Guarascio 1

Airiana Guarascio
Mrs.Dunbar
Senior Project Paper
10/30/14

The Universal Medicine Heard Through Time

The great philosopher Plato once said, Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the
mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. The way music has an affect on people is
so unbelievably astonishing to watch unravel before your eyes. The most interesting part about
music is that it can alter one's physical being as well as their mental state. All throughout history
there have been countless reports of how music makes people think and feel. There have been
studies that show the many ways to use music to help a wide variety of people. This amazing
field that involves the technique of using music as a type of medicine is called music therapy.
According to the American Music therapy Association, music therapy can be described as the
use of music to address physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs of individuals of all
ages,(Jamabo,1). As the centuries unravel, more and more information about music therapy
bubbles to the surface. The process of using music to treat certain disorders such as autism or
even soothing severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder of war veterans can be very complex.
Nonetheless, music therapy has significant positive effects on individuals spirit, body, and mind.
The idea that music can positively affect the human body and mind is in no way a new
concept. There have been known quotations from great philosophers, and many prominent
figures throughout history. Early Greeks thought there was a clear connection between music
and mathematics. Over the entrance to Plato's Academy at Athens there was an inscription that
could be translated: No one may enter who does not know earth's rhythm. . . . in the belief that

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what held all things together was music,(faculty.weber.edu). There is also evidence that music
therapy was used during World War II in the nazi concentration camps: a group that was in the
changing room for the gas chamber were overheard singing the Czechoslovakian national
anthem, and then a Hebrew song, Hatikvah, as a way to give each other strength for what was
ahead of them. Music was a way for them to find peace, even in war and death. Although this
example wasnt music therapy practiced by a professional, its a place in history where it is seen
that music was helping these men and women get through such a horrific time. Many came to
the conclusion early on in human history that music is such an important element to life. A line
from the bible can show that even towards the beginning of worldly impacted religion, humans
knew that music had ways to heal: "And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul,
David took the lyre and played it with his hand; so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil
spirit departed from him." (1 Samuel, 16:23). The earliest reported use of music as a form of
therapy was in the late 1700s to the early 1800s. A reference to music therapy was in an
unsigned article in the Columbian Magazine titled "Music Physically Considered. It was in the
early 1800s that music therapy intervention was ever recorded in an institutional setting. The
interest in music therapy continued to grow throughout the 1900s which then lead to several
associations being created. Many of the first associations were unable to stay successful and
were unable to organize a clinical profession, but they started the path to music therapy
education, journals, and books.(American Music Therapy Association). In the 1940s, three
people began to emerge as key players in the development of music therapy as an organized
clinical profession. Psychiatrist and music therapist Ira Altshuler, MD promoted music therapy in
Michigan for three decades. Willem van de Wall pioneered the use of music therapy in statefunded facilities and wrote the first "how to" music therapy text, Music in Institutions (1936). E.

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Thayer Gaston, known as the "father of music therapy," was instrumental in moving the
profession forward in terms of an organizational and educational standpoint. The first music
therapy college training programs were also created in the 1940s. Michigan State University
established the first academic program in music therapy (1944) and other universities followed
suit, including the University of Kansas, Chicago Musical College, College of the Pacific, and
Alverno College,(Music Therapy Association). The National Music Therapy Association was
founded in the 1950s at a meeting in NYC. Formerly called the Urban Federation of Music
Therapists, the American Music Therapy Association was established in 1971
(Musictherapy.org). Today, music is an everyday practice. There is no set way to use music as a
therapeutic tool. Each person is different, and each way music therapy is used is different.
There are many ways to use music therapy with individuals with a variety of
circumstances. Some of the ways music therapy is resented is by the following: musical roleplaying, songwriting, singing, visualization, meditation, music improvisation, lyric analysis and
discussion, creative expression,instrument playing (mtabc.com,53). The spectrum of people that
music therapy has an incredibly wide girth. Someone who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder can gain just as much from music therapy as someone with autism or someone with
down syndrome. Studies have shown that music can even help people suffering from deadly
diseases or going through strenuous treatments such as chemotherapy. Music therapy is the use
of music by health-care professionals to promote healing and enhance quality of life for their
patients. Music therapy may be used to encourage emotional expression, promote social
interaction, relieve symptoms, and for other purposes. Music therapists may use active or
passive methods with patients, depending on the individual patients needs and abilities
(cancer.org,1). The way the process works changes with each person due to the wide variety of

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needs someone may have. Some examples of what may occur in a therapy session could be
playing instruments, listening to music, using group therapy with music involved, and even using
it combined with other therapies. Mental health clients may have unmet needs in many areas
that music therapy can uniquely address. The emotional, expressive nature of music can serve as
a bridge to self-awareness, insight, and identification of feelings. Music stimulates association,
affect, and imagery in ways that analytical, verbal processes cannot. Group music experiences
can create bonding and a sense of community among clients. Music, through its structure and
order, can serve as a grounding experience for those who are agitated, manic, or psychotic.
Individuals who are not able to participate in groups can benefit from individual sessions through
this non-verbal modality,(mtabc.com, 53). Music therapy can offer an alternative to
psychotherapy for disorders such as: schizophrenia, affective disorders, personality disorders,
anxiety disorders, organic brain syndromes, substance abuse, eating disorders, and psychiatric
disorders of childhood.
Music therapy on Autism specifically, for example, can be an astonishingly strong asset.
Autism itself can be described as a developmental and social disorder. Autism can range from
mild to severe, and with such a wide spectrum music therapy is the perfect tool to help someone
who has this disorder. Someone with Autism can find ways to isolate themselves and also have a
hard time placing themselves in social situations that are considered to be the norm. Autistic
persons, especially in the early stages of relationship building, often physically reject or ignore
social contact attempts by other persons. Music therapy can instead provide an initial object
relation with an instrument. Instead of threatening, the shape, sound and feel of the instrument
will often fascinate the individual. The instrument can thus serve as an intermediary between
client and therapist, providing an initial point of contact (Thaut, 1984). At the same time, a

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trained music therapist can structure this experience from the outset in order to minimize motility
rituals or sensory overload that may draw the individual back into himself or herself,
(mtabc.com, 53.) It provides a non-threatening means of communication and expression which
is also pleasurable for many autistic individuals, and it promotes a sense of emotional
satisfaction.
The human brain is a great enigma, even to today's scientist and psychologist. Research
has shown that music with a strong beat can stimulate brain-waves to resonate in sync with the
beat, with faster beats bringing sharper concentration and more alert thinking, and a slower
tempo promoting a calm, meditative state(Scott, 1) Which modifications to heartbeat, bodily
functions will also begin to change as well. Things governed by the autonomic nervous system
such as heat rate and breathing can also change due to the effects of music. Once the heart rate
slows and the breathing slows, and state of relaxation can begin. This effect can help people
suffering with anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder and other anxiety based disorders. Not
only can music create a calming effect, it also can help with thinking speed and alertness.Music
creates the mood for many settings.Examples of how music affects people in many ways is by
how many people use music as a way to set a feel to a situation, Music sets the tone for
sporting events, parades, restaurants, shopping centers, television shows, advertisements, dances,
and many other places and events. Music selection for many different environments is usually
very purposeful. Those who are in charge of the music select specific types of music that help
create an atmosphere appropriate for that setting. When one is shopping in a major store, one
may not be aware of the music that is playing, but the music has usually been specially selected
for shoppers to encourage them to spend more time enjoying their experience shopping. If
someone goes to an all-you-can-eat restaurant, you will observe different music selections than if

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someone were to go to a very nice restaurant. In the all-you-can-eat place, the music is usually
louder and peppier because the owner wants people to hurry up, eat, and get out of there. In the
nice restaurant, the music is generally soft and peaceful encouraging customers to stay and order
more food because they do not pay for it until you are finished. Unknown to many people,
everyone every day is being subconsciously influenced by the magnificent powers music
beholds.
Music has a long term effect. Research has found that music has the ability to change
brain waves, and with changed brain waves brings, changed moods can occur which can lead to a
positive change in health and overall being. Music can have a positive effect on things such as
autism. Autism can be described as a mental condition, present from early childhood,
characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in
using language and abstract concepts. Autism can range from high functioning aspergers to low
functioning, to the point where the child or adult is nonverbal and unable to take care of
themselves. Music can be a way to help so Music therapy is an allied profession combining the
powerful influences of music with the therapeutic work field.
Someone who is a music therapist can be employed in a number of places such as a
hospital, school, nursing home, hospice, day cares, rehabilitation facilities and private practice as
well. Along with the varying work environments, the income can range from $41,000-$50,000.
However, Music Therapists with several years of experience and a Masters or doctorate degree
may earn between $62,000 and $77,000. To become a music therapist yone needs at least a
bachelor's degree. The degree will compile of three main parts being music foundation- music
theory, applied music major, skilled in voice, piano, and guitar,-clinical foundations-normal
human development, psychopathology, applied therapeutics- and music therapy-foundations and

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principles, methods and techniques, influence of music on behavior, pre-internships and
internships. The degrees for music therapy can range all the way to a doctorate where one can do
research, practice and teach at a college level. Unfortunately, in many cases, people are
undereducated about how powerful the effect of music can be. In North Carolina specifically,
music therapy is unknown to many people, and only four schools in the whole state offer
programs for the profession. Many people who desire to be apart of the growing profession have
to move to more urban city areas where more people are educated on the subject. In many places
such as California, the population is high and things such as music therapy are more needed in
those areas. Once the population is high and the demand starts to grow, more and more people
start to become aware of the profession, and that is where the Music therapist will start to shine
and get a higher increase in salary. The fact is, more people need to be educated on matters such
as music therapy because it has such a tremendous effects on so many people with such a variety
of needs. Music can be used in daily life for relaxation, to gain energy when feeling drained, for
catharsis when dealing with emotional stress, and in other ways as well.
In conclusion, music therapy has a significantly positive effect on a wide variety of
people. The fact that this is not a newer practice goes to show how incredibly effective it is.
Leading all the way back to ancient greek and roman times, the great philosopher knew that
music is a somewhat magical thing that exist throughout the world. Another interesting
example, in our earlier history is written about the Russian Envoy Count Kayserling. The Count
suffered with miserable insomnia. To deal with the problem, he asked Johann Goldberg, a local
musician to play for him at night. Goldberg seized his harpsichord and played a piece of music
written especially for the Count by Johann Sebastian Bach. The Count had informed Bach about
his terrible problems with sleeplessness. He asked Bach to compose some music that might help

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him relax and get to sleep.Soon Goldberg was playing the music that Bach had composed for the
Counts problem every time the count was having one of his sleepless nights. The Count had
Goldberg installed in a room nearby ready to play at the Counts beckon call. The Count was so
happy with the positive effects of this music that he gave Bach a lavish gift of gold. We know
this relaxing composition by Bach today as the Goldberg Variations,(faculty.weber.edu,1)
Although there are still things to learn about the field, psychologist today know that music has a
large effect on not only the mind but also the physical body as well, as seen in the story of the
Count. The spectacular thing about music therapy is that it can touch an incredibly large variety
of people with many kinds of disorders and diseases ranging from Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder to helping people who are suffering from diseases, such as cancer get through intensive
treatments. This growing profession brings forth a new way to approach life in a healthy and
promising way. Music therapy is not only a way to cope with the faults in life but a way to
promote the peaks of what life can bring as well Music therapy is a universal medicine heard
through time.