Music therapy is for anyone. Although it can be used therapeutically for people who have physical, emotional, social, or cognitive deficits, even those who are healthy can use music to relax, reduce stress, improve the mood, or to accompany exercise. There are no potentially harmful or toxic effects.
Music therapists help their patients achieve a number of goals through music, including improvement of communication, academic strengths, attention span, and motor skills. They may also assist with behavioural therapy and pain management.
Physical Effects
The brain function physically changes in response to music. The rhythm can guide the body into breathing in slower, deeper patterns that have a calming effect. Heart rate and blood pressure are also responsive to the types of music that are listened to.
The heartbeat tends to speed up or slow down depending on the volume and speed of the auditory stimulus. Louder and faster noises tend to raise both heart rate and blood pressure; slower, softer, and more regular tones produce the opposite result.
Music can also relieve muscle tension and improve motor skills. It is often used to help rebuild physical patterning skills in rehabilitation clinics. Levels of endorphins, natural pain relievers, are increased while listening to music, and levels of stress hormones are decreased. This latter effect may partially explain the ability of music to improve immune function.
A 1993 study at Michigan State University showed that even 15 minutes of exposure to music could increase interleukin-1 levels, which heightens immunity.
Mental Effects
Depending on the type and style of sound, music can either sharpen mental acuity or assist in relaxation. Memory and learning can be enhanced. This has been used with good results in children who have learning disabilities. This effect may also be partially due to increased concentration that many people have while listening to music.
Better productivity is another outcome of an improved ability to concentrate. The term “Mozart effect” was coined after a study showed that college students performed better on maths problems when listening to classical music.
Emotional Effects
The ability of music to influence human emotion is well known and is used extensively by moviemakers. A variety of musical moods may be used to create feelings of calmness, tension, excitement, or romance. Lullabies have long been popular for soothing babies to sleep. Music can also be used to express emotion non-verbally – a very valuable therapeutic tool in some settings.