5013226 1

The Sound of Treatment

Crickets chirping, frogs croaking, and whales singing, are all forms of sound used to

convey a message of emotion. Sound waves hitting eardrums not only can bring humans joy or

sadness, but even some of the smallest animals are impacted by sound. Animals create beautiful

songs to communicate with each other, these noises are what initially brought about the first

creation of music. Early humans created music using rocks and sticks to make percussion noises,

and voices as the melody, often mimicking animal noises; this music could have been used as a

cultural aspect that strengthened some of the earliest societies through bonding. Music later

developed to involve wind instruments, such as flutes or pipes to create sound and melodies that

voices could not replicate, expanding the possibilities for music to be created.

Nowadays, music is everywhere, in commercials, movies, TV shows, etc., and in any

situation, it changes our outlook on whatever we are viewing, sometimes without us even

noticing. People listen to music and attach certain emotions to it. Someone could listen to a song

that creates sadness inside of someone, while in another it could create happiness, the

experiences that people connect to music change their view of it entirely. To imagine a world

without music seems bleak and devoid of any emotion, which interested me as to how much

music affects our moods and everyday lives. The mental health crisis is affecting many

Americans, and solutions need to be explored. Mental well-being is a key component for people

to operate, people struggling with mental health issues often find it very hard to keep up with

life. I myself am a musician, and after playing music for so many years I have never really gone

into depth on the impacts that music has on our brain chemistry. However, someone does not
 5013226 2

need to be a musician to fully understand the profound beauty of music. This brings me to the

question: How does music affect mental health and how can it be an effective form of therapy?

There is a mental health crisis happening worldwide, and it is mainly affecting younger

people. According to the CDC, “feelings of persistent sadness and hopelessness—as well as

suicidal thoughts and behaviors—increased by about 40% among young people…” (Kids’

Mental Health) in the past ten years before the pandemic. These numbers only got worse during

the Covid-19 pandemic, “[T]he CDC also reports that during the pandemic, 29% of U.S. high

school students had a parent or caregiver who lost their job, 55% were emotionally abused by a

parent or caregiver, and 11% were physically abused,” (“Kids’ Mental Health”). These factors

can worsen a child’s mental well-being to the point of mental illness. In a review by the Boston

University of Public Health, research found that “rates of depression in the United States tripled

from 9 percent to 29 percent during the early months of the pandemic and then continued to rise

to 33 percent,” (“A Path Forward”). This shows how large the scale of people impacted by

mental illness really is. However, the pandemic is not the sole cause for this fall in mental

well-being, adolescents going through puberty experience rapid development in their brains,

including “regions of the brain linked to emotions and social behavior are developing more

quickly than regions responsible for the cognitive control of behavior, such as the prefrontal

cortex” (“Kids’ Mental Health”). These changes make adolescents susceptible to seeking

attention and validation from their peers. Social media is an effective way for young people to

connect with others to gain the validation they seek, but it can also be harmful. Unrealistic body

standards and bullying that take place online can leave lasting trauma or feelings of depression.

In times of feeling hopeless or depressed, people can often find it hard to want to search for help,
 5013226 3

or they just don’t know where to start, when in reality some of the healing can be done alone

with music.

Stress is a response that people get from pressures put on them in life, whether it is

something physically stressful (e.g. illness), emotionally stressful (e.g. grief), or psychologically

stressful (e.g. trauma); all of these can negatively affect a person’s bodily functions. Chronic

stress on a person can bring serious repercussions, which can include issues with the nervous

system, such as “anxiety, depression, loss of sleep and lack of interest in physical activity.

Memory and decision-making can also be affected,” (“Stress and Your”). Leaving stress to boil

inside the body can not bring anything helpful out of it, which is why finding ways to treat it is

very important. In a study done by the University of Alberta on the link between music and

stress, done on a group of forty-two children, ranging in age from three to eleven years old,

“researchers found that patients who listened to relaxing music while getting an IV inserted

reported significantly less pain, and some demonstrated significantly less distress, compared with

patients who did not listen to music,” (“Music as Medicine”). This shows that music can be used

as an effective way to calm people down in certain situations. A study done in Singapore, at

Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, explored the benefits of music therapy for patients in palliative care,

and “found that patients in palliative care who took part in live music therapy sessions reported

relief from persistent pain,” (“Music as Medicine”). This shows more evidence that music can

not only be used to treat mental stress, but also physical pain.

Listening to sad songs tends to make people sad, but why is that? As stated earlier, music

can help relieve stress or discomfort, but it can also regulate negative emotions. During the

COVID-19 pandemic, people across the world were experiencing stress from one big factor, and
 5013226 4

in a study approved by the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board, “found

that people who were feeling more distressed reported listening to negatively-valenced music,

which was not found to be particularly effective in meeting their well-being goals, such as

venting their negative emotions" (“Music and Mood”). This can be linked to the individuals

getting stuck in a negative-feedback loop and keeping their mood low. In a study done by Valerie

N. Stratton and Annette H. Zalanowski, in 1989, on the effects of music and painting on mood,

the results show that “music appeared to be the dominant factor in determining the direction of

mood, with mood moving in the direction of the music when variously paired with elating or

depressing auditory and visual stimuli,” (Blyele,11). Yet again, there is more evidence for

negative music to determine a more negative impact on mood and mental health. However, it is

important to remember that not everyone has the same experiences listening to music, and some

people can be affected completely differently than others.

Music has been shown to have positive effects on mental health as well, using music and

vibration therapy. Music therapy, according to the American Music Therapy Association, is "the

clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within

a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music

therapy program" (AMTA, 2021). A study based on using music therapy in addition to standard

care, in comparison to only standard care for individuals with depression in working-age adults,

led by Jaakko Erkkilä, found that “participants receiving music therapy plus standard care

showed greater improvement than those receiving standard care only in depression symptoms.”

(“Individual Music Therapy”). The study had a follow-up check-in with the patients of both

groups after three months and six months, and saw a higher improvement rate in the music
 5013226 5

therapy group. The study concluded that music therapy is a viable form of treatment. Vibration

therapy is the process of using sound frequencies to affect parts of the brain. Researchers with

the University of Toronto's Music and Health Research Collaboratory, have been experimenting

with using frequencies on patients suffering from thalamocortical dysrhythmia, a rhythmic

imbalance in the thalamus and outer cortex that seems to play a part in Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s

Disease, and fibromyalgia. Patients with Alzheimer’s that have been subject to this vibroacoustic

therapy have shown improvement in their condition. Lee Bartel, Ph.D., the leader of this study,

says that “‘After stimulating her with 40-hertz sound for 30 minutes three times a week for four

weeks, she could recall the names of her grandchildren more easily, and her husband reported

good improvement in her condition,’” (“Music as Medicine”). This study shows us that not only

can sound and music be used as effective treatments for mental well-being, but also for people

with cognitive diseases.

Music also acts as a general mood booster. In the same study previously mentioned about

music listening during the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence showed that people who were willing

to embrace regulating more joyful emotions listened to “more happy and unfamiliar music

during the pandemic, suggesting that certain types of music can help with reinterpreting and

changing one’s emotional response to a stressful situation,” (“Music and Mood”). One can see

that if an individual changes their mindset of how they want certain music to affect them, they

can ultimately make a whole new emotional meaning out of the situation. People can also listen

to music with positive memories attached to them to give them joy. In a study led by Amy M.

Belfi, a team of researchers compared the memories brought by music and the memories brought

by famous faces. The team hypothesized that music-evoked autobiographical memories would be
 5013226 6

more prevalent. The findings were that “MEAMs contained a greater proportion of internal

details and a greater number of perceptual details, while face-evoked memories contained a

greater number of external details.” (“Music Evokes Vivid”). This shows that if someone listens

to music that they attached happy memories to, they are more likely to remember more about the

memories. The team also saw that the memories evoked by music were more vivid, thus showing

that listening to music with positive memories, brings more positive emotions. In the article,

Musical Affect Regulation in Adolescents: A Conceptual Model by Margarida Baltazar, as part of

the Handbook of Music, Adolescents, and Wellbeing, the author writes about how teenagers use

music as mood regulation. In this, the author states that there are three main components for

musical affect regulation: “the affective state to be regulated, music as a stimulus for affect

regulation, and the cognitive and emotional processes involved in the use of music for affect

regulation” (Baltazar, 168). This means that in order for someone to have their mood regulation

changed by music, they need to be in the state of mind which allows it to happen.

Humans have used music to strengthen and build bonds in societies for many years. This

helps to show that it arose as an evolutionary adaptation, supported by scientists and historians

believing that “the association between singing and the release of neuropeptides known to be

associated with social bonding,” (“The Ice-Breaker”). This article states that singing and creating

music in groups releases high amounts of endorphins that are also released during other human

social relationships and interactions. In the article Music and Refugees’ Wellbeing in Contexts of

Protracted Displacement, by Oscar Millar and Ian Warwick, a study which examines the

well-being of refugees who have been displaced for long periods of time, and how music

affected their mental states. The study found that even without a home, music brought the
 5013226 7

refugees together and gave them a sense of belonging. One group of people was observed to be

having guitar lessons, which prompted “other student non-musicians seeking to ‘have a go’,

which provided an opportunity to observe participants as teachers, and acting as agents of

community development,” (Millar and Warwick, 5). This particular observation leads to the point

that music brings people together and builds trust within societies, even when people are

displaced from their communities.

Who knows music better than professionals that have been in the industry for many

years? In an interview with Steffen Kuehn, a professional trumpet player and co-leader of the

Grammy-winning band, Pacific Mambo Orchestra, provides his input on how music can affect

people emotionally, “A lot of times that people are being touched. They cry, they laugh, they are

attentive. So without reasonable doubt, this is a fact that music affects people emotionally.” He

says he isn’t necessarily sure why or how exactly it affects people, but he believes that it has

something to do with connection on the spiritual level, “It's, it's about I think it's about

unconditional love in life. And unconditional love can only happen with a heart to heart

connection. And I think that music is a path, to send unconditional love from the giver to the

taker… and music is a vehicle. It's a conduct, I think, yeah. Why? I don't think I can answer that.

But how and why is just, I don't know, it's just one of-one of the-the big questions in life for me,

like, how does that happen? You know, I mean, it's maybe the frequency or the emotion that I as

the player put into the music that I play,” He says that music is felt through not the brain, but

through emotions and the heart. As a private lesson teacher, he has worked with a wide range of

students, even some with learning disabilities like autism. He reflected on his past experiences

with a student who had autism and struggled with speaking and social skills, “there was no
 5013226 8

inhibition anymore, you know, when you were talking he was really, like very awkward,

everything, you know, compulsive and the stuttering, you know, couldn't find the words… and

we started playing like the trumpet concertos and stuff, he was really good. Oh, is he doesn't play

anymore, I think; really good trumpet player, man, you know, and, and he would not miss a note,

it was really amazing how transformative music was for him.” He went on about how much he

watched this student, and all of his students, change and grow as people from playing an

instrument and really understanding music. Michael Miller is a recording engineer, composer,

and musician, who has worked with some of the biggest names in music: Aretha Franklin,

Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Dionne Warwick, Madonna, and many others.

He has also worked with countless young musicians throughout his life. Along with being the

composer, arranger, and music director for television programs like Paramount’s series “SOLID

GOLD”, along with many other musical accomplishments. In an interview conducted with him,

he gives his input on the negative impacts that can occur to one trying to be successful in the

music industry, “It's not a bus ride to a jazz festival, stay free in a hotel, you know… And so now

they're going to be a musician and have a career and go into [a] deep depression. Because of the

realization that this is, like, really hard, like, you know, there's so much competition and so many

people working at such [a] high level [when you get] really into it,” This shows how music is not

always going to be a soother to one’s mental wellbeing, and if someone wants to pursue music as

a career, they need to be prepared for the hardships of the industry. He also talked about his

father and how in his last days of being alive, a professional sound therapist came in to use

different tuning forks with him, “she would do these all around his head… and you could see

him just totally relax. Like, he was kind of stressed out, he was in pain and all that, but it took all
 5013226 9

the pain away, just these different vibrations from the music.” This personal anecdote shows the

positive effect that music and sound can have on medical patients.

In conclusion, music has been used as a vessel for conveying emotions and feelings since

the earliest societies. From ancient musical practices and instruments to the present day, where

we have highly advanced instruments and technology used for creating songs, music has always

been used as an effective form of improving mental well-being. Its impact on our minds is

undeniable, and people attach certain emotions and experiences to music. But with this, negative

emotions can be attributed to certain types of music for different people. With the ripples of the

pandemic still affecting people, along with social media influencing adolescents’ rapidly

developing brains, the mental health crisis of the world only worsens. During times of depression

or low mental stability, people can feel hopeless and that there is no way to help, but there are

ways to solve these problems. Music has shown time and time again that it can be used to help

treat not only mental illness, but even some cognitive disorders. Although music therapy is not

yet widely used in comparison to standard treatment, some might hope that one day there will be

enough resources to have it readily available to those who need it. Music is a universal language

that can be felt through all life forms, and it is a beautiful form of art that can evoke massive

amounts of emotion and feeling.

Works Cited

Abrams, Zara. “Kids’ mental health is in crisis. Here’s what psychologists are doing to help.”

2023 Trends Report, vol. 54, no. 1, 2023, p. 63. apa.org,

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/01/trends-improving-youth-mental-health.

American Music Therapy Organization. “What is Music Therapy?” musictherapy.org, 2005,

https://www.musictherapy.org/about/musictherapy/. Accessed 23 April 2023.

Baltazar, Margarida. “Musical Affect Regulation in Adolescents: A Conceptual Model.”

Handbook of Music, Adolescents, and Wellbeing, Oxford University Press, 2019, p. 272.

psycnet.apa.org, https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-39337-007.

Belfi, Amy M et al. “Music evokes vivid autobiographical memories.” Memory (Hove, England)

vol. 24,7 (2016): 979-89. doi:10.1080/09658211.2015.1061012

Blanding, Michael. A Path Forward. 2022. news.vanderbilt.edu,

https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2022/11/07/a-path-forward-amid-an-unprecedented-mental-h

ealth-crisis-vanderbilt-research-provides-new-insights-possible-solutions/.

Blyele, Patricia Edwards. Music as a Mood Stabilizer. Iowa State University, 1992.

dr.lib.iastate.edu,

https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5963791b-3d17-45c2-a970-fc73b4783

c04/content.

Erkkilä, Jaakko. “Individual Music Therapy for Depression: Randomised Controlled Trial.”

Individual Music Therapy for Depression: Randomised Controlled Trial, Cambridge

University Press, 2018, p. 198. cambridge.org,

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21474494/#affiliation-1.
 5013226 11

Hennessy, Sarah, et al. “Music and mood regulation during the early stages of the COVID-19

pandemic.” PloS One vol. 16,10 e0258027. 20 Oct. 2021,

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0258027

McEwen, Bruce, and Robert Sapolsky. “Stress and Your Health.” The Journal of Clinical

Endocrinology & Metabolism, vol. 91, no. 2, 2006, p. 730. academic.oup.com,

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/91/2/E2/2843213.

Millar, Oscar, and Ian Warwick. “Music and Refugee's Wellbeing in Contexts of Protracted

Displacement.” Health Education Journal, vol. 78, no. 1, 2019, pp. 67-81.

journals.sagepub.com, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0017896918785991.

Novoteny, Amy. “Music as medicine.” Music as medicine, vol. 44, no. 10, 2013, p. 46. apa.org,

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/11/music.

Pearce, Eilund, et al. “The Ice-Breaker Effect: Singing Mediates Fast Social Bonding.” Royal

Society Open Science, Royal Society, 2015, p. 512. royalsocietypublishing.org,

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.150221.