A second principle that music utilises in affecting patients is the principle of diversion. This method of utilising music and sound is helpful in taking the attention away from an unpleasant or unwanted situation.
An example of diversionary music is the playing of bright, happy, energising music when the listener feels down in the dumps. Music, in this sense, can be used in a therapeutic situation to reduce anxiety and pain, temporarily transporting the listener to another reality during the healing process.
The International Association of Pain has defined pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage”.
In other words, pain is a symptom of disharmony. Pain can be viewed as a series of sounds or vibrations that send messages to the brain indicating a disharmony in some part of the body.
Think of this vibration as an alarm sounding to warn of a problem in the body. The mind and body can be re-programmed to a place of harmony and healing by entraining it with music.