Ethno Specific Music Therapy
Music has historically been, and continues to be, an essential component of the practices of traditional healers in most of the tribal and other indigenous cultures throughout the world from the Aboriginals to the Native Americans. Although the Western medical model is not primarily oriented towards such healing methods, there is certainly a widespread and deep appreciation for the calming and uplifting effects of listening to music in a variety of settings.​​ In the words of William Shakespeare,
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"if music be the food of love,
play on".. "
Over the past few decades, many cultures have recognised the physiological and psychological benefits of listening to music - a noticeable impact on brain wave rhythms (beta, alpha, theta and delta), indicating a state of relaxed attention and alertness (self-awareness) and mental calm and relaxation. The rhythmic patterns found in nature including our heartbeat and pulse are some of the child’s earliest experiences. Melody is in our screams, laughter and songs, so from the moment we are born, a whole range of emotions can be captured and communicated through a wide range of rhythms, tones and melodies across the world, further diversified by our cultural backgrounds.
Listen!
Over the last couple of decades, there has been increasing research and experimentation to support the use of music as a therapeutic or even medicinal tool. Early 2001 in Delhi, India an experiment was conducted to understand the effects of certain percussion instruments on our inner musical-harmonic order called ‘rhythmic functional order’ which was found to intensify (even in sleep) when individuals were exposed to a certain pace or beat, leading to relaxation.
In the deepest and most general level of use, music stimulates some of our most critical processes within our autonomic nervous system. Such a deep-rooted connection between music and our physical body can remain despite illness or disability and through the simplest activity of listening and absorbing music, it does not require skill or mastery of it. Because of this, the emotional, cognitive and developmental needs of people with a wide range of problems arising from such varied causes such as learning difficulties, mental and physical ailments, abuse, stress and terminal illness etc can be rationally addressed by prolonged, consistent exposure to appropriate types of music.
