What is Music Therapy?

Music has been traditionally used in ancient healing systems as a therapeutic tool; The Arabs used a highly developed modal system of music therapy which they used to help treat a wide range of illnesses from dementia to syphilis! And, the Bible contains perhaps one of the first records of the therapeutic uses of music: “ And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp , and played with his hands so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him”. (1 Samuel 16:23). However , for most people, listening to music is little more than one of life’s many pleasures, and its applications in medicine have until recently been treated with scepticism. But, there are growing numbers of controlled research studies shedding a fascinating insight into the potential uses of music therapy in primary health care. 

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