Music in, as, or for therapy.

There is enough scientific evidence for therapeutic effects of music, and music therapy is being increasingly acknowledged around the world as a field that requires professional expertise. However, there is still a long way to go before it becomes a regular practice to utilize music for nonpharmacological management of patients in a general hospital setting. A brief outline of various ways of employing music for alleviating distress and improving mental health is presented here.

MUSIC IN THERAPY

Music can serve various purposes from aiding in the establishment of therapeutic alliance with children who are shy or have anxiety problems[1] to rehabilitation of persons suffering from dementia.[2] While playing an instrument can help improve motor skills, songwriting can enhance one's self-esteem.[3] Range of its uses in therapy is really wide.

MUSIC FOR THERAPY

Music may be used for psychotherapy to engage a person in a dialog and achieve certain therapeutic goals. Like conventional psychotherapy, it can also be classified into different categories based on the underlying principle such as psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, humanistic, and mindfulness-based music therapy.[456]

MUSIC AS THERAPY

Music as therapy refers to exploiting therapeutic potential of a piece of music played or sung, which means the effects obtained depend on the rhythm, melody of music or scale used, and so on. Ragachikitsa elaborated in ancient Indian text works on the premise that different ragas have different effects on the human body.[7] One can draw a parallel between this Indian music healing system and anthroposophical music therapy, which is based on the principles of Rudolf Steiner.[8] Essentially both use specific musical sequences and tonalities to address specific ailments.[78] Music as therapy has been used in a different sense by a subset of music therapists following Nordoff–Robbins’ approach who lay emphasis on the process of healing and do not focus on applying therapeutic analysis in the process of recovery. And hence, the school promotes music therapy.[9]

The first five chakras or energy fields in human body, namely, Muladhara, Swadishthana, Manipura, Anahata, and Vishuddhi are associated with the five elements of nature – earth, water, fire, air, and ether. In the painting [Figure 1], they are represented by brown soil, blue waves, yellow-red flames, white bubble enclosing air, and dark blue sky, respectively. Nadalayayoga or Layayoga lays down foundation for Ragachikitsa. According to this science, music can evoke and restore vibrations of chakras and strike a balance leading to positive health consequences.[10] Human beings are also part of nature and their “true” nature is “nature” itself. Hence, neurons are depicted in green in the painting, symbolic of the harmonious state of mental functioning achieved through the medium of music, which acts on the chakra system represented by nature's elements in the background.

Figure 1

Raga - Kriya and Laya

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Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.