Music For Health
In Greek mythology, Apollo was not only the god of medicine but also the god of music. The Greek philosopher Pythagoras advised daily singing and instrumental music to cleanse the emotions of worry, sorrow, and fear. And in the Bible, young David plucked a harp to soothe the troubled soul of King Saul (who, modem psychologists speculate, probably had depression).
Through the ages, music has played a prominent role in healing. The first scientific study of music as medicine-specifically, as a treatment for insomnia-was published in the Medical Record in 1899, just 22 years after Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. But as mainstream medicine grew more scientific, those who practiced it gradually lost interest in music’s almost magical hold on the psyche.
Fortunately, music never entirely disappeared from medicine. In 1929, as radio became popular, Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, made headphones available to all of its patients. During and shortly after World War II, veterans hospitals across the United States used music to improve morale among injured, depressed, and shell-shocked soldiers. Around the same time, dentists became leading proponents of music as medicine, providing headÂphones that simultaneously relaxed patients and, to some extent, masked the whine of the drills.
Soon music therapy programs were established in the psychology departments of several American universities. And in 1950, the National Association for Music Therapy formed. Today, the United States boasts more than 5,000 certified music therapists. Music therapists also practice in many other countries, including Canada, Great Britain, France, Sweden, and New Zealand.
Despite its widespread acceptance and use, music therapy has remained outside the realm of mainstream medicine. But that’s finally beginning to change. Today, the federal Health Care Financing Administration even includes music therapy among the services covered by Medicare.
“If you were to poll physicians at random, they’d likely say that they’ve never heard of music therapy or, if they have, that it’s a fringe thing,” says music therapist Bryan Hunter, Ph.D., associate professor at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. “But among physicians who have worked with good music therapists, you’d find strong support for music therapy.”
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