Throughout its history, music therapy has evolved from ancient healing rituals to a recognized healthcare profession, with research continuing to explore its effectiveness in promoting health and well-being.
Therapeutic use of music has been reported to date back to ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, and China. During the Middle Ages, music retained its therapeutic significance, particularly within religious contexts. Gregorian chants and other sacred music were thought to have healing properties, contributing to the well-being of both mind and body.
The Renaissance and Baroque periods saw a resurgence of interest in the therapeutic potential of music, evidenced by treatises on its healing properties and its incorporation into medical practices. Hospitals and sanatoriums began to utilize music as a form of treatment for various ailments.
Formalized practices in music therapy began to emerge in the 19th century, with pioneers like William James and Florence Nightingale recognizing its benefits within psychiatric settings. The 20th century marked significant developments in the field, with figures such as Eva Augusta Vescelius and Margaret Anderton playing key roles in establishing music therapy as a recognized profession.
Today, music therapy is practised in diverse settings including hospitals, schools, rehabilitation centres, and mental health facilities. It addresses a wide range of needs, encompassing physical, emotional, cognitive, and social aspects of health and well-being.
In Oman, music enthusiasts have also started to embrace the power of music therapy championing it in their different practises.
Ammar bin Abbas al Balushi, a guitar instrument teacher, shared that music affects the brain in a very complex way, as all musical tones are processed by different areas of the brain. The cerebellum processes rhythm, the frontal lobe decodes the emotional signals resulting from music, and a small part of the right cephalic lobe helps understand the layers of sound.
He added that the reward centre in the brain can produce strong physical signs, which is why therapists use the powerful capabilities of music and the person’s responses and relationship to music, to encourage positive changes in mood and mental state in general.
Regarding music’s promotion of positive focus, Al Balushi said that music, especially cheerful melodies, can delight the mind and multiply the feeling of optimism and positivity, especially music that contains words that plant positive thoughts in life, as it brings the double benefit of music and positive affirmations, which helps a person to surround It fills itself with positive energies and makes stressful events go away more easily.
Al Balushi said that this type of treatment is applied by trained psychologists, and is often applied in hospitals, rehabilitation centres, schools, or care homes.
Al Balushi noted that colleges and universities began using music therapy as part of their curricula, starting with Michigan State University in 1944, and in 1950 the first large professional organization for music therapists was formed and became known as the National Association for Music Therapy. Music therapy is often... It can relieve symptoms of mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, osteoporosis, personality disorders, insomnia, and dementia.
Yahya bin Abdullah Al-Danki, Director of the Muscat Academy of Music and Arts pointed out that music accompanies a person in everything, and music has many titles, including the language of the people and food for the soul. Since we are talking about the soul, body, psychological state, and health, music plays a role in this field. A person listens to music in his sadness, in his joy, in his anger, in peace, in war, and at all times. Music accompanies the person, and as the person advances, he begins to listen to music with all feelings and feelings.
He added, “If we came to talk about the health condition and how music can treat the soul, spirit, and health, we would find that music is diverse in these areas, and music is also a sport for the body. For example, one time we had a student at the centre who was suffering from weakness in the muscles of the hands. His fingers were Heavy, so we put him learning on the piano. It is known about the piano that all ten fingers and even the toes are used, so he used his ten fingers, and with the passage of days and the exercises he received in music, the muscles of the hands became strong and he was able to control his hands, because he used to move his fingers daily and could reach Half an hour daily.
For his part, Al Dhanki pointed out that the techniques used in music therapy are divided into interactive techniques and receptive techniques. When someone makes music, whether by singing, playing musical instruments, or composing, the person uses interactive techniques.
He added that the receptive technique is through listening to music and responding to it, such as dancing or analyzing song lyrics, and reactive and receptive techniques are often combined for treatment.
Turki bin Mahmoud Al Battashi, clarinet player at the Royal Orchestra, said that music is the sounds of nature, created by God and created by man. As a person educated in the field of music since I was a teenager until the stage of maturity and understanding, and I have lived with many international and local players, music is considered... I have a world of ideas and melodies. When I am the musician, I make every effort to convey my tones to the listener and to be affected, and when I am the person listening to the playing, I enjoy the creativity of the player, and I am certain that all the emotions and feelings that come out before the note are a reflection of the feeling of the player himself.
Al Batashi added that he prefers listening to classical music, because of its elegance and joy in different colours, and among the best musical genres are Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach, as these genres focus on changing thoughts and refining and taming the soul.
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