A prescription for music

By Patricia Ambroziak

Rachel Jacobson, a board-certified music therapist on the oncology ward at Duke University Medical Center, has been known to fulfill patient requests to visit the ocean. Accompanied by Pachelbel’s Greatest Hits and the soothing sounds of the ocean, the pair bask in the glow of the morning sun, press their feet into the cool sand along the water’s edge, and enjoy the serenity of watching sandpipers and gulls.

Although the Atlantic Ocean is hours away and they never step foot outside the hospital, by using music and guided imagery, Jacobson helps patients find a mental retreat from the confines of the hospital. Jacobson also uses music with patients to relieve pain, to reduce anxiety and stress, to improve energy and focus, or to meet patient needs in any way she can.

“Most everyone responds to music,” she says, “and the majority of patients are very positive and want to take part in music-related activities.”

Such techniques might include listening to live or taped music, writing a song for loved ones, or using appropriate music to accompany guided imagery. The scene is similar in a number of cancer centers nationwide and with good reason. Music can be powerful “medicine.”

Music for Cancer Care
In addition to being enjoyable, music can improve many aspects of cancer patient care. Researcher Susan Hallam, PhD, at the Institute of Education at the University of London, reviews more than 200 scientific studies, reports, and books in her book The Power of Music. She notes, “Music has powerful therapeutic effects. It can induce multiple responses—physiological, movement, mood, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral.”

Scientific research supports the idea that listening to the appropriate music can promote relaxation, reduce anxiety and pain, improve mood and appetite, and promote well-being. Music can also aid physical therapy, improve energy levels, help encourage sleep, reduce nausea and vomiting, and even boost immune function.

Hearing is a physiological process involving the brain, body, ear, and nervous system. Most are familiar with the effects of being startled by a loud noise: A rush of hormones shoots through the body, the heart races wildly, and the person is momentarily paralyzed in a fight-or-flight response.

Music Affects the Mind and Body
Brenda Williams, a board-certified music therapist at the Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, North Carolina, says patients will often smile, laugh, and sing in spite of the pain and seriousness of their illness. Other times they’ll simply cry or finally relax.

“One woman was so tense that she could not sit back in her bed. Her fists were clenched and her arms were stiff,” Williams says. “As the music began, she relaxed into the bed, unclenched her fists, and even dozed for a few minutes.”

In The Power of Music, Dr. Hallam notes that while not every study has shown the predicted effect, the evidence suggests that music influences physiological arousal in the expected direction with exciting music leading to increased arousal and calming music the reverse.

Thus, on a physiological level, measures such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rates, muscular tension, motor responses, and skin temperature tend to increase in response to loud, fast-paced music, and decrease in response to slow, soft music.

Elizabeth Miles, MA, author of Tune Your Brain: Using Music to Manage Your Mind, Body, and Mood and producer of a related music series, has lectured extensively on the topic of music and cancer care to both hospital staff and patients.

Based on music research and a nationwide survey, Miles asserts that certain qualities of music such as speed, volume, rhythm, and pitch can influence the mind, body, and mood.

For example, she says that slow, soft music with a regular rhythm and easy pulse can be used to relax before a treatment or control pain, while comfortably loud music with a quick tempo, and a lively loud beat would work to drive exercise and movement and mask intense localized pain.

Miles suggests the right type of music can be used to energize, relax, cleanse negative emotions, uplift, and improve focus and creativity.

Applications of Music in Cancer Care
Given its benefits, music can be a powerful component of cancer care that can be administered in a hospital or home setting. Music therapists are educated in music, composing, music history and theory, psychology, anatomy, and physiology. Many play instruments, sing, and can improvise on different instruments. Music therapists generally have a bachelor’s or master’s degree and can be board certified.

If no such program exists at a certain hospital, patients, as well as caregivers and staff, can still benefit from simply listening to music.

Miles suggests, “You don’t have to wait around for music therapy. Most people have a collection of music they love,” she says. “They just have to learn how to use it.”

To find a music therapist in your area, send a request to FindMT@musictherapy.org.

For more information about music therapy, contact the American Music Therapy Association, Inc. at 301-589-3300 or visit their website at www.musictherapy.org.