Music is often cited as an alternative route for people who don’t find traditional therapies useful, or struggle to engage with support.

Many of us are familiar with the feeling of calm a favourite song can deliver when we’re stressed, or how an upbeat tune can stimulate energy and excitement (for anyone out there who’s struggled to get themselves off the sofa and out of the door on a Friday night).

But is there any science in it?

Music as stimulation

Some psychologists talk about the effect certain frequencies can have on the cells in our bodies; there is even a British Academy of Sound Therapy (BAST), who call their approach ‘sound psychology’, using a combination of instruments and voices to improve wellbeing:

“Low sounds relax us and high pitches tend to stimulate us…so if you’re working on someone with anxiety, you’ll use certain instruments and play certain pitches to help them relax.”

- Lyz Cooper, Founder, BAST

Then there’s the offbeat phenomenon of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) which involves listening to particular sounds to relax, including whispering, tapping and crunching—there’s a whole community of YouTubers who practice it. Not everyone experiences the same results, and there is no proven science here, though plenty of people find it effective.

Music as expression

Expression via music, as well as simply listening, can also be incredibly powerful.

Line of Duty’s Vicky McClure has publicly shared her personal experiences of how music helped her grandmother to find her voice after being diagnosed with dementia. The actress to set up her own ‘Dementia Choir’ after losing her gran, as a therapeutic outlet for people also living with the neurological disorder. A BBC documentary My Dementia Choir is due to air this year.

In a 2018 interview she said of her gran:

“The only time we found we were on the same page is when we were singing a song. Sometimes it would be a nursery rhyme, or something like Doris Day. And she lightened up and she was happy and could join in. It was a great discovery.”

Anecdotally, music does seem to help lots of different people, in different ways, whether listening, playing an instrument or singing.
It doesn’t cure diseases, mental ill health or disabilities, but as the BeWell music group attests, it can help alleviate symptoms, empower people who don’t have access to other means of expressing themselves and bring something joyful to people’s lives.

>>Do you have experience of alternative therapies such as music or art? What opportunities are there outside ‘traditional’ forms of support?