Frequently asked questions
What is therapeutic music?
Therapeutic music is live acoustic music, played or sung, specifically tailored to the patient's immediate need. It is an art based on the science of sound.
What does a therapeutic musician do?
She or he uses the inherent healing elements of live music and sound to enhance the environment for patients in healthcare settings, making it more conducive to the human healing process. The purpose is not to entertain or to give a performance. The music is often provided one-on-one.
How does therapeutic music work?
The intention of the music is to promote healing, as opposed to curing, by bringing the body, mind, and spirit into balance. Healing is a holistic view of human health encompassing all aspects of the human being--mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual--not just the physical aspect. The music affects this whole person.
Who benefits from therapeutic music?
Those who commonly greatly benefit are persons experiencing life's transitions, such as birthing and dying, and those experiencing terminal illness, injury, chronic illness and/or disease. This may include babies in Intensive Care, patients in hospice care, people recovering from strokes, and children coping with life-threatening or emotional crises. Facility staff and family members accompanying the patient also benefit from the music.
What are the benefits of therapeutic music?
Benefits can include, but are not limited to:
What is a typical therapeutic music session like?
Is there research to support the use of therapeutic music?
The documented effects of music on mood and physiology date back to the ancient Greeks, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, and also in studies of indigenous peoples. Today the effectiveness of music as a healing modality has been well-documented in music therapy, music-medicine, nursing, psychology, and other scientific landscapes. Find websites with research results here.
Why is live music preferable?
How are therapeutic musicians trained?
Three national programs are accredited by the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians (NSBTM). Students receiving certification through one of these programs have met a common set of minimum standards set by the Board, which include an extensive curriculum, demonstration of musical proficiency, and the completion of 45 hours of hospital/hospice internship playing at bedside. Students work with mentors throughout their training.
The Music for Healing and Transition Program (MHTP) is accredited through NSBTM. Graduates of this program must stay current in their field by obtaining Continuing Education Units by participating in conferences, workshops, lectures, etc.
Where do therapeutic musicians work?
Therapeutic musicians work in a wide variety of healthcare settings, but primarily at the bedside of patients in clinical environments, including hospitals, highly skilled nursing facilities, treatment centers, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centers, and hospice (palliative care) facilities. In the hospital, they may work in areas, including pre-op, recovery, ambulatory care, extended care, emergency room, surgical intensive care, intensive care units, neonatal intensive care, pediatric, psychiatric, dialysis and cancer treatment units. Therapeutic musicians may also work in massage and physical therapy settings, educational institutions, chiropractic offices, and dental offices.
See a list of hospitals nationwide that employ Certified Music Practitioners.
What are some misconceptions about therapeutic music?
One common misconception is that there is only one type or style of music that benefits all patients. This is not true. Each patient has unique needs, and the patient's circumstances determine the type of music used. Other misconceptions are that therapeutic musicians are merely entertainers, or have not received sufficient training. On the contrary, certified therapeutic musicians have received extensive training and completed internships through programs that hold high standards for each graduate.
What is the difference between a music therapist and a therapeutic musician?
The music therapist uses musical instruments and music making as therapeutic tools primarily to rehabilitate the normal functions of living and to improve quality of life through measurable changes in behavior. A therapeutic musician uses the artistic application of the intrinsic healing elements of live music and sound to provide an environment conducive to the human healing process.
How are therapeutic musicians paid?
Each healthcare facility funds therapeutic music differently. Funds may come out of a particular department's budget, from the facility's foundation, or from auxiliary, special fund, or grant sources. Some therapeutic musicians work as employees; others are in private practice.
What is the future of therapeutic music?
Since the inception of the therapeutic music field in the early 1990s, hundreds of well-trained and certified graduates are serving humanity and making a difference in the comfort care of patients. An increasing number of healthcare facility administrators recognize the significant benefits such music brings to their patients, families, staff, and the organization's reputation.
Therapeutic music is live acoustic music, played or sung, specifically tailored to the patient's immediate need. It is an art based on the science of sound.
What does a therapeutic musician do?
She or he uses the inherent healing elements of live music and sound to enhance the environment for patients in healthcare settings, making it more conducive to the human healing process. The purpose is not to entertain or to give a performance. The music is often provided one-on-one.
How does therapeutic music work?
The intention of the music is to promote healing, as opposed to curing, by bringing the body, mind, and spirit into balance. Healing is a holistic view of human health encompassing all aspects of the human being--mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual--not just the physical aspect. The music affects this whole person.
Who benefits from therapeutic music?
Those who commonly greatly benefit are persons experiencing life's transitions, such as birthing and dying, and those experiencing terminal illness, injury, chronic illness and/or disease. This may include babies in Intensive Care, patients in hospice care, people recovering from strokes, and children coping with life-threatening or emotional crises. Facility staff and family members accompanying the patient also benefit from the music.
What are the benefits of therapeutic music?
Benefits can include, but are not limited to:
- Reprieve from the present situation
- Refocusing attention
- The calming negative mind-talk
- Relieving anxiety
- Reducing stress and blood pressure
- Augmenting pain management
- Providing an environment for communication between loved ones
- Relieving physical and mental tension of pre-surgery patients
- Accelerating physical healing of post-surgery and injured patients
- Easing the birth process
- Aiding mental focus in dementia patients by lifting and clearing the consciousness
- Assisting the dying by facilitating ease in the transition process
What is a typical therapeutic music session like?
- I ask the patients if they would like some soothing music.
- I explain that this is not a performance and they can receive this as healing music. Patients don't have to pay attention; they can fall asleep or relax. They can ask me to end the session at any time.
- I bring my harp (which rolls easily on wheels) into the room.
- I assess the patient's condition, current situation, behavior, and communication ability in order to choose music and musical qualities appropriate for the patient's immediate needs.
- I may choose music that is familiar or unfamiliar, structured or improvised, rhythmic or arrhythmic, depending on the patient's needs.
- I may play in different modes and tonalities depending on the situation.
- As I play, I continue to observe the patient and monitors if any, to reassess the music needed at the moment.
- A session typically lasts 15-30 minutes.
- If the session interferes with medical procedures or doctor visits, I can easily slip out of the room.
- When the session is over, I may thank the patient or just quietly leave if the patient is resting.
Is there research to support the use of therapeutic music?
The documented effects of music on mood and physiology date back to the ancient Greeks, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, and also in studies of indigenous peoples. Today the effectiveness of music as a healing modality has been well-documented in music therapy, music-medicine, nursing, psychology, and other scientific landscapes. Find websites with research results here.
Why is live music preferable?
- There is no substitute for personal attention and presence of a centered, caring human being.
- The music can be immediately altered to best meet the patient's needs as they change.
- Because live acoustic music is not compressed and digitized like recorded music is, it contains a much richer spectrum of vibrations and harmonics.
How are therapeutic musicians trained?
Three national programs are accredited by the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians (NSBTM). Students receiving certification through one of these programs have met a common set of minimum standards set by the Board, which include an extensive curriculum, demonstration of musical proficiency, and the completion of 45 hours of hospital/hospice internship playing at bedside. Students work with mentors throughout their training.
The Music for Healing and Transition Program (MHTP) is accredited through NSBTM. Graduates of this program must stay current in their field by obtaining Continuing Education Units by participating in conferences, workshops, lectures, etc.
Where do therapeutic musicians work?
Therapeutic musicians work in a wide variety of healthcare settings, but primarily at the bedside of patients in clinical environments, including hospitals, highly skilled nursing facilities, treatment centers, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centers, and hospice (palliative care) facilities. In the hospital, they may work in areas, including pre-op, recovery, ambulatory care, extended care, emergency room, surgical intensive care, intensive care units, neonatal intensive care, pediatric, psychiatric, dialysis and cancer treatment units. Therapeutic musicians may also work in massage and physical therapy settings, educational institutions, chiropractic offices, and dental offices.
See a list of hospitals nationwide that employ Certified Music Practitioners.
What are some misconceptions about therapeutic music?
One common misconception is that there is only one type or style of music that benefits all patients. This is not true. Each patient has unique needs, and the patient's circumstances determine the type of music used. Other misconceptions are that therapeutic musicians are merely entertainers, or have not received sufficient training. On the contrary, certified therapeutic musicians have received extensive training and completed internships through programs that hold high standards for each graduate.
What is the difference between a music therapist and a therapeutic musician?
The music therapist uses musical instruments and music making as therapeutic tools primarily to rehabilitate the normal functions of living and to improve quality of life through measurable changes in behavior. A therapeutic musician uses the artistic application of the intrinsic healing elements of live music and sound to provide an environment conducive to the human healing process.
How are therapeutic musicians paid?
Each healthcare facility funds therapeutic music differently. Funds may come out of a particular department's budget, from the facility's foundation, or from auxiliary, special fund, or grant sources. Some therapeutic musicians work as employees; others are in private practice.
What is the future of therapeutic music?
Since the inception of the therapeutic music field in the early 1990s, hundreds of well-trained and certified graduates are serving humanity and making a difference in the comfort care of patients. An increasing number of healthcare facility administrators recognize the significant benefits such music brings to their patients, families, staff, and the organization's reputation.