Different approaches reveal that music therapy is associated with many biological and psychological phenomena.
If we look from a closer perspective, when sounds encounter a membrane such as the skin or the surface of the water, it imprints an invisible pattern of energy. This is basically the principle of Cymatics, which is the study of wave phenomena and vibration and is a scientific methodology that demonstrates the vibratory nature of matter and the transformational nature of sound. (Christianto, Susilo, Smarandache, 2020)
After 25 years of researching and experimenting on water, the Japanese scientist Emoto M. (2004) discovered that the water’s structure changes in relation to different types of music he was “playing” to the water. This information is quite interesting if we consider that our body is made of 70% water.
Heavy Metal Music
Mozart Music
Speaking of Mozart in the context of Music Therapy I must mention “The Mozart effect” which refers to the theory that listening to the Mozart sonata for two pianos in D major (KV 448) may temporarily enhance performance on spatial tasks (Pietschnig, Voracek and Formann, 2010).
Hillecke, Nickel, and Bolay (2005) identify the way music in therapy works in different components: There are attention, emotional, motoric behavioural and cognitive aspects. Music has the power to attract attention, modulate emotions, evoke movement patterns and is a neurocognitive capacity, music is produced by the brain.
What kind of instruments does music therapy involve?
Music of course: the use of music to relax, reduce pain and assist before surgery (Salamon, Kim, Beaulieu, Stefano 2019)
Vocal Expression: singing, chanting; Using musical Instruments - crystal bowls, drums, gongs. (Heather 2007).
Sound frequencies: in this case, a person receives a sound treatment from a specialized sound therapist which typically includes a precise application of electronically processed sounds, most often through headphones, retraining the ear to efficiently receive and process a full spectrum of tones. Leed (2007) identifies three main different approaches to the processing of sound frequencies:
1. Binaural beat frequencies: By listening through stereo headphones to slightly detuned tones a specific range of brain-wave states may assist in areas as diverse as pain reduction, sleep, enhanced creativity, or accelerated learning.
2. Vibroacoustics: involves the application of sound frequencies directly to specific parts of the body.
3. Filtration/gating techniques: The effects of filtration and gating are felt on psychological, neurodevelopmental, and physical levels. The most important contributor to this technique is Alfred Tomatis.
Reference List
Leeds, J. (2010) The Power of Sound, How to Be Healthy and Productive Using Music and Sound. [Online]. Available at: https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=0V0oDwAAQBAJ (Accessed: 22 Feb 2021).
Hillecke, T., Nickel, A., Bolay, H. V. (2005). ‘Scientific perspectives on music therapy’. The Neurosciences and Music II: From Perception to Performance, 1060(1), pp. 271-82.
Heather, S. (2007) ‘What is sound healing?’, The international journal of healing and caring, 7(3) [Online]. Available at: https://www.ijhc.org/sound-healing-what-is-sound-healing-simon-heather (Accessed: 2 March 2021).
Christianto, V., Susilo, K. and Smarandache, F. (2020). Roles of Cymatics & Sound Therapy in Spirituality & Consciousness, Journal of Consciousness Exploration and Research, 11 (1) . [Online]. Available at: https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=2tX7DwAAQBAJ&hl=it&pg=GBS.PA100 (Accessed 7 March 2021).
Emoto, M. (2004) The hidden messages in water. Kindle edition. Hillsboro: Beyond Words Publishing, Inc. (Accessed: 7 March 2021).
Pietschnig, J., Voracek, M. and Formann, A.K. (2010). Mozart effect–Shmozart effect: A meta-analysis. Intelligence, 38(3), [online] Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160289610000267 (Accessed 7 March 2021).
Salamon, E., Kim, M., Beaulieu, J. and Stefano, G.B. (2019). Sound therapy induced relaxation: down regulating stress processes and pathologies. Medical Science Monitor, 9(5). [Online] Available at: https://www.medscimonit.com/abstract/index/idArt/881368 (Accessed 1 Mach 2021)