Music invokes the soul, it moves humans to dance, and feel rhythm. A song can trigger a precise moment in one's life, bringing you back to those feelings of joy or sadness. Music moves us, soothes, comforts and is essentially the universal language of emotions and healing. Therapeutic practices and alternative medicine continue seeking out how music has such power over the human body. How does the frequency of sound actually have the capability to heal on both a psychological and physical level?

Frequency and Hertz

Music moves in waves. The sound of music comes through in the form of tones or frequencies. This is why musicians measure music in beats per second. When we take music and bring it to its simplest form as a frequency, it is calculated by the number of waves passing a fixed point, per second. Essentially, if the time it takes for a wave to pass is 0.5 seconds, the frequency is 2 per second. Frequency identifies how many times it takes a pattern to repeat per second.

The way scientists measure frequency is by using Hertz (Hz). Since frequency is measured by cycles per second, Hz is the amount of cycles per second a sound happens. If one cycle per second should exist it would be 1 Hz, whereas, 20 cycles per second, would be 20 Hz. Musicians generally tune their instruments to 440 Hz, which is the A4 note (the Stuttgart Pitch, often referred to as the musical note A above middle C).

The Power of Music

To understand how music can have such an impact on the brain and physical healing of the human body, it is first important to understand that all matter has energy. A flower in the wild, the human mind, and even a coffee mug sitting on the table all have matter. When music is converted to energy using a scalar wave, (created by Nikola Tesla through his use of wireless energy (Zohuri)), this wave has the ability to move faster than light, and penetrate solid objects.

"In 1988 Biochemist Glen Rein, PhD, converted and recorded Solfeggio scale Gregorian chants to scalar audio waves" (Gaia, 2020) He found "the chants caused a marked increase of light absorption, up to nine percent, leading Rein to conclude that: Solfeggio scale sound frequencies cause resonance in DNA, and may have healing properties" (Gaia, 2020). Gregorian chants have been part of human existence since the 9th century. Additionally, since the integration of Buddhism in the 6th century B.C.E., it is believed "Buddhist chanting enhances cognitive effects in organisms where the interaction is assumed to be taking place at a cellular and biochemical level" (Pereira, 2016).

Talk about the power of music, but how can we actually use music as a form of therapy?

Music & Your Brain

It's interesting to look at the multitudes of definitions for music. People attempting to label a physical response occurring within the human body. However, music is a form of emotional-communication and cannot be strictly conveyed by words alone. In fact, the influences of music directly impact the human body in an instant, lowering your blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration.

Interestingly enough, the body's immune system, the endocrine functioning is amplified and encouraged to stabilize or become stronger/healthier when certain frequencies are integrated (check out: Solfeggio Scale Frequencies) As music plays our brain is getting quite a work out! The tones are interacting with auditory cortices, memory centers, the hippocampus (motivation, emotion, learning), frontal lobe (motor skills, problem solving, memory, & self-control), and tapping or dancing to music touches our cerebellum (posture, balance, and coordination) (Sinha Dutta, 2019).

The Hippocampus - Image Credit: Sebastian Kaulitzki / Shutterstock

Musical Therapy

There are several ways musical interventions entwined with therapy are helping patients with differing disorders. Here are different ways evidence-based therapy sessions can accomplish individualized goals:

Autism: Sensory and auditory input of musical sessions establish a safe-zone, and enable individuals with autism to have positive learning environments. It has been proven, musical therapy assists with: communication, cognition, behavior, social skills, interaction, and emotional regulation (Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2012).

Alzheimers: Key areas of the brain linked to music are often untouched by the disease. As part of a musical therapy, an Alzheimer's or dementia patient is capable of feeling the emotions specific songs once brought them. Reaffirming their personal identity, and lessening a tendency managing aggressive behavior.

Anxiety: Musical therapy is used as forms of anxiety in patients receiving medical treatment. Those undergoing treatment or before a procedure, found they "had less anxiety and need for sedatives" when effectively using music (Harvard, 2010-2020).

Let Music Heal Your Brain

The limits of musical therapy are astounding. The power of music is incredible, removing feelings of sadness, grief, or negative influences and turning them to joy. How often do you hear a song that resonates at a deeper level and leaves you speechless? It is impossible to ignore the fact that music motivates humankind. We dance, coordinate emotions, and communicate important messages through the use of music. We can also scientifically calculate the physical responses music has on the body, leading to positive outcomes. This natural use of adjusting specific responses is a glorious form of natural healing.

References:

Myskja A, Lindbaek M. [How does music affect the human body?] Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening : Tidsskrift for Praktisk Medicin, ny Raekke. 2000 Apr;120(10):1182-1185.

E. G. Richardson Journal of the Royal Society of Arts Vol. 88, No. 4570 (SEPTEMBER 20th, 1940), pp. 851-864

Zohuri, Bahman. (2019). Scalar Waves. 10.1007/978-3-319-91023-9_6.

Pereira, Contzen (2016) Frequencies of the Buddhist Meditative Chant – Om Mani Padme Hum. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR).

Stuttgart Pitch: E. G. Richardson Journal of the Royal Society of Arts Vol. 88, No. 4570 (SEPTEMBER 20th, 1940), pp. 851-864

Gaia. (2020) Healing Frequencies of the Ancient Solfeggio Scale: https://www.gaia.com/article/healing-frequencies-of-the-ancient-solfeggio-scale

Therapeutic Music and Brain Function (READ MORE…)