The question I propose to answer in my final research paper is; “Can music really be used as a therapeutic tool that enables one to achieve a desired goal through intervention.” Music is an art form that is not just used for entertainment, but can also used as a healing tool to deal with such problems as drug and/or alcohol addiction, isolation, physical abuse, dementia and other mental illnesses, and helps relieve stress and tension. Music can help someone learn the techniques of proper breathing and relaxation by creating exercises based on inhaling and exhaling to specific beats per measure (bpm) as well as just simply listening to soothing, calming music, just like the music of the French composer,
Claude Debussy. It can also help in the intervention and rehabilitation of physical abuse, along with drug and alcohol abuse. Likewise, in similar terms music can help some someone deal with a traumatic situation, such as hospitalization and even death. In these instances, therapists use music to help express what the person is feeling. In the case of abuse, a patient might pick a song to describe what their emotions are at the time. A possible example of someone who wants to commit suicide would most likely use Blink 182’s “Adam’s Song” to describe what they are thinking. Another example would someone writing a song dedicated to a certain tragic event, whether global, country-wide, or local. For example, Frank Ticheli’s “An American Elegy” which is a wind band piece that was composed in memory of those who lost their lives at Columbine High School, and to honor the survivors. I need to dig deeper into the effects that music has on the brain that relates to such ideas as intelligence and health. I also need to find more case studies that prove my theory. Whenever this topic surfaces some peoples’ minds, they can only help but think, “How can a form of entertainment be therapeutic?” “Can music really help form expressive thoughts and ideas that revolve our daily live, especially if there are no words in the song?” “Is intervention through music a suitable approach?”
Aldridge, David. Case Study Designs in Music Therapy. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley, 2005. Print
Lingerman, Hal A. The Healing Energies of Music. Illinois: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1995. Print
Lesiuk, Teresa L. “A Rationale for Music-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation Toward Prevention of Relapse in Drug Addiction.” Music Therapy Perspectives. Washington, D.C. : American Music Therapy Association, 2010. Print
Hinman, Meghan L. “Our Song: Music Therapy with Couples When One Partner is Medically Hospitalized.” Music Therapy Perspectives. Washington, D.C. : American Music Therapy Association, 2010. Print
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