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Do you consider music to be therapy?
If you're like most humans--and I use "most" in a strictly informal way--the answer to that will be a resounding "yes"!
If you're like most of us, when you consider "music as therapy," you're thinking of how music affects our feelings and emotions. Listening to music can make you feel better when you're sad, help you dance around the house when you're happy, and make you cry when you really need a good cry.
So why does this happen? What is it about music that has such a powerful influence over the way we feel?
There are some who feel that it's the music itself that affects us. It's the beautiful--or sometimes not so beautiful--aesthetic of these organized sounds in time that resonates deep within and move us. Then again, perhaps it's the associations we form with music that cause us to feel certain ways about it. In other words, it's what we learn about music that influences how music affects us (e.g. that music in a major key sounds "happy" while music in a minor key sounds "sad").
The likely answer, as with many things, is that it's a little of both. Sometimes it's the beautiful aesthetic quality of the music that we appreciate, but other times it's what that music reminds us of that allows us to feel a certain way.
Regardless of why this phenomena occurs, there are steps you can take to enhance this effect. Here are 5 ways for you to validate, change, and challenge music's role as your personal "therapy":
- Listen to music that enhances your current emotional state. If you're like me, you probably have certain pieces in mind you listen to when your happy, certain pieces you listen to when your sad, and certain pieces you listen to when you're trying to get yourself hyped up. Knowing what pieces work for you and consciously chooseing to listen to a piece that vibes with your current emotional state is an easy way to enhance how you feel.
- Listen to music that changes your current emotional state. On the flip side, you can also use your "happy," "sad," and "angry" pieces to move you towards a different emotional state. Say your feeling down in the mouth and want to brighten your mood? Pop in that happy song of yours and see where it takes you.
- Be purposeful with your auditory environment. Sometimes "therapy" doesn't involve as much "doing" anything as it does surrounding yourself in the right environment. If you're trying to lose weight, would you stock your pantry with cookies, chips, and soda? Of course not! Same with what you're allowing your ears to hear. Being in an environment surrounded by sounds that seem harsh to you will affect your emotional state. Be aware of the sounds around you and be conscious of the music you choose to listen to.
- Actively listen to the music. It's so easy to have music playing and not pay any attention to it. But what if you stopped and actually listened? Listen to the words, listen to the melody, listen to the harmonies and--most importantly--be still and listen to yourself and how you feel as you pay attention to those words and sounds.
- Listen outside your comfort zone. We often reach for what we know and love, and most of the time that's all that needs to happen. But what if occassionally you challenged your own personal staus quo and tried something new and different? If you love going to hear opera, why not attend a local acoustic guitar show? If you love rock concerts, why not try attending a professional orchestra or band concert? If you always listen to classical music on the radio, why not try the world music station instead? Expanding your musical palatte in this way may attract some surprising benefits.
Follow me on Twitter @KimberlySMoore for daily updates on the latest research and articles related to music, music therapy, and music and the brain. I invite you also to check out my website, www.MusicTherapyMaven.com, for additional information, resources, and strategies.
