Mythologically all living and non-living things are reported to have resounded to music.
Today’s modern science too endorses such a view. High intensity sound waves are used in diagnosis and treatment.
In recent years, application of music as a complementary medicine has gained grounds in the advanced countries, especially in Netherlands, USA, Australia, and Japan apart from the developing countries like Argentina, Brazil, China, and India.
Indian system of music, known for its unique system of raga, often referred to as ‘miracle of microtones’ shows great potentiality for future research, which appears quite promising.
While music is universally beneficial – as plants are reported to grow well and cows yielded more milk and the like, there appears a dire and urgent need for extending the beneficial effects of music to at least a selected few population groups.
Music Therapy for Children and Infants
Music therapy provides a unique variety of musical experience in an intentional and developmentally appropriate manner to effect changes in a child’s behavior and facilitate development of his/her communication skills, social interactions, besides development emotional, sensory-motor, and/or cognitive skills.
Music therapy, no doubt, enhances the quality of life in children as it makes them more cheerful and flexible to face the harshness of the current times and cultures.
The therapy involves close relationships between a qualified therapist and child; between one child and another; between child and mother; and between the music and the practitioners.
All such relationships build up a feeling of ‘belongingness’, which helps in creating a positive environment and sets the occasion for successful results.
Music acts as a stimulant of the child’s senses, and facilitates many developmental skills. Quality learning and maximum participation, besides the traits such as coordination, co-operation, team- spirit, friendly rivalry – as we find in musical genres such as jugalbandhi etc – occur when children are permitted to tamper with music naturally and frequently, without restraints on them.
While being highly motivating, music is also calm and relaxing.
Enjoyable beta forms of music with active rhythms and quick tempo can activate towards success of the children by making them feel better and confident about themselves.
Music therapy can even help a child manage pain and stressful situations and even overcome complexes due to physical or mental disability, if any.
Music can encourage socialization, self-expressions, communication, and motor development.
Because the brain processes music in both hemispheres, music can accumulate cognitive functioning and may be used for remediation of some speech/ language skills.
Music Therapy: Technique for Children
Children are normally involved in singing, moving, listening, playing, and in all creative activities associated with music, which can even include solving mathematical puzzles!
The idea is that a child should be made into a better learner.
Music therapists work on developing a child’s self-awareness, confidence, readiness skills, coping skills, and social behavior and may also provide pain management techniques.
It is necessary that the therapists explore which style of music, techniques and instruments are most effective or motivating for each individual child and thereafter, expand upon the child’s natural, spontaneous play in order to address areas of need.
Music therapists may also help parents of children with suggestions and resources for using music with the child at home.
After developing realistic goals and target objectives, music therapists can plan and implement systematic music therapy treatment programs with procedures and techniques designed specifically for the individual child.
Music therapists should invariably document responses, conduct ongoing evaluations of progress, and often make recommendations to other team members and the family regarding progress.
Music Therapy for Parents and Family Members
It is obvious that music therapy can extend enjoyable yet purposeful activities and resources for parents and other members of families to share with their children.
Families can learn to use music through meaningful play and nurturing experiences. Tensions and relaxations, questions and answers, ascending notes and descending notes – found in a musical piece can be profitably employed to stretch the children’s imagination, thereby making them more creative in their outlook.
Music therapy may also serve as a positive outlet for interaction among the members of the family, thereby relieving any differences or tensions among them, providing fun activities that can include parents, siblings, and extended family.
Often music therapy allow a family to see a child in a new light as the child’s strengths are brought out in the music therapy environment.
Music Therapy for the Elderly
Music therapy is as efficacious and valid with older persons as with children and families. As a form of sensory stimulation, music provokes in the elderly citizens. Responses due to the familiarity, predictability, and feelings of security associated with it.
Elders, who have financial deficits in physical, psychological, cognitive or social functioning thus find music as a dependable ‘old age companion’ par excellence. There is no generation gap, no fear of losing relationships with music, say by separation, neglect or divorce!
Recent Clinical Research endorses the greatest viability of music therapy even in those – like terminally ill patients- who may be resistive to other treatment approaches.
Music Therapy: Technique for the Elderly
Music therapists use music to facilitate moments (especially in elders who have problems such as arthritis etc) and changes, or to maintain functioning or the ‘feel good’ levels, which contributes to life quality.
The therapeutic intervention is again, based on individual assessment, treatment planning, and ongoing program evaluation.
Programs could also be tailor made to a group of elders, so that there is an attempt to make them interact in a non-threatening environment.
In special circumstances, the therapy can be extended to bedridden patients as well to enable them ‘visualize’ the lighter side of their existence.
This article was published in Ayurveda and All August 2004 – Pages 45, 46
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, Mar 4, 2021