music therapy

[sweetpea]

ok not sure if you have the answers but here goes...

Has anyone any experience of using music as therapy to help people get better, emotionally and physically I mean. I'm looking for some simple things to do, nothing too technical. I know therapists say listen to music to relax but anyone got any novel ideas?

[K dragon]

im constantly using music as therapy.

depends what you look for.

chillout trance to realx, ambient to relieve stress or just a song where the lyrics make you feel like you relate to something.

many many different types.

[sweetpea]

im constantly using music as therapy.

depends what you look for.

chillout trance to realx, ambient to relieve stress or just a song where the lyrics make you feel like you relate to something.

many many different types.

Would it be worth investing in some of thos chill out CD's then? I'm not sure of my muscial ability but I was thinking of getting some percussion things to try, maybe bongos or some sort of thing that would keep hands occupied as well.

[K dragon]

yes, some chill out cds work very well.

also anything from indian tribal chants to whale noises work well.

bongos on their own would probably work too, but your moving and doing a lot of hitting, i would say bongos more for fustrated anger.

music to relax.

you should try combinig relaxing music, incense, and grab some type of herbal tea, such as lady grey, lapsung suchong, or for a spicy cinnamon tea try chai tea. can grab them for a resonable price in tescos.

with this combination after a stressful day nothing can go wrong.

[Sun Circle]

ok not sure if you have the answers but here goes...

Has anyone any experience of using music as therapy to help people get better, emotionally and physically I mean. I'm looking for some simple things to do, nothing too technical. I know therapists say listen to music to relax but anyone got any novel ideas?

Hi Sweetpea,

Don't know if this is the kind of thing you were thinking of, but I use a CD by Deepak Chopra called Chakra Balancing: Body, Mind and Soul. Its a 2 CD set - one CD is an really easy guided meditation through the chakras, with the background music specifically written to resonate with each chakra. The other CD is simply chill-out music but again its been written specially to resonate and balance the chakras.

I guess most people reading this will think, what a load of nonsense! But I bought the CD set years ago and I've used it time and time again for emotional and physical healing. I don't know how it works, but it really does, for me at least!

Hope this helps

Sun Circle

[mostlyharmless]

Find something simple to make music with keyboard,drum, etc doesnt have to be a perfect sound but the action will release emotion and eventually inspire creativity.

[sweetpea]

Ok I've tried out some of the ideas on here and invested in some resources to carry them out. Thank you for everyone that inspirited me to do this, results are amazing.:)

[K dragon]

your very welcome.

[Deemac]

I once produced a recording for Helen Maun (not sure of spelling here) who was based in Reay at the time (15 years or so ago). She used sounds and music as relaxation therapy. One side of the cassette (anyone remember these?) was a visual journey (with her very soothing and comforting voice over) through a forest and the other down to the beach. Had great fun recording outdoor stuff and MIDI sequencing very slow evolving sounds. Very spacey!!

Also on another example of the power of music (and I would never have believed this myself if I hadn't seen it). While my partner was pregnant with my first child, I was recording my band in the living room of the house, and my partner was operating the equipment while I was playing (so she was exposed to all the tracks over & over again). When my daughter was a young baby and could not be consoled and screaming, if we put on this recording she would be asleep with in a matter of seconds!! Ended up playing this recording to death (no matter how much you like the music you will end up hating it and never play it again!!) A true story . . . .:eek: