Music's Healing Touch

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday February 22, 2007

Words Julia Holman

Improve your wellbeing by harnessing the power of melody, harmony and composition.0

In 1993, a study was published claiming a school student's spatial ability improved for up to 15 minutes after listening to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major. The so-called "Mozart effect" sent ambitious parents around the world into a flurry - enrolling children in clarinet, violin and flute lessons. Classical music was played in the background in some classrooms. Playing concertos to babies in utero became regular practice.

The reaction to the findings may have been premature (the Mozart effect was never proved to have a long-term effect) yet music experts believe there are a variety of positive responses people can have to music.

"Music is an innate part of our being. Underneath, we all speak and move with rhythm and melody, whether we are conscious of it or not," says Therese Raj, a professional violinist and teacher with 16 years' experience.

She believes when children play instruments it enhances fine motor skills and develops connections between the right and left sides of the brain. For adults, she believes it can assist an emotional release from daily pressures.

Raj has seen first-hand the positive effect music has on healing. After having her first child in 2002, a severe case of postnatal depression meant that for more than eight months she rarely played her violin. "It wasn't until reuniting with my instrument that I realised how important music was as an emotional stabiliser," she says. "For some people reading, walking or yoga gives them strength, but for me it is music."

At a recent music and medicine symposium at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, a panel of experts from both specialities illustrated the important role music can play in restoring and maintaining health.

Ruth Bright, one of Australia's first music therapists and the founding president of the Australian Music Therapy Association, told the conference of the humble beginnings of her profession.

"When I started working back in 1960, the only thing remotely close to music therapy was the ensemble groups run by the Victorian branch of the Red Cross in a number of hospitals. Whereas today, music therapy incorporates many different methods, including improvisation, listening, reminiscing about music, group activities, playing instruments, performance and composition."

Bright says music therapy can be used to encourage movement to treat people with physical disabilities.

Similarly, people with mental illnesses can benefit from the creative aspects of music therapy.

"I once had a patient who was diagnosed with suicidal depression - a very bad case - and I suggested we improvise some music to reflect his experiences," Bright says. "As I was playing, his head lifted up and he said, 'You really know what it is like to be me'. It was truly a turning point in this young man's life."

In Australia, music therapists work in many different settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, specialist clinics, schools, home visits and in community centres. Patients include people with physical and mental problems, newborns and people in palliative care.

The University of Technology, Sydney has introduced a new master of arts degree in music therapy. "There are all sorts of people who are drawn to the course, including performers, music teachers, psychologists, nurses and other health care professionals," says Rosemary Faire, course co-ordinator and practising music therapist.

Only four universities in Australia provide a music therapy course that allows graduates to be qualified as a registered music therapist with the association (including UTS, the University of Western Sydney, the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland).

Bright says the qualification is necessary to ensure patients benefit from the music.

"There are a lot of volunteers who work in hospitals running music groups and performances. But the risk of having volunteers is they say to the patients 'buck up' and [they] aren't trained to understand the severity of the patient's problems or the correct treatment," she says.

Faire concurs, saying music therapists are musicians who have been specially trained to recognise and address the needs of individuals.

The positive effects of music aren't the sole preserve of those with medical problems. Studies have suggested that children who play an instrument generally have good spatial abilities.

"It is often the case that children who learn a musical instrument are the all-rounders - they are the good debaters, the chess players, and socially they tend to develop better as well," Raj says.

Furthermore, although adults rarely begin learning an instrument, Raj says it shouldn't be considered impossible. "It is never too late for someone to learn an instrument."

Sounds positive

Paul Haire (pictured below left) knew from an early age that he wouldn't work on the family farm in Wee Waa, but music helped keep his life on track. "I was born with a condition called albinism," he says, "which means there is no pigment in my skin or eyes. My skin has no natural protection against the sun and my vision is very poor. Obviously any career in farming was out of the question."

He was encouraged to play the piano from a young age and, though his poor sight meant he could hardly read the notes on a page, he developed his aural skills so he could listen to music and play it by ear.

Many musicians have been able to push past vision problems. Stevie Wonder has been blind since early infancy and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli lost his sight at 12. And the baroque master composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, gradually lost his sight to the point where he had to dictate his works to his wife.

However, for Haire it wasn't until his late teens that he decided he could be among this group of vision-impaired musicians.

"When I decided to give up being a farmer, I thought architecture could be a career possibility. But I never realised the fine detail that was required to be an architect. After a week's work experience in year 10, reality finally struck and I knew I'd be hopeless."

He soon began to regard music as a career option and, after completing a bachelor of music at the Conservatorium, he became involved with a number of live bands. "I can play classical music, but with my eyesight I have come to specialise in improvisation, which, of course, is integral to jazz music."

He has performed at several Sydney venues, even as part of a jazz band on a cruise ship during a six-month tour.

"I often wonder what would have happened if I had been born without this condition - perhaps I would have carried on what my family had always done and worked as a farmer. But music has brought so much to my life - I have travelled around the world, I have passed on my knowledge to others, and my wife and I met at a gig of mine."

More information

There are nearly 300 music therapists registered in Australia, about 70 in NSW. For details on the Australian Music Therapy Association, see

www.austmta.org.au.

© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald

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