We Can All Make Music.
Feelin' fine
Why singing together makes us well, and keeps us well
All human
cultures have used music as a pathway to physical and mental health. In contemporary times it has been the music
therapy profession that has led the way in building a body of objective
evidence which proves that what humans have always known is (in fact) true.
What emerges
from both the research and the philosophy of the music / health dynamic is an
enormous diversity of approaches and impacts.
As a generalisation, these approaches to music and their impacts can be
categorised as follows:
Individual / community
Physical / mental
Listening / learning / making
Instrumental / vocal
Remedial / preventative.
Within each of
these spectrums, the benefits of engagement with music has been documented and
applied.
Some specific
examples include:
Asthma sufferers and
respiratory disease recoveries using singing and wind instrument playing as
ways to re-activate patients’ lungs.
People with alzheimer's
disease and dementia remembering songs more clearly than anything else, and
responding positively to group singing sessions. (In fact, not only have these patients have
been known improve their recall of songs already in their memory, but have
learned and remembered new songs!)
People whose speech capacities
have been reduced often use singing as a recovery strategy.
Parkinson's disease
sufferers often find rhythmic exercise a useful way of delaying deterioration.
Stressful situations requiring
calm and relaxation can be ameliorated through music.
The benefits of
musical activity also include (among others):
The stimulation of endorphin, oxytocin and immunoglobulin
production
Cortisol levels are affected
The alleviation of chronic pain and depression
The stimulation of cardiovascular activity.
There is no
doubt that music-making enhances the treatment of many kinds of afflictions,
but there's a lot more to physical and mental health than recovery. How do we reduce the possibility of becoming
sick in the first place? How do we stay
healthy?
It is now well
established that well-being (a term often used as an alternative to the
problematic phrase “mental health”) is hugely dependent on social
connectedness. The more intimate connections we feel with the environment
around us, the better able we are to stay mentally and physically healthy.
Making music
together is an extremely effective way to initiate new relationships, maintain
current relationships and experience
these connections. The joy and vitality
of making something beautiful with others, the excitement of discovering and
exercising one's creativity, finding one's voice, being energised by the
synergy which occurs when a group harmonises, the confidence and validation
which grows out of collaborative effort are all, given a supportive context,
inevitable outcomes of collaborative music-making.
It's these
emotions, as well as the documented physical benefits of music-making which
keep us healthy – music helps us to cope with the inevitable pressures of
life on this planet.
To conclude,
singing together not only helps us recover from or manage serious mental and
physical illnesses, it keeps us healthy in mind, body and spirit.
CMV - making a
sound world together.
© Community
Music Victoria Inc.