How does music affect our well-being? It seems there is no definitive answer to this question. However, experts in the field of music and sound therapy feel there are two major ways in which music and sound can affect our lives.
The first is the principle of entrainment. This refers to the phenomena of being in sync. In other words, our bodies automatically adjust to the pace, rhythm, or pulse of the music. How many times have you walked into a room with other things on your mind and heard music playing?
You stop to listen for a few minutes and all of a sudden, your foot is tapping to the music or you are swaying your head or body with the beat. Or, a certain piece of music evokes memories of a time when you heard the music before, and the feelings of that time come immediately back into your awareness.
In scientific terms, our psyches and bodies become entrained to the sonic environment created by the music.
Entrainment is a powerful tool in behaviour modification. In effect, the principle of entrainment directly relates to the Greek word isomorphic (commonly referred to as the iso principle). Isomorphic means same form or appearance.
Therefore, musical entrainment is actually a process of joining with feelings conveyed in the music and sensing the feeling of commonality with it. One might almost have an experience of feeling a connection with the composer or performer by sharing emotions and feelings conveyed in the music, either through its creation or through the performance itself.
Music in this sense can be a powerful tool in both positive and negative ways to the listener. Music entrainment is more than just a tool to be used for behaviour modification, however. Music has the power to integrate the whole person allowing profound healing on many levels.
Music is one of the few experiences that can touch a person on all levels of consciousness. It is a powerful sensory stimulus that can work simultaneously on the body, mind, and spirit. Vibrational entrainment, as a result of listening to music, can bring harmony to the body by actually entraining the body with the music.
It can have a transformative effect on an individual by moving through the body systems and bringing about harmony. Through the use of music, positive effects have been seen in the nervous system, affecting the endocrine system, which in turn enhances the immune system.
For centuries shamans have used drums and vocal sounds as an integral part of healing practices in indigenous cultures. They often went into a trance themselves through the power of music, which they used as a tool in assisting the healing process.