At a time when people increasingly turn to holistic and integrative methods of healing, music therapy has developed into a powerful and nonthreatening method that can be used successfully with individuals of all ages and disabilities. For example, music therapy often complements the treatment provided for pediatric and adult individuals with neurological conditions, including brain injury, stroke, and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, mental illness, and trauma, and for hospice patients and those undergoing rehabilitation (Novotney, 2013). It is listed as a “complementary and alternative therapy” by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health [NCCIH] (2016).
How Does Music Support Health and Wellness?
Music is beneficial socially, cognitively, physically, emotionally, and developmentally. What is interesting, though, is why it is beneficial. When used properly, music can be an incredibly powerful therapeutic tool producing a profound impact on the brain, the body, and the spirit (American Music Therapy Association [AMTA], 2017b; Bradt, Dileo, Drocke, & Magill, 2011; Finnerty, 2011).
- Music is a core component of being human. The human brain is primed from birth to respond to and process sounds and music. Research has shown that day-old infants are able to detect differences in rhythmic patterns. Mothers across cultures and throughout time have used lullabies and rhythmic rocking to calm crying babies. From an evolutionary standpoint, music precedes language. The human brain is wired to respond to sounds and music.
- Music entrains us to rhythms. Have you ever walked down the street humming a song and noticed that you are walking to the beat? This is entrainment. When musical input enters the central nervous system via the auditory nerve, most of the input is processed in the brain. However, some of the input is directed to motor nerves in the spinal cord. This allows the muscles to move to the rhythm without having to think about it. This impacts how we dance to music, tap our foot to a rhythm, and walk in time to a beat.