Music therapy, the use of music for therapeutic or pedagogical purposes, has a long history, going back to ancient Egypt, the Bible and the Greeks (E.Feder and B.Feder, 1981, chap. 1). In “modern”
times, scientific research methods have been applied to what the ancients knew intuitively: music has measurable physiological effects on the body and produces psychological effects on mood and personality. Listening to music produces changes in blood flow and blood pressure, changes in posture, respiratory rate, pulse rate and general activity. Listening to music also produces measurable mood changes; for example, listening to and playing music have been shown to be effective antidepressant measures.
Music therapy has been defined as the controlled use of music in the treatment, rehabilitation, education and training of adults and children suffering from physical, mental and emotional disorders.
However, since music is a social art, it can help individuals establish or reestablish interpersonal relationships and social involvements (music “draws out” autistic children, for example); it can help individuals develop self-esteem through self-actualization (i.e., the acquisition of skills); the rhythmic structure of music can energize and bring order, especially in work with individuals suffering from mental and physical disabilities (Gaston, 1968, pp. v-vii).
Music therapy is also used for group, couple or individual therapy (especially in Europe); it is used in the dentist’s chair and in hospitals to relieve the fear and anxiety of patients; it is used in helping patients deal with pain and as a preparation for “painless”
childbirth. It is used on the psychiatrist’s couch and in the treatment of such illnesses as insomnia and alcoholism. Music therapy is used in combination with relaxation techniques and visualization
exercises, with Sophrology and the special voice quality in Sophrology (Terpnos Logos) and with Autogenic training. In Eastern Europe, where drug use is not as widespread, and/or where drugs are not as readily available as in the West, music is used in rest homes to regulate heart rhythm as well as for other purposes of a “medical” nature.
Whether considered as a social art or a means to self-development, music and music therapy can take two forms:
passively listening to music (audition) or actively engaging in a group that is making music (participation). Active methods obviously comprise playing an instrument but also include rhythmic games and physical activity to music. (As opposed to learning to play a musical instrument, “instant music” or “collective improvisation” requires no specific musical ability or training;
patients play randomly on “pre-band” instruments and music is used as a means of spontaneous communication). Passive methods involve listening to live or recorded music, often in combination with relaxation techniques and normally followed by group discussion. Very often the aim here is relief from psychological stress and/or the realization of emotional control. In Europe, research has been conducted to find out which forms of music are best suited for relaxation and concentration, or focussing (Guilhot et al., 1979, p.
55). For example, romantic music of the nineteenth century does not seem particularly appropriate for relaxation; it tends to arouse personal associations and to create tension. Baroque music, on the other hand, is structured and reassuring. Rock music is totally unsuitable for either relaxation or concentration. Popular music of the 1950s is good for relaxation but not for concentration (too much melody); music with words is too distracting. As American researchers have found, background music can be distracting but it can also be used to facilitate learning, to improve task performance and to increase verbal interaction (Peters, 1987, p. 54).
Insofar as background music is concerned, there are a number of important elements to be considered: rhythm, melody, harmony, instrumentation. While the effects of rhythm can generally be measured objectively, melody and harmony tend to be evaluated more subjectively. Researchers in France, however, have evaluated the effects of all these elements on music therapy patients.
Rhythm has been shown to have either a stimulating or depressing influence on the rhythmic systems of the body: blood circulation, breathing, heart rate. The physical or physiological response to music is created by rhythm; however, this fundamental
element of music also touches the emotions (Feder and Feder, 1981, pp. 113 ff; Gaston, 1968, pp. 17 ff). Babies put into nurseries where a heart beat sounds over the loudspeaker system have been found to sleep longer and grow faster than babies in a silent nursery.
Rhythmic drumming has been used to send warriors raging into battle or to put dancers into a state of ecstasy. March music is energizing. A lively rhythm is useful for breaking tension and dance rhythms generally have a liberating impact. (Rock music, however, fatigues the nervous system). The subtle rhythms of classical Indian ragas played on the sitar appeal to the intellect and have a soothing effect. The lullaby sung by the mother has an especially reassuring quality. The relationship between music rhythm and the natural rhythms and responses of the body makes music a logical ordering instrument for certain kinds of problems, especially those in which coordination needs improvement.
It is commonly noted that the musical time unit in almost all cultures appears to be a standard that is roughly equal to the human heartbeat (i.e., between 70 and 80 beats a minute, the moderato tempo in Western classical music). In Indian philosophy a beat of 60 to the minute is considered to be the ideal beat for meditation.
Possibly it is the 1:4 ratio of breathing to heart rate that makes quadruple time (i.e., 4/4) the most useful for a steadying effect.
Triple, quintuple and septuple times, on the other hand, promote a feeling of restless energy.
In music therapy it has been found that a rhythm of 60 to 80 beats a minute produces a feeling of serenity; a beat of 100 to 150 is invigorating and joyful. Slowing down the tempo leads to calm and tranquillity and relaxation music has a rhythm of about 60 beats (or fewer) to the minute. (In addition to a slow, regular rhythm, relaxation music should have even dynamics and no dissonance). In France, a group music therapy session (which involves relaxation techniques and postures as well as rhythmic breathing) has the following phases (after an opening of “tension-discharging” music and verbal discussion): (a) “countdown”—
music with a moderate beat of 60 to 80; (b) relaxation music with a beat of 60 or less; (c) “coming out”—a fast or allegro movement of more than 100 beats a minute (Lecourt, 1980, p. 82).
Harmony has been called the “heart of music.” Simple harmonies and even dynamics are characteristic of music (such as that of the baroque era, 1700–1750) that tends to reduce physical activity and to enhance contemplation. Dissonant or complex harmonies and abrupt dynamic changes (especially from soft to loud) tend to
increase or stimulate physical activity and to reduce mental activity.
The proportionally spaced harmonies of the major common chords soothe and strengthen while the minor chords cause sorrow and yearning. Consonance is said to represent order, equilibrium and tranquillity, while dissonance (i.e., sounds that clash) produces worry, torment and agitation. Major modes create happiness and lightness while minor modes provoke melancholy. The harmonies of music of the baroque and classical periods are described as consonant and reassuring and those of the romantic period as complex and/or engulfing. Contemporary classical music, which tends to be very dissonant, evokes anguish and chaos.
Melody is said to convey the real meaning of music. On the one hand, melody appeals to the emotions: an ascending movement, for example, evokes joy, gaiety and/or serenity while a descending movement creates a feeling of dignity and solemnity. Melody also appeals to the intellect; the flow of the notes passing in time must be held in the mind if it is to follow the melodic pattern. Tension and relaxation of pitch in melody also have an effect on the physical body of singer, player and listener. The melodies of contemporary classical music are characterized as intellectual and those of the romantic period (nineteenth century) as sentimental. Baroque melodies are sustained and structured.
In addition to such considerations as rhythm, harmony and melody, the choice of musical instruments also plays an important role in music therapy. The flute, for example, has a pastoral quality;
the organ is associated with religion; the accordion (at least in Europe) evokes a “popular” (or workers’) milieu. The xylophone calms the aggressive patient; the flute and harp open up the introverted. The cello is sonorous and expressive while the trumpet is stimulating and arousing. According to the research conducted by Dr. Alfred Tomatis and his associates, the violin (which is the instrument with the most high frequencies) is the most soothing of all the instruments (Tomatis, 1972; Madaule, 1973).
Elements of active and passive methods in music therapy have been incorporated into a number of learning systems, in particular (and as we shall see), the Suzuki Approach, the Tomatis Method and Suggestopedia. These three methods differ in their utilization of “music therapy,” but all feature music making, on the one hand, and listening to music, on the other.
In Suggestopedia, music making took (and still takes) the form of singing; foreign language songs were (and still are) frequently used in the suggestopedic language class. As in the Tomatis Method,
singing in Suggestopedia serves as a memory-enhancing and linguistic structuring device (i.e., songs are an effective technique for memorizing language materials). It is the original suggestopedic session, however, which illustrates to what extent elements of passive methods in music therapy can be effectively incorporated into a learning system.
As already noted, the original concert session (or passive part of the session) was divided into three parts: (a) a two-minute introduction which served as a “countdown” (the opening Sarabande from Bach’s Goldberg Variations played on the harpsichord with a metronome speed of 70 to 80, the beat of the normal human pulse); (b) a series of slow movements from baroque concerti grossi for stringed instruments, lasting some 20 minutes, over which the teacher acted out the lesson dialogue with an emotional or artistic intonation and during which the students, with eyes closed, meditated on, or visualized the text; (c) an allegro flute excerpt in a major key from Telemann, lasting some two minutes, which brought the students out of their deeply relaxed state. For the concert part of the special session, the students originally adopted a posture of relaxation (the alternate Savasana posture) and engaged in deep and rhythmic breathing to a count of eight that accorded with the teacher’s reading of the language dialogue and with the beat of the baroque slow movements in the background.
The original suggestopedic concert session thus combined visualization and relaxation with a three-part session in music therapy: (a) “countdown” (music with a moderate beat); (b) relaxation (music with a slow-moving beat); (c) “coming out”
(music with a fast rhythm). The slow movements used in part two of the original concert, excerpted from the chamber music of Bach, Corelli, Handel, Telemann and Vivaldi, have, by definition, a rhythm of 60 beats to the minute, the ideal beat for meditation and relaxation. A sustained melody in the string section and a steady bass accompaniment are other important features of baroque slow movements selected for the original “concert.”
As in music therapy, instruments were carefully chosen for the original suggestopedic concert session. The harpsichord (used in part one) is considered an ideal instrument for inducing a state of relaxation because of its even dynamics. The violin, long considered the instrument closest to the human voice, is also the most soothing of the instruments because of its high frequencies and stringed instruments, violins in particular, were used to provide background music for the reading of the lesson dialogue. The flute (used in part
three of the “concert”) has a pastoral quality but is also more stimulating than the violin.
The original suggestopedic language class was probably not conceived as the result of research into music therapy (although it would certainly have been known that music was used in rest homes for “therapeutic” purposes). It seems more likely that the creators of the first version of Suggestopedia (and especially Aleko Novakov) intuitively understood that listening to baroque music provides relief from psychological stress and lifts the mind to a higher philosophical plane. They also realized that background music, if properly chosen, can be used to promote absorption of materials in the classroom.