Long before acoustics came to be known in Europe, the ancient Arabs, Greek and Indians were familiar with the therapeutic effects of music. They were already familiar with some of the latter day concepts pertaining to the phenomenon of sound.
While music as a whole is well recognised for its entertainment value throughout the globe, it was the Indian genius, who had discovered Raga Chikitsa, the raga-cure.
Raga, we all know, is the sequence of selected notes that lend ‘colour’ or emotion. Depending on their nature, a raga could induce or intensify joy or sorrow, anger or peace and it is this quality which has to be carefully understood to induce a specific emotion in the minds of listeners.
Greek legend too confirms the remedial role of music, as it could heal a deadly wound of Ulysses. lbn Sina, the Arab writer, had recorded the use of music as a remedy for ailments, both physical and psychological. In the Orphic school, healing by the power of music was a science.
As the impact of music could be easily gauged on emotions and thereby on the mind, it can be used as a tool to control the physiological, psychological and even social activities of the patients.
Raga Chikitsa, an ancient text in Sanskrit, deals with the therapeutic importance of melodies. It is a well-known fact that expressive music activities like singing or playing instruments improve coping mechanisms and self-confidence.
For the terminally ill, music provides the greatest solace. Besides a comforting environment, it is found to be of great help in pain management. A combination of touch therapy, imagery and music provides the environment for a peaceful passage.
The soothing and organisational properties of music helps the mentally handicapped. Limitless creative opportunities available in singing or playing instruments provide avenues for their self-expression, which is, otherwise, unavailable to them.
Musical exercises aid in organising one’s thought processes and help in overcoming one’s inhibitions. The creative process of music takes over one’s mind and emotions and leads to the feeling of wholeness and completeness with the universe at all levels of existence; physical, moral or intellectual. It helps in overcoming all forms of inadequacies or frustrations in life.
A therapist can also prescribe speech, movement, drama etc. to enhance the value of such methods, familiar songs or tunes provide better effect on the patients than the unfamiliar ones.
In the West, the therapist usually works with a piano where the potentials of rhythm, melody and harmony are combined with a very wide range of fluctuations of pitch or loudness.
A co-therapist may work with a therapist to help support the client if necessary and both therapists may use their voices or other instruments as appropriate.
Music, Tailor-Made:
Often, an individual-based music programme is customised, after studying the constitution of the patient and his or her problems. Once a programme is formulated, it is necessary to review it periodically and incorporate changes so as to suit the changed conditions of the patient. Music is thus improvised uniquely for each patient and for each session.
Audio recording allows the therapist to monitor the music process from session to session. Particular songs, bits, pieces or styles of music may become part of the therapy process where clinically appropriated, but these remain adaptable to the moment-by-moment process of the therapist.
Music with Guided Imagery
As the melody progresses, the therapist explains imaginative events, situations and characters which are further elaborated by the patient. Several symphonies in the western classical system, particularly those of Tchaikovsky could be utilised by therapists for activating the imagination of the patient vis a vis the melody played, which not only induces satisfaction in the patient but also -greatly helps in overcoming his problems such as depression, trauma and other psychological ailments. Such a method is also reported to have considerable impact in lowering one’s heart rate.
Music Therapy Practices, Locations and Environs
The patient should be in a comfortable place without noise and disturbances. He should be seated comfortably although yoga postures such as Padmasana or vajrasana will be of great help.
The simple steps involved are: (1) Close the eyes; (2) Play or mutter soft/slow music; (3) Focus on the breathing process (for instance, by simply placing hands on abdomen one becomes aware of the movement of that part of the body during breathing); (4) One could use meaningful mantras such as ‘1’ am good’. ‘The Environment around is gracious and Kind’ `God is kind and protective’ etc.
Phrases such as ‘I am loved’, ‘ love myself’, ‘I am good’ etc.; result in erasure of depression and as one absorbs music one absorbs all positive vibrations from nature, which is conducive to good.health and well-being.
The Duration of Therapy
There cannot be any hard and fast rules on the duration of musical inputs. The prescribed music can be played even when the person is in deep sleep or coma. As rhythms are linked to the heartbeat, the more music one receives the better it is. However, instead of playing the music continuously, it can be done periodically.
Music as a therapy is not exclusive for just a disease; it is meant for all patient groups. From the terminally ill to the temporary sufferer, it suits everybody, and is without any side effects. Alzheimer patients, chronic pain sufferers, premature infants, terminal patients etc., all respond to the healing power of music. Symptoms of anxiety, depression and pain in the terminally ill are overcome by the healing power of music.
Thanks to music, patients with multiple handicaps gain a variety of skills. It provides a solid foundation for learning various skills including speech, language, self-care and adaptation.
In long term care, music is used to exercise a variety of skills. Cognitive games help with long and short-term memory recall. Music, combined with movement as in modem gym and aerobic sessions, improves physical capabilities. Music by itself or in combination with other elements such as art, drama or dance offer unlimited scope experience for the sensory-deprived, which is caused by coma, injury or degenerative diseases.
Music emanating from certain instruments is also regarded as therapeutic. For instance, in South India, sweet strains from the veena are believed to ensure smooth and safe delivery of children. In the Carnatic system, there is a practice of concluding the concerts, bhajans, kalakshepams etc, with the raga Madhyamavati. It is a raga which takes the first three notes in the cycles of fifths and fourths (samvada dvaya) and naturally has a high degree of rakti. When sung at the end, it imparts a state of equilibrium and tranquillity in the listener’s mind.
There are no hard and fast rules regarding the music treatment sessions. Basically, it is the convenience and the need of patients that counts. Frequency of sessions could be daily or on alternate days. It can last for anywhere between one to five hours for optimum results. Higher frequency is always better and would not be harmful as in drugs and other forms of treatment.
Improvisational Music Therapy:
In a typical therapeutic session, the patients are provided with an instrument or a piece of notation to go on improvising the value of the piece in the true traditions of manodharma sangita. The patients carry on whatever they feel like doing till a rapport develops between them and the musical piece, which provides a true companionship and bond on the emotional.
They should be assured of the fact that their output is not going to be judged and they are free to make sounds out of them as it is pleasing to their ears. All they have to do is to make sounds that please THEIR ear! They are also persuaded to use their vocal chords the way they want which could range from mere murmurs to loud shouts. It also creates a musical and emotional environment that accepts everything the patient tries to formulate and rejects nothing. As the patient’s response to the challenges increases, it also provides experience for socialisation, improves self-confidence and expression.
Rhythm instruments are found to be useful for this type of therapeutic goals, particularly in the case of hyperactive patients. The gap therapy between sessions could be flexible, depending on the need of each patient and his response to it. Individual duration of therapy can be determined through regular experiments even as one develops experience by trial and error.
As the improvement in ailments takes place, there would be a need for changing the musical inputs by the therapist. The first step would however involve the correct diagnosis followed by the selection of an appropriate raga to suit the individual requirement.
How Music Works:
Certain music can provide physiological as well as psychological benefits as in the music of Mozart. The so-called ‘Mozart Effect’ is a well-known phenomenon discovered long after the death of Mozart. Several clinical trials conducted have shown that many of Mozart’s sonatas result in increased wellness and quality of life, regardless of one’s health conditions, both physical and mental.
Indian Therapeutic Music
Indian music is both emotional and intellectual. While a listener’s emotional needs are taken care of by the melodies laced with bhavas, his intellectual hunger is catered by the mathematical precisions of the tala system.
It is a well-known fact that Indian classical music attaches importance to serenity and a thoughtful state of mind as its primary aim. In other words, it caters both to emotions and intelligence a la fois, thus enabling balancing of the analytical mind (mastish) and emotional or intuitive mind (buddhi).
By listening to music, one achieves this balance, which gives one mental strength to face problems and also induces certain physiological patterns conducive to good health. Adopting a maximum dose of music as an integral part of one’s daily routine proves useful in the long run.
Tanpura, the Indian drone instrument is not just a drone! It is conceived to balance the expanding pitches in a raga by repeated basic pitches such as shadjam and pancham. This acts as a reminder to the singer or the instrumentalist, consciously or unconsciously to maintain the purity of swaras that go into the making of the raga. The tanpura has yet another role; the harmonics emanating from the instrument over a period of time tend to bring in harmony and peace to the listeners who succumb to its vibrations.
It is no doubt a soothing experience to listen to the pure harmonics arising from the heart of a tanpura, particularly for those who feel hassled with the pace of modern day lifestyles. It is advisable to listen to and immerse oneself in the sound vibrations of a tithed tanpura for at least 15 to 20 minutes before employing any form of therapeutic pieces or ragas.
A Carnatic music vidwan who lived in the late 19th century, Bikshandarkovil Subbarayar, used to send his two tuned tanpuras to the concert hall well in advance so as to make the audience assembled to listen to their drone for considerable time before the actual concert began. The result was that the ambience in the concert hall became saturated with the sound of the balancing strain, which prepared the audience to be well attuned with .sruti. When the actual concert began, the musical compatibility was well in place between the musician and the audience.
This article was published in Bhavan’s Journal – January 2015 – Pages 64 to 70
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, Nov. 18, 2021