DESCRIPTION

• Music is woven into every human culture[1] and, while varied, consistently carries significance for individuals and communities.[2] The intentional application of music in healthcare settings has become more formalized over the past century and aims to harness the inherent social, emotional, and cognitive qualities of music for the benefit of people in need[3]
  • Music therapy (practiced by trained music therapists) involves conceptually- and empirically-grounded musical interventions to address mental and physical health and promote change through a therapeutic relationship[2][4]
    • These interventions employ both creative music-making (e.g. improvisation, composition) and receptive techniques (e.g. music listening, lyric analysis) to address specific needs of patients. Common goals include processing emotions, enhancing social functioning, seeking meaning, challenging relational patterns, navigating psychosocial stress, promoting physical and cognitive rehabilitation, and developing self-esteem
  • Music medicine (offered by certified music practitioners,[5] therapeutic musicians,[6] and others with an interest in wellness-focused uses of music) employs receptive musical experiences, live or pre-recorded, to create enriching environments with aims towards comfort, relaxation, alleviation of anxiety, and reduction of pain
• Implementation of music therapy and other musical interventions are as varied as the disciplines of psychology, with additional diversity due to the wide range of ways people engage in music around the world
  • How and why music can be used for therapeutic purposes has been the subject of significant discussion and a number of books have been devoted to the definition and basic tenets of music therapy.[2][4][7][8] The purpose of this page is to offer an overview of general principles and possible scientific underpinnings for the impact of music on health