interventions to usual treatment improved depression symptoms when compared with usual treatment alone. Music-based interventions also helped decrease anxiety levels and improve functioning of people with depression (for example, their ability to maintain involvement in work, activities, and relationships).

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A 2020 systematic review of 7 studies (334 participants) found evidence that music-based interventions were beneficial for pain, depression, and quality of life in people with fibromyalgia. However, the amount of research was limited, and the quality of the research was low.

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A 2021 review of music-based interventions for people with multiple sclerosis (10 trials, 429 participants) found consistent evidence that the interventions were beneficial for coordination, balance, some aspects of gait and walking, emotional status, and pain, but no effect was observed for mental fatigability or memory.

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Researchers are evaluating the potential benefits of several types of music-based interventions for Parkinson’s disease symptoms. 

• Rhythmic auditory stimulation.  Rhythmic auditory stimulation uses pulsed sounds (such as those produced by a metronome) to help people synchronize their movements to the rhythm of the sounds. This technique is used to help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their ability to walk. A 2021 analysis of 5 studies (209 total participants) showed significant improvements in gait speed and stride length in people with Parkinson’s disease who participated in rhythmic auditory stimulation. However, the quality of evidence was low, and the number of studies and participants was small.
• Music-based movement therapy.  Music-based movement therapy combines physical activities such as dance or rhythmic exercises with music. Therapies that involve physical activity have been shown to be helpful for a variety of Parkinson’s disease symptoms. Adding music to the therapy might have additional benefits by providing auditory cues for movement and making the activities more enjoyable. A 2021 analysis of 17 studies (598 participants) of music-based movement therapy showed evidence of improvements in motor function, balance, freezing of gait, walking speed, and mental health but not gait cadence, stride length, or quality of life.
• Singing. The potential benefits of singing for people with Parkinson’s disease have been studied primarily in terms of effects on speech. In a 2016 review of 7 studies (102 participants), 5 studies found some evidence of a beneficial effect on speech.

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Music-based interventions are widely used in neonatal intensive care units. However, evidence for physiological benefits for newborn infants is limited. 

• In a 2020 review of 16 studies (826 infants), 12 of the studies found some evidence of benefits on physiological outcomes (such as heart rate or oxygen saturation), but several of the studies included only small numbers of infants, and the intervention methods used varied from one study to another. The reviewers concluded that the current data are insufficient to confirm physiological benefits. No harmful effects of music-based interventions were seen in the studies included in this review.

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Music-based interventions have been evaluated as adjunct treatments (additions to usual treatment) for people with schizophrenia. A 2020 review of 18 studies (1,212 participants) indicated that adjunct music-based interventions may improve a group of schizophrenia symptoms known as “negative symptoms,” such as reduced emotion and self-neglect, as well as depression symptoms and quality of life. However, music-based interventions did not reduce “positive symptoms,” such as hallucinations and delusions. The quality of the evidence was low.

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Listening to music may improve sleep quality in people with insomnia.

• A 2022 review looked at 13 studies (1,007 participants) that examined the effect of listening to recorded music in people with insomnia. The studies suggested music had no effect on insomnia severity compared to no treatment or treatment as usual. Moderate-certainty evidence did suggest, however, that listening to music has a beneficial effect on subjective sleep quality. The studies also provided low-certainty evidence that listening to music might help improve the speed of falling asleep, the length of time spent sleeping, and the amount of time a person is asleep compared to the total time spent in bed.
• It’s common for older people to have trouble sleeping. A 2021 review looked at 16 studies of music-based interventions for sleep in older adults (812 participants); 11 studies evaluated music listening, and the other 5 evaluated more complex interventions. The results were mixed, with some studies suggesting that the music interventions were helpful, while others did not.

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Music-based interventions, particularly music therapy, may be helpful for improving physical and psychological markers associated with stress, according to two related reviews.

• In a 2020 review with 104 studies (9,617 participants), investigators looked at the effects of a variety of music-based interventions on measures associated with stress, including both physical measures (heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of stress-related hormones) and psychological measures (anxiety, nervousness, restlessness, and feelings of worry). The music-based interventions had a small-to-medium sized beneficial effect on the physical measures and a medium-to-large beneficial effect on the psychological measures. 
• A second review looked at 47 studies (2,747 participants) of music therapy (excluding other music-based interventions) and found an overall medium-to-large beneficial effect on stress-related outcomes. The effects were greater than those seen in the larger review. The investigators who performed the review suggested that the opportunity for music therapists to tailor interventions to the needs of individual patients might account for the difference.

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Music-based interventions may be helpful in the rehabilitation of people who have had a stroke. A 2019 review of 27 studies (730 participants) found positive effects on physical status (upper-limb activity, various aspects of walking, balance), cognition (paying attention, communication), and mood. In particular, rhythmic auditory stimulation (which involves the use of a metronome combined with physical activities) had beneficial effects on gait and balance, and receptive music therapy (which involves listening to music while performing another task) was helpful for mood and some aspects of cognitive function.

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Tinnitus is the symptom that people often describe as “ringing in the ears,” although it can also sound like roaring, clicking, hissing, or buzzing. It can be caused by noise-induced hearing loss, blockage of the ear canal by earwax, ear or sinus infections, or other health conditions, or by starting or stopping various medications. Sometimes, tinnitus has no obvious cause.

• Sound therapies. Various types of sounds, including music, have been used to try to mask tinnitus. However, according to a 2019 review of studies conducted up to that time, the effects of these sound therapies are modest; few people achieve complete remission of tinnitus from sound therapies.
• Notched music therapy. A specific type of music therapy called “notched” music therapy has been suggested as a possible way to reduce the severity of tinnitus. Notched music therapy involves listening to music that has been modified to remove sounds close in frequency to the frequency of the tinnitus sound perceived by the patient. Two recent studies that compared notched music with conventional music did not find notched music to be more helpful in reducing the symptoms or impact of tinnitus. However, some earlier studies suggested that the loudness of tinnitus sounds could be reduced with notched music therapy.

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NIH and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in association with the National Endowment for the Arts, are sponsoring an initiative called Sound Health to increase understanding of music’s effect on the brain and the potential clinical applications. The first Sound Health research projects began in 2019. Some projects are investigating music’s mechanism of action in the brain and how music may be applied to treat symptoms of disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and chronic pain. Others are looking at the effects of music on children’s developing brains.

Topics of NCCIH-supported studies within the Sound Health initiative include:

• The effects of music-based interventions on neurodevelopment and pain response in preterm infants
• Using self-generated rhythmic cues to enhance gait in people with Parkinson’s disease
• The impact of singing interventions on markers of cardiovascular health in older people with cardiovascular disease

In collaboration with the Foundation for the NIH and the Renée Fleming Foundation, NIH has developed a toolkit for rigorous, reproducible, well-powered music-based interventions for brain disorders of aging, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke. Three workshops were held in 2021 to gather input from experts in a variety of relevant fields, and a request for information was issued to get stakeholder feedback. The toolkit , which was released in 2023, will be pilot tested in demonstration projects. NCCIH is playing a lead role in this effort.

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Nccih clearinghouse.

The NCCIH Clearinghouse provides information on NCCIH and complementary and integrative health approaches, including publications and searches of Federal databases of scientific and medical literature. The Clearinghouse does not provide medical advice, treatment recommendations, or referrals to practitioners.

Toll-free in the U.S.: 1-888-644-6226

Telecommunications relay service (TRS): 7-1-1

Website: https://www.nccih.nih.gov

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Know the Science

NCCIH and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide tools to help you understand the basics and terminology of scientific research so you can make well-informed decisions about your health. Know the Science features a variety of materials, including interactive modules, quizzes, and videos, as well as links to informative content from Federal resources designed to help consumers make sense of health information.

Explaining How Research Works (NIH)

Know the Science: How To Make Sense of a Scientific Journal Article

Understanding Clinical Studies (NIH)

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• Aalbers   S, Fusar-Poli L, Freeman RE, et al.  Music therapy for depression . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2017;(11):CD004517. Accessed at cochranelibrary.com on October 29, 2021.
• Bieleninik Ł, Geretsegger M, Mössler K, et al.  Effects of improvisational music therapy vs enhanced standard care on symptom severity among children with autism spectrum disorder. The TIME—a randomized clinical trial . JAMA. 2017;318(6):525-535.
• Bradt J, Dileo C, Magill L, et al. Music interventions for improving psychological and physical outcomes in cancer patients . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2016;(8):CD006911. Accessed at cochranelibrary.com on October 29, 2021.
• Bradt J, Dileo C, Shim M. Music interventions for preoperative anxiety . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2013;(6):CD006908. Accessed at cochranelibrary.com  on October 29, 2021.
• Burrai F, Apuzzo L, Zanotti R. Effectiveness of rhythmic auditory stimulation on gait in Parkinson disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis . Holistic Nursing Practice. June 11, 2021. [Epub ahead of print].
• Cheever T, Taylor A, Finkelstein R, et al. NIH/Kennedy Center workshop on music and the brain: finding harmony . Neuron. 2018;97(6):1214-1218.
• Collins FS, Fleming R. Sound health: an NIH-Kennedy Center initiative to explore music and the mind . JAMA. 2017;317(24):2470-2471.
• de Witte   M, da Silva Pinho A, Stams G-J, et al. Music therapy for stress reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis . Health Psychology Review. 2022;16(1):134-159.
• de Witte   M, Spruit A, van Hooren S, et al. Effects of music interventions on stress-related outcomes: a systematic review and two meta-analyses . Health Psychology Review. 2020;14(2):294-324.
• Dorris   JL, Neely S, Terhorst L, et al. Effects of music participation for mild cognitive impairment and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis . Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.  2021;69(9):2659-2667.
• Foroushani SM, Herman CA, Wiseman CA, et al. Evaluating physiologic outcomes of music interventions in the neonatal intensive care unit: a systematic review . Journal of Perinatology. 2020;40(12):1770-1779.
• Garza-Villareal   EA, Pando V, Vuust P, et al. Music-induced analgesia in chronic pain conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis . Pain Physician. 2017;20(7):597-610.
• Jespersen KV, Pando-Naude V, Koenig J, et al. Listening to music for insomnia in adults . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2022;(8):CD010459. Accessed at cochranelibrary.com on September 8, 2022.
• Lee   JH. The effects of music on pain: a meta-analysis . Journal of Music Therapy. 2016;53(4):430-477.
• van der Steen   JT, Smaling HJ, van der Wouden JC, et al. Music-based therapeutic interventions for people with dementia . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2018;(7):CD003447. Accessed at cochranelibrary.com on October 29, 2021.

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• Atipas   S, Therdphaothai J, Suvansit K, et al. A randomized, controlled trial of notched music therapy for tinnitus patients. Journal of International Advanced Otology. 2021;17(3):221-227.
• Barnish J, Atkinson RA, Barran SM, et al. Potential benefit of singing for people with Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review. Journal of Parkinson’s Disease. 2016;6(3):473-484.
• Bird HA. Overuse syndrome in musicians. Clinical Rheumatology. 2013;32(4):475-479.
• Bradt J, Teague A. Music interventions for dental anxiety. Oral Diseases. 2018;24(3):300-306.
• Brancatisano O, Baird A, Thompson WF. Why is music therapeutic for neurological disorders? The therapeutic music capacities model. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 2020;112:600-615.
• Buglione A, Saccone G, Mas M, et al. Effect of music on labor and delivery in nulliparous singleton pregnancies: a randomized clinical trial. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics.  2020;310(3):693-698.
• Burrai F, Magavern EF, Micheluzzi V, et al. Effectiveness of music to improve anxiety in hemodialysis patients. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Holistic Nursing Practice. 2020;34(6):324-333.
• Cakmak O, Cimen S, Tarhan H, et al. Listening to music during shock wave lithotripsy decreases anxiety, pain, and dissatisfaction. A randomized controlled study. Wiener Klinische Wochenscrift.  2017;129(19-20):687-691.
• Ç elebi D, Y ı lmaz E, Ş ahin ST, et al. The effect of music therapy during colonoscopy on pain, anxiety and patient comfort: a randomized controlled trial. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 2020;38:101084.
• Chantawong N, Charoenkwan K. Effects of music listening during loop electrosurgical excision procedure on pain and anxiety: a randomized trial. Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease. 2017;21(4):307-310.
• Cheung CWC, Yee AWW, Chan PS, et al. The impact of music therapy on pain and stress reduction during oocyte retrieval—a randomized controlled trial. Reproductive Biomedicine Online. 2018;37(2):145-152.
• Çift   A, Benlioğlu C. Effect of different musical types on patient’s relaxation, anxiety and pain perception during shock wave lithotripsy: a randomized controlled study. Urology Journal. 2020;17(1):19-23.
• Gonz á lez-Mart í n-Moreno   M, Garrido-Ardila EM, Jim é nez-Palomares M, et al. Music-based interventions in paediatric and adolescents oncology patients: a systematic review. Children. 2021;8(2):73.
• Huang J, Yuan X, Zhang N, et al. Music therapy in adults with COPD. Respiratory Care. 2021;66(3):501-509.
• Jia   R, Liang D, Yu J, et al. The effectiveness of adjunct music therapy for patients with schizophrenia: a meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research. 2020;293:113464.
• Ko SY, Leung DYP, Wong EML. Effects of easy listening music intervention on satisfaction, anxiety, and pain in patients undergoing colonoscopy: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Clinical Interventions in Aging. 2019;14:977-986.
• Koelsch S. A neuroscientific perspective on music therapy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2009;1169:374-384.
• Le Perf   G, Donguy A-L, Thebault G. Nuanced effects of music interventions on rehabilitation outcomes after stroke: a systematic review. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation.  2019;26(6):473-484.
• Lopes   J, Keppers II. Music-based therapy in rehabilitation of people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review of clinical trials. Arquivos de Neuro-psiquiatria.  2021;79(6):527-535.
• Mayer-Benarous   H, Benarous X, Vonthron F, et al. Music therapy for children with autistic spectrum disorder and/or other neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic review. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2021;12:643234.
• McClintock G, Wong E, Mancuso P, et al. Music during flexible cystoscopy for pain and anxiety – a patient-blinded randomized control trial. BJU International. 2021;128 Suppl 1:27-32. 
• Mumm J-N, Eismann L, Rodler S, et al. Listening to music during outpatient cystoscopy reduces pain and anxiety and increases satisfaction: results from a prospective randomized study. Urologia Internationalis . 2021;105(9-10):792-798. 
• Ortega   A, Gauna F, Munoz D, et al. Music therapy for pain and anxiety management in nasal bone fracture reduction: randomized controlled clinical trial. Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery. 2019;161(4):613-619.
• Perković R, Dević K, Hrkać A, et al. Relationship between education of pregnant women and listening to classical music with the experience of pain in childbirth and the occurrence of psychological symptoms in puerperium. Psychiatria Danubina. 2021;33(Suppl 13):260-270.
• Petrovsky DV, Ramesh P, McPhillips MV, et al. Effects of music interventions on sleep in older adults: a systematic review. Geriatric Nursing.  2021;42(4):869-879.
• Pienkowski M. Rationale and efficacy of sound therapies for tinnitus and hyperacusis. Neuroscience. 2019;407:120-134.
• Piromchai   P, Chompunut S, Kasemsiri P, et al. A three-arm, single-blind, randomized controlled trial examining the effects of notched music therapy, conventional music therapy, and counseling on tinnitus. Otology & Neurotology. 2021;42(2):335-340.
• Robb SL, Hanson-Abromeit D, May L, et al. Reporting quality of music intervention research in healthcare: a systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2018;38:24-41.
• Rodgers-Melnick SN, Matthie N, Jenerette C, et al. The effects of a single electronic music improvisation session on the pain of adults with sickle cell disease: a mixed methods pilot study. Journal of Music Therapy.  2018;55(2):156-185.
• Silverman MJ, Gooding LF, Yinger O. It’s…complicated: a theoretical model of music-induced harm. Journal of Music Therapy. 2020;57(3):251-281.
• Speranza L, Pulcrano S, Perrone-Capano C, et al. Music affects functional brain connectivity and is effective in the treatment of neurological disorders. Reviews in the Neurosciences. March 24, 2022. [Epub ahead of print].
• Tang   H, Chen L, Wang Y, et al. The efficacy of music therapy to relieve pain, anxiety, and promote sleep quality, in patients with small cell lung cancer receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. Supportive Care in Cancer. 2021;29(12):7299-7306.
• Wang M, Yi G, Gao H, et al. Music-based interventions to improve fibromyalgia syndrome: a meta-analysis. Explore. 2020;16(6):357-362.
• Wolff AL, Ling DI, Casey EK, et al. Feasibility and impact of a musculoskeletal health for musicians (MHM) program for musician students: a randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of Hand Therapy. 2021:34(2):159-165.
• Zhou   Z, Zhou R, Wei W, et al. Effects of music-based movement therapy on motor function, balance, gait, mental health, and quality of life for patients with Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Rehabilitation. 2021;35(7):937-951.

Acknowledgments

NCCIH thanks Wen Chen, Ph.D., Emmeline Edwards, Ph.D., and David Shurtleff, Ph.D., NCCIH, for their review of this fact sheet. 

This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Duplication is encouraged.

NCCIH has provided this material for your information. It is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your health care provider(s). We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with your health care provider. The mention of any product, service, or therapy is not an endorsement by NCCIH.

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The Impact of Music on Speech Therapy

For many decades, music has been an important part of daily care for children with speech impediments and hearing-impaired children. There have been a lot of studies that examine the role of music in people’s general health as well as an effective intervention when it comes to speech and language problems. It only makes sense that for children and adults who suffer from speech issues, music should be considered as part of their intervention. 

Music, Speech, Language

Language and music are connected at a very basic level. Both require higher brain function and it also involves cognitive skills such as attention, memory, and categorization. Grammar and music also make use of structures that follow a specific order in order to make sense and appreciated it.

Also, music and speech have a similar pitch. Musical sequences follow a specific interval and speech also uses frequencies when it comes to intonation, as is the case when people ask a question, make a statement, or make an exclamation. This characteristic of speech is called contour and it is one that even infants are able to detect.

Therapeutic benefits of music

Besides language, music has a lot of therapeutic benefits. It has been proven that auditory stimulation can improve listening skills, even for people who are hard of hearing. It can also help to improve how the brain processes information which can boost skills in areas like behavior and coordination.

  A study done in 2011 explored how music impacts social skills, another aspect of communication. Half of all the participants in the study exhibited signs of improved communication and problem-solving skills, as well as their ability to work well in groups and in interacting with other people.

  There is also compelling evidence that the type of music used for therapy has an enormous impact on the outcome. In a study that was one to explore the difference in brain function between musicians and non-musicians, it stated that brain function was significantly increased when the participants listened to classical music as opposed to rock music.

Music and speech

It is also revealed that there is a close relationship between music and speech. A study was done in 2013 in which six experts who are trained professionals in music theory were asked to determine the key in a sample music score. The timescales in the samples were restricted to closely match with speech processing. It was observed that the processing used in decoding speech is also used when it comes to music.

Music for speech-language therapy

There are a lot of ways music can be used in speech therapy. One way is through simple auditory stimulation. As previously mentioned, it can expand the brain’s ability to process information which can be beneficial in areas such as behavior, skill, sensory integration, and coordination. Therefore, clients who listen to music may improve their speaking skills as well as their ability to focus. Auditory stimulation can even be done through virtual speech therapy sessions.

  For adults with speech problems due to stroke, many patients have found benefit from Melodic Intonation Therapy. This is a type of therapy that is often used in cases where the brain is damaged. The theory is rooted in the practice that using the intact hemisphere of the brain will slowly help recover speech skills that have been lost in the damaged part of the brain. For example, if a patient loses their ability to speak because the left side of the brain has been damaged, MIT can be used in order to find new ways to communicate.

  The therapy uses words and phrases supplemented by melodies to make speaking closely resemble that of speaking. This type of therapy also takes advantage of a person’s ability to sing which helps them improve their ability to speak.

  For children, there are different ways that therapists can use music in their treatment sessions with children. The goal is to help with their language development, improve their speech production, and aid in their overall communication skills. In a study done in 2011, it was concluded that children showed significant improvement in their social skills, problem-solving, and how they interact with peers when music was incorporated in their SLPs.

Post Author: Eliza Brooks

Eliza  Brooks loves to write about personality development, mental and physical disabilities, and ways to overcome them effectively. She is currently working with Verboso, which offers online speech therapy for children to improve their speaking skills.

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Elimu Centre

Education Centre

Informative Speech Topics About Music

Informative Speech Topics About Music : Informative speech requires you to provide or teach an audience about a certain topic. In this case, to come up with a good informative speech about music you must fully understand the topic you are to present. You should have a deep understanding of the music topic you choose. Below is a wide range of music topics that you can develop your informative speech on.

1. The History of hip hop music

2. Role of music in African culture

3. Effects of music on human emotions

4. Music and its role in revolution and activism

5. Significance of Music of advertisement.

6. Importance of music in early education

7. Role of music in therapy for memory enhancement

Read: Informative Speech Topics About Music

8. Use of music in contemporary fitness activities

9. Ethical implication of music piracy and infringement of copyright issues

10. Use of classical music in modern-day movies and theatres

11. Evolution of music from ancient times to the modern era.

12. Musical instruments in the ancient world

13. Jazz music in African American

14. The Origin of Blue Music

15. Impact of world war on Music

Read: Informative Speech Topics on Early Childhood Education

16. The influential life of the Beatles.

17. Impact of Technology on Music production and distribution

18. Challenges female singers in building a successful music career.

19. Influence of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a prolific and influential composer

20.Challenges that affect music bands

Music Informative Speech Topics

1. Influence of music on fashion

2. Learning how to play the violin

Read: Interesting Funny Informative Speech Topics

3. How music affects an athlete’s performance

4. How African Rhythms have influenced the African American Music

5. Psychological effects of music on the brain development of a child

6. How music can be used to improve mental well being

7. Importance of music schools in influencing the quality of music produced in a certain community

8. Role of YouTube in the globalization of music

9. History of rock music

10. African Musical Instruments

Read: Sports Informative Speech Topics

Final Thought

As you come up with a good informative speech, take time and research the area you are good at and one that has much information as possible. With enough facts, knowledge, and good demonstrations your speech on music will be superb.

Betty is a qualified teacher with a Bachelor of Education (Arts). In addition, she is a registered Certified Public Accountant. She has been teaching and offering part-time accounting services for the last 10 years. She is passionate about education, accounting, writing, and traveling.

Speech on Music for Students and Children

Speech on music.

Good morning to one and all present here! We all know about music. I am going to deliver my speech on Music. Music is a pleasing arrangement and flow of sounds in air and of course, it varies in rhythm and systematic method.  It is also art or skill that musicians possess and hence they are capable to give a musical performance for the audience.

Source: pixabay.com

Music is one of the most important boons of God for all living beings. Music is the subject that classifies all the rhythmic sounds into a system and anyone may learn and practice it. Not only that but also the plants, animals can enjoy the harmony, pleasant rhythm of the musical sounds.

Different Styles of the Music

The style of music has changed dramatically throughout the various ages of the time period. Mainly there are six eras in music history. These are the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Twentieth Century. Music has been and always will be a popular form of entertainment for many of us.

The dictionary defines the music as an art of sound in time which expresses ideas and emotions both significantly through the elements of rhythm, melody, and harmony.

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Music has the Power to Heal

Music is a form of a melody that soothes into our body and helping us to feel refreshed and relaxed. It helps us to get rid of the anxiety and stress of our everyday life. Music is undoubtedly a great way of healing the pain. It makes us forget about unpleasant and disturbing thoughts by taking us in the world of melody.

Music can bring the back old memories in our present time. Music therapy restores us from several problems and emotions in our daily life. When we attend music therapy it helps our brain functioning quicker and helps us keep calm.

The Medicinal Effect of Music

Whatever problems we may have, that will flow out of our brain. Even it also helps the doctor and psychologist to identify the state of our brain and behaviors. Well, according to researchers and practitioners of music therapy is a big tool for all of us.

Indeed, music can heal people in many difficult situations. Music can make a big difference to people with brain injuries and it can activate the brain in alternative ways. It helps often bypassing the damaged areas, allowing people to regain movement as well as speech.

Therefore, music actually changes the structure of the brain, giving people new chances to move and speak. Also, various studies have shown that music therapy can regularize the heart and breathing rates. Even it can help cancer patients. In the field of psychology, music is very useful to help people suffering from depression and sadness. Also, children with developmental disabilities may get support from music in many ways.

In the end, I will say that being skilled in any component of music is a gift of God.  I salute the great musicians who pacify me during my low times and let me celebrate my good times.  Music as a hobby is the best alternative indeed.

Music is an effective way of healing the stress of anyone of any age. It is highly effective and supportive to relieve the person from any kind of mental or physical problem. So, we all be always live with music.

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16 responses to “Speech on Water for Students and Children”

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