Music has been used as a healing tool for centuries, and modern research supports its effectiveness. Music therapy can improve mood, reduce anxiety and stress levels, decrease pain perception, and even enhance cognitive function. This is because music can tap into the brain's reward system, releasing dopamine and promoting relaxation. It also stimulates areas of the brain involved in processing pain and emotions. Listening to music that resonates with personal experiences can be especially therapeutic. Playing music or singing along can also provide a sense of mastery and control over one's body and emotions. Overall, the healing powers of music are undeniable; it's an accessible self-care tool that can bring comfort, connection, and joy to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Tuyet Van Do
leading a planned activity group she enjoys listening to seniors singing
shopping centre young toddler sings along with a busking musician
nursing home visit on the broadcast system ' I can't smile without you' is playing
Srini
far away a flute sounds... how light the burdens of life suddenly feel
the music of a mountain in the waterfall I let yesterday's grief be washed away
no cure for sleeplessness the cricket's chirps at least comfort me through the night
Suraj Nanu
I played a half note she tried a half smile little by little I regained my tune she regained her grin
healing ragas seeping through the air on my neighbour's fence hoarfrost covers the rusted barbs
Christina Chin
rainsong... stuck in the house with Pringles choc chip ice cream and After Eight
recuperating... soft creaks of the hammock under the benjamina --nature sound
the distant roll of thunder I take a break from the notebook how calming
Barbara Anna Gaiardoni
nature's sounds reach the deep crevices of the soul re-introducing love on the most intimate level
Richard Jordan
fifteen years today since her diagnosis -- I strum our wedding song on my old six-string and she sings
silver saxophone scratched and dented pawned for a last escape -- in recovery dreams his fingers run through scales
Chen-ou Liu
I'm going to Graceland, Graceland ... I turn the volume all the way up and up as if to soar like an eagle
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered ... Paul Simon's voice whispers in my ear then I know I'll be alright
my God all but a puff of smoke He vanishes when the winter gale blows ... alone with Cohen's "Hallelujah"
Bryan Rickert
taking a sick day I let the song of the river heal me
amidst this city’s chaos a bit of lark song soothes my soul
late at night from so many mile away is that your heartbeat singing me to sleep
Jackie Chou
worrisome thoughts cut short by flute song his caval plays the missing ranges of my alto voice
blasting boombox from the second floor balcony I lose myself in the rhythm of Prince without complaining
line dancing to Achy Breaky Heart I relish its upbeat rhythm ignoring the sad lyrics
Curt Pawlisch
our chestnut tree lush in spring sunlight and oriole song— dwelling in the infinite in the here in the now
three crows in love— most days they stop by high up the neighbor’s tree all caws and guttural coos their feathers sable in sunlight
we sing her praises with the dandelion wine she made and stored in a jug in her basement— now it too is gone
Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
church bells ring to mark the hour for the ailing atheist is this the last call to salvation
Randy Brooks
a member of the band on the bus across Mexico Santana our spirit guide
samba beat the start of each day making the bed together
an old fiddle she still knows how we all live in a yellow submarine
Paula Frew
Like Balm of Gilead
Notes arranged into a melody, like the Balm of Gilead, ease our agitation. Like the scent of lavender, they calm our rage.
Ram Chandran
after breakup drive back home, the floating full moon outside and jazz inside ... life is beautiful anyway
in this sleepless night, the songs of spring breeze with rustling mango leaves... my lullaby to sleep
Anthony Lusardi
daybreak; the rhythm of the wind with the high creaks from a rusted weathervane shifting to the east
car radio dies . . . finding music in falling sleet while adding a whistle
remembering mom’s lullaby; planting marigolds to protect the vegetables
Robert Witmer
a sad song to the bitter wind a pale face from a late train her warm coin in a cold hand
monks chant the edge of sound purpling with clouds a holy mountain blessed with snow
evening the champagne sparkles the listless waves intone one by one white fingers in the sand
Bonnie J Scherer
Gregorian chant … reverberations of alleluia swelling my heart and soul
dad whistles while working around the house … we tune into him, he tunes us out
Winchester Cathedral dad and I singing along with the brass and sass oh-bo-de-o-do oh-bo-de-o-do de-do-duh
Jennifer Gurney
Birdsong In the cool of the morning Reaches Even my sorest heart In the toughest of times
The cello Gets me every time Reaching my heart When nothing else can Touch me
The sunshine plays A melody just for me Dancing on the lake’s surface To make me smile And quench my thirsty soul
Rupa Anand
outside the window the low, then high of dawn music i carry my scars with ease . . .
under the sun through the mountains Ganga flows forgetting everything i listen . . .
the mirror reflects someone weary of humankind these old feet dance to the rhythm of the falling rain
Jon Hare the blues lingering long after-- we listened to “The Healer” the day before
Sunday morning a cup of coffee filled with birdsong and the spelling bee
Vivaldi’s violin concertos four seasons of thirty years spent together
Tracy Davidson
mother's lullabies how swiftly they soothe childhood hurts cries turn to chortles within one chorus
the soft chants of meditation music bore me... finding blasts of rock 'n' roll more therapeutic
soppy love songs after a break-up the therapeutic unspooling of the mixed tape he made me
Kathabela Wilson
first flute played in the ancient forest how can it be something so new and sweet in our day and age as if a wand my small mallet makes a singing bowl this time from around the rim a growing magic fills the room
in Maltese I sing mother's lullaby at our wedding her smile from the audience holds us all in her arms
Jerome Berglund
minute Waltz fitting the terrier in her purse changing a flat with minor key
music from the project window hopeful no domestics called in tonight
Peter Larsen
home with a cold orange juice and chicken soup best of all Mom quietly singing familiar old folk songs
for two months I practice “Taps”… at graveside I flub the high note my weeping niece giggles
we’re breaking up… our last time listening to “La Boheme” we hold each other and cry as Mimi dies again
Susan Burch nursing home - the piano player in the parlor gives my workday a soundtrack
Marilyn Humbert this night I hear the river's tinkling current carrying my song downstream to you
cathedral choir practice ... our voices mingle and lift in joyful thanksgiving
school of rock ... at her first performance my granddaughter's nimble fingers flying across the keyboard
Mark Gilbert
I’ve noticed that a robin can sing with a caterpillar dangling from his beak -- a useful skill to have
this monk’s habit -- a simple bowl of cornflakes for breakfast my silence among the birdsong
Debbie Strange fitful winds pluck the harp strings of dead vines . . . you would have been soothed by such music
my singing bowl half-filled with water . . . I strike its rim until ocean waves manifest inside me
Joanne Scott
The melody of the forest the chorus of the sea The vibrations of the seasons in perfect harmony Ethereal choir echoing sounds soothing hearts and minds Each beat, note pattern, organic rhythmic flow Nature's gift of music, healer of the soul
Siggi Saradunn
stars align with friends writing, meal shared, and music magic in real time flute solo joined by tamboura magic fills the air
Elvis scorned, banned in our house; after dad died Mother loved and played Elvis singing and dancing with joy
Tennessee Ernie his deep voice speaks to the soul calms my worries so blessed am I to find the healing sounds when young
Nani Mariani
beautiful music improve her mood learn to dance follow the beat happy grandma
friction between leaves creating a musical rhythm I just got home from work feel pampered with a cup of coffee
Daipayan Nair
chirp of dusk crickets ... the voice note she sends in reply to my hundred missed calls
the waxwing lands on a berry tree this art night grandpa tunes his air guitar again
Edward Cody Huddleston
Grandpa's harmonica--- she wipes the dust off and stares at it as if waiting for the blues to play themselves
false spring more Leonard Cohen in my playlist the minor falls the major lifts
learning piano my puppy howls along in the same key neither of us can name
Ruth Holzer
Delta blues the harmonica a freight train of hard times that people survived and turned into music
memory care they no longer know who they are gathered round a piano they remember the old songs
fired from another stupid job I cry you play a cool jazz record making everything all right
Inanna
bright temple bells tintinnabulation roils myrrh and musk incense wake the drowsy god from little death’s nap