Fascinating Facts
MUSIC TO OUR FEARS

Music
can excite or soothe us, but does it have the power to heal? A growing
number of physicians and music therapists are using techniques to
help their patients recover from illnesses of all kinds, and the
current “sound healing” movement suggests that the traditional
incantations and rituals of ancient cultures have value to our health
today.

“Our
ancestors intuitively embraced sound as the very essence of the
life force and wove it into the fabric of their creation myths,”
writes Dr. Mitchell L. Gaynor, an oncologist at the Strange-Cornell
Cancer Prevention Center, affiliated with New York Hospital, in
his book, “Sounds of Healing.” He believes that the therapeutic
powers of sound, voice and music are wellsprings waiting to be tapped
by modern medicine.

Although
trained in conventional medical schools, Gaynor has been using chanting,
music and even Tibetan quartz crystal bowls to treat his patients
for more than 10 years, with remarkable results. “Whether we
invoke OM or chant simple songs — of joy, anger or sadness
— we celebrate the link forged through generations of humankind,
a link that connects us to our earliest ancestors.” The use
of music and sound to heal probably goes back to the dawn of human
history. One need only think of the biblical story of David playing
his harp to lift King Saul’s depression, or the ancient Greek
followers of Pythagoras, who sang chants in unison as cures for
mental and physical distress.

The modern idea of music as therapy in the United States, however,
dates back only to World War I, when it became popular for musicians
to travel to veterans’ hospitals to play for the emotionally
and physically wounded. Today it is used in many health care settings,
such as heart care, surgery, post-anesthesia recovery, and neonatal
intensive care units. Now a new generation of “sound healers”
is reviving ancient practices like “toning” and sacred
sounds of Sufi mystics and Pythagoreans by means of tuning forks.

Sounds can nurture wellness and peace, but also soothe grief and
anxiety, says Gina Sala, a voice coach, teacher and co-director
of the Sound Healers of Washington. The American Music Therapy Association
reports reaching thousands of people in 25 locations with their
New York City Music Therapy Relief Project — using everything
from drum circles to song-writing workshops, giving voice to grief
and anxiety.

~Francesca Lyman, MSNBCNews