This is a deep question that many people ask themselves very sincerely and with a burning desire to know that answer. I’ve certainly asked myself this question many times and am finally beginning to understand some of the keys to the mystery.

One of the main factors is your past association with that music. Is it possible to be profoundly affected by something you’ve never even heard before though? Yes, I believe that it is. Music that is especially emotional or rousing can be very effective, even if you’ve never heard it before. But then, music that is beautifully peaceful or ethereal can also be quite effective the first time around. So there you go…!

The way that music affects people is very individual. We do know that hearing music that one likes causes certain brain chemicals or neurohormones to be released. If you hear something that you absolutely love and that has wonderful associations with the past, that’s the best of all worlds! Here is a piece that does that for me! I played this piece with a dear friend in the past and just hearing it makes me feel so happy and peaceful. Hope you enjoy it too!

For many people, the violin is the most healing instrument

Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Instrument: Violinist
Occupation: String teacher; retired account executive for Southern California Edison; ex-US Marine Corps interview manager
Affiliation: University of New Mexico, Arts-in-Medicine program
Quote: “I’ve played all across the United States. I’ve played Easter Passion Plays in Nashville and Handel’s Messiah in the High Desert. No matter where I go, there’s always a high demand not only for string teachers, but for string players.”

They call him the “Fiddler on the Roof.” That’s partly because violinist Wayne Holfeldt starts every set with the famous show tune, but also because he can be found high atop the third floor of the University of New Mexico Cancer Research and Treatment Center in Albuquerque. At least once a week, Holfeldt can be spotted by the center’s snack bar playing a familiar fiddle tune or a bit of jazz. He prefers to play popular music, show tunes, and movie stuff—the kind of tunes people recognize immediately.

Holfeldt is one of several musicians who participate in the university’s nationally recognized Arts-in-Medicine program, one of the largest outreach programs of its kind in the United States. Throughout the year, the ten-year-old program hosts scores of what it calls “creative encounters” with staff, patients, and families.

“I think it’s something that’s truly needed, and you get a lot of satisfaction seeing people enjoying your playing,” Holfeldt says.

You can find him playing during the lunch hour, serenading patients, technicians, doctors, and OR nurses fresh from the operating room and clad in scrubs.

“Sometimes they’ll be out there dancing on the floor,” he says.

No need to stay quiet in this hospital’s halls. Holfeldt recalls the time a doctor came out of his office to personally thank the violinist for the music drifting through the nuclear-medicine wing, which helped calm the patients who had appointments that day. Many times, the notes that spring from his violin reach the children’s wing. The parents, their interest piqued by the sound down the hall, journey to the snack bar to get a closer listen. “I glance to the right and there’s a line of [baby] strollers in the room watching me play,” he says.

Drawing that young audience is one of the real joys of the progran, he adds.

“My main goal is to expose young children to the violin,” he says. “The earlier you expose children to stringed instruments, the more string programs are going to grow and nurture and the more children will be interested in learning.”

To learn more about the University of New Mexico’s Arts-in-Medicine, visit artsinmedicine.unm.edu.

Harpist Plays Regularly at Beth Israel in Boston

Good afternoon and welcome to lesson 7 of “Components of healing Music.”  Today we get to the important topic of instruments!  

Healing music comes in many different shapes and forms.  Healing music can be familiar, it can be unfamiliar.  It can be soft and quiet or it can be full and swells and lulls (crescendos and decrescendos).  It can be a single instruments, a small ensemble or a full orchestra.  It could also be a single voice, a small vocal ensemble or a large chorus. 

There are many, many variables and (as I said yesterday) a lot depends on a person’s previous life and also their musical experience to that point.  When talking with other experts about healing music, one of the “hot topics” seems to be whether acoustic instruments are a must, or whether or not synthethesized sounds can also be healing.  This is a very controversial topic because even though synthesizers have really improved a lot over the past 25-30 years, they still lack the vibrational richness and intention that is created with acoustic instruments and, of course, the human voice.

Still, there are many composers whose synthesized music has been very powerful for me and my journey.  Particular favorites for me include Don Campbell’s “Crystal Meditations,”  Constance Demby’s “Through the Stargate,” and Steve Halpern’s “Chakra Suite.”  My experience is that I can enjoy and benefit from either.  The effect is very different because I grew up exclusively on acoustic music but have become accustomed to enjoying and appreciating good quality synthesized sounds and music.

By the same token, I have come to love, enjoy and benefit from the sound healing experiences with crystal bowls, tuning forks, and other very non-traditional instruments.  I would love to know and hear about your experiences and preferences for healing music instruments!

One of the great parts of my job—speading word of the healing power of music— is that people send me awesome videos all the time! Recently this one was sent to me and I have watched it over and over! 

I hope that YOU’LL enjoy it and leave me a comment on it! It brings tears to my eyes every time i watch it!

Chantdoc planning a trip to Paris!

I’m so excited because I am planning to go to Paris in April! My daughter is doing an internship at the American Embassy there and it’s just too good a chance to pass up…even though I went to Italy last Fall and on a cruise in August! For me, travel is the best education and the best vacation possible. It’s also an opportunity to teach more people about the healing power of music and to learn about new music wherever I go!

At the moment, I’m hoping to do a lecture/workshop/performance at the American Church but nothing has been finalized at this point.

While in Paris, I would love a chance to talk with physicians there about music during surgery, but that too remains to be seen. No matter how things play out, I know I will have a wonderful time and will attend many concerts while there!

If you have connection in Paris that might be helpful or interested, please let me know! Au revoir!