Music is generally thought of as entertainment; for some, a career, for others a pastime or even just background noise. But music is more than this…it can be a creative activity is the most personal sense. It can help you recreate yourself when you have lost your soul’s song.
My Personal Experience with Therapeutic Music
For me, music has always been a lifeline back to sanity. In the afternoons when I got home from a particularly torturous day of middle school, for instance, I knew that solace awaited me atop the piano keys. The melodies I played could drown out, at least for a time, the ugly voices of the girls (and boys) who teased and physically abused me during those years. Indeed, from the memories of my pain, I could create music that was sorrowfully beautiful, and turn their shameful work into something amazing.
Music has been a longstanding companion for me, a lyrical form of therapy that cost nothing and healed me more than medicines ever could. But I’m happy to say that even non-musicians can benefit from music therapy; actually, the profession of being a “music therapist” is a legitimate job now, as one of my college friends can attest. Music can be the key to finally getting rid of your stress, in a creative way.
“Therapeutic” Music: Not Just “Easy Listening”
In my opinion, music doesn’t have to be “relaxing” or “soothing” to be therapeutic. I have gotten rid of a lot of anger while headbanging to Disturbed’s “Indestructible” or Slipknot’s “Before I Forget”, for instance. LOL
I often find that trying to listen to quieter music (which everyone else says is relaxing) actually makes me more agitated, because I have a head full of whirling thoughts that never shut up, and quieter music doesn’t drown those out as effectively. What works best for me is to “bang out the stress,” listening to music with a strong beat, captivating melody, or incredibly apt words for whatever I’m going through.
I’d say that different people relax in different ways, and whatever type of music you really enjoy, you should go with that as your “music therapy.” Soft music works for some, and then there’s people like me who relax with thumpin’ bass and rattling windows. 😛
Participating in Making Music Can Help Even More
Listening to music can be quite therapeutic, as I just noted…but if you try to make music of your own, you can activate creative thought processes as well as relax yourself.
That doesn’t mean that you have to pick up a musical instrument and learn how to play it beautifully. This can mean rocking out on Guitar Hero or Rock Band, fiddling with a music-making software program or Flash game, singing in your church choir or playing in your praise band, or even playing with a musical toy that belongs to your child (or perhaps your kid brother or sister). Anything that gets you involved in the physical process of making music can be therapy for you.
why does this work? Because when you’re focusing on making music, you’re not concentrating on your worries and problems, and you’re not as aware of your surroundings. You can kind of “lose” yourself in the process of it all, letting go of stress. Just don’t worry about the quality of the music you’re making–even if it’s got a whole bunch of wrong notes in it, it doesn’t matter, so long as you’re enjoying making the music.
Write a Couple Ditties of Your Own
If you’re feeling especially creative, you can even try your hand at writing some lyrics and melodies for yourself, almost a musical diary entry. Many of my songs fall into this category–most of my piano/vocal music, in fact. Lyrics just flow better when they’re about my life and various aspects of it, and no matter how personal I get, it seems others still identify with what I sing about.
This is another important part of musical therapy–using music to talk about what you’ve been through. Somehow, couching your past problems in a bit of melody seems to help “close the book” on that part of your life; you’re singing about it, so it’s not as painful anymore. (I’m pretty sure this kind of songwriting got me through middle and high school, though the products of such efforts might be unlistenable. LOL)
If you don’t trust your own songwriting skills, you can seek out a “songwriting buddy” and craft it together, which will work just as well. Who knows, maybe if you find enough people who can sing or play an instrument (and like your songs), you could end up making a band/singing group and have a new joy in your life!
Summary
Think of music as another form of communication. Not only can it help you relax and talk about the problems you’ve worked through, but it can help you remember better times, too…and all of that is therapeutic. It’s amazing what music can do, if you start interacting with it and making it personal!