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What’s the most healing music?

July 15th, 2012 · 2 Comments · Genres of healing music, Music Healing

Music as Medicine

Chantdoc

So many people want to know which type of music is the most healing!  This is a question that I get almost every time I go out to speak to a group of people, or a company, university, or hospital.  To answer that, you must understand the difference between the “genre” of music and the “components” of music.  You also need to determine if you’re using music literally to “heal” a situation or simply to improve your mood.  Are you physically sick or are you simply needing to calm down, energize yourself, or forget a painful break-up or perhaps an unpleasant interaction with a friend, family member or stranger.

I believe that most of us rely heavily on our intuition to choose the music that will help us the most.  For example, you would NOT choose to play loud, lively music, with lots of percussion, for someone who was in a lot of pain, or giving birth, or having surgery.  So you must consider the condition of the patient as well as their mood and their receptivity to hearing music at any given moment.

The components of music include such ingredients as melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, timbre, ostinato and texture.  Generally speaking, the sicker the person, the softer, lighter texture the music should be.  For someone who is really ill, a slow and steady pulse is beneficial.  Something familiar is often quite welcome and effective.  Often a solo instrument like piano, harp or flute has a positive effect.  Always get the permission of the patient or the patient’s family before playing music.

Theoretically, any music can be considered healing or therapeutic.  It is helpful to know the musical taste of the person.  If that person is you, what kind of music do you reach for if you’re feeling sad, angry, tired, happy, excited, grateful?  I often suggest that people look at their CD collection or their Ipod playlists and organize them according to the moods they create or the moods they enchance.  It really doesn’t take that long, usually, and helps you to choose the perfect music next time you’re in a mood you either want to change or enhance.

If the patient is a friend or family member, it’s good to ask them to bring some of their favorite CDs in or give you access to their library.  Rarely does someone who is ill or feeling very depressed want to experiment with a new genre of music.  Familiar music to the suffering person is usually what works best.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about different genres of music and different medical situations that can benefit from healing music or music medicine.

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2 Comments so far ↓

  • Arjun Babhania

    I would like to know what genre of music or wha type of instrument helps in healing the brain cells. Also the who which genre of music is recommended for a person in depression. Please reply on the email id I have provided above. Your help will be appreciated. Thank you.

  • Gabrielle

    The higher the vibration of the music the more effective it is. It is about healing vibrational frequency for the endocrine system.

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