From Dade County Medical Association Journal “Miami Medicine” Vol. 66  ♫

Music plays a large role in our lives. It dictates what we feel and what we think. For years, the film industry has used music to prepare moviegoers emotionally for what is to come. Indeed, the music during the credits tells us whether the film will be funny, sad, frightening or romantic. Music has been used as a tranquilizer in bio-rhythm adjustments, as an aid in meditation, as a companion when driving and a stimulant for studying. And what about soft lights, and romantic music to set a mood? Learning to sing or play a musical instrument can also be a very effective tool in physical or emotional therapy. ♫

Stutterers don’t stutter when singing. Good vocal instructors teach students how to care for and protect the voice. Training in singing technique includes: control of the vocal cords, tongue, palate, mouth, lips, teeth, jaw, facial and chest muscles, lungs and diaphragm. Students learn proper breathing, focus and projection of sound, placement of voice, enunciation, pitch clarity, intonation and the speed and rhythm of syllables. This fine tuning and control of the voice helps diminish and may eliminate stuttering (or stammering) in speech. ♫

Asthmatics in good medical condition and emphysema patients may also benefit from proper vocal instruction, because they are taught to breathe uniformly from the diaphragm, relax the muscles, and keep the airways open, making better use of their lung capacity. (Practicing a wind instrument is also helpful to asthmatics who are in good medical condition.) Public speakers, salespersons, and teachers often suffer from laryngitis caused by overuse of the voice. “In a non-trained voice, the muscles that suspend the larynx strain against each other. Training the voice can get these muscles to work together,” says Laurence Levine, M.D., Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. Vocal motor skills lost or diminished after illness or surgery may also benefit from singing instructions. Arthritis pain and stiffness in the fingers and hands can be alleviated by playing an electronic keyboard, (not the piano). It takes much less pressure and motion to play an electronic key than a piano key.) The gentle exercise involved in playing the keyboard keeps the fingers moving, loosens the muscles, joints and tendons. “Moving hurts, but not moving destroys. Incorrect moving harms but correct moving heals” says Mary P. Schatz, M.D., Nashville, Tenn. ♫

Patients with a manual prosthesis can enhance their fine motor skills by learning an instrument in the guitar family. Instructors teach the students to “pick” or “strum” the guitar with the prosthesis, and play the fingerboard with the good hand. ♫

Music lessons on a fixed-pitch keyboard instrument may help to alleviate a mild hearing problem, by training the ear to discern the differences in sound: pitch, volume, ranges, timbre and resonance. ♫

Because playing a musical instrument is a conditioned reflex, patients with memory problems benefit from music instruction. The many repetitions and the general complexities of practice develop certain kinds of memory: tactile (which keys the fingers hit); aural, (sound of the music); visual (the music they read); and rhythmic, (the pulse). All of these help to stimulate and develop the capacity to memorize. ♫

Developing concentration is especially important for students with learning disabilities. Music students learn “never play through, practice small passages – and make many repetitions.” The ability to focus on a small part and repeat it many times makes it easier for a learning-disabled person to absorb the information. This capacity to focus sometimes becomes the means for “shutting out the cares of the day”, an additional plus for people with difficult jobs or other areas of high emotional stress. ♫

Coordination, another major problem in students with learning problems, often improves with music training, because of the simultaneous use of eyes, ears, mouth, fingers, hands and brain, in much repeated exercises. Left-right discrimination, perception and understanding of basic mathematical concepts are developed. ♫

The hyperactivity, irritability and disruptive behavior that many ADHD children and adults exhibit, often dramatically improves by music instruction that challenges the student and captures the imagination. Many students with behavioral problems respond positively to music training. Good music instruction teaches self-discipline, problem-solving, perseverance and the patience to see a project to its conclusion. Recent studies suggest that the complexities of studying music may even stimulate the creative side of the brain and improve spatial reasoning abilities (the Mozart syndrome.) ♫

Many people suffer from a lack of confidence and low self-esteem. Music practice affords an opportunity for many small successes. Students progress from “No, I can’t” to “Wow, yes I can”. With each small success, the feeling of pride and accomplishment increases. Studying music will not give a blind person sight, and it won’t make a deaf person hear. However, it may alleviate many conditions, and often, it improves mental, physical and emotional health. ♫

Physicians considering music instruction as therapy should discuss the specific needs of the patient with a qualified music educator/therapist. A music aptitude test, specifically designed to ascertain the most appropriate instrument, course of study and anticipate degree of improvement should be administered and jointly evaluated by the attending physician and the music professional. ♫

Phyllis Sdoia-Satz wishes to thank Pepi Granat, M.D. for her technical assistance and advice in the writing of this article. ♫
Phyllis Sdoia-Satz, B.M., M.M., is Director of the Sdoia-Satz Music Institute, a private music school in Miami.
Copyright 1995 by Phyllis Sdoia-Satz, all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the Dade County Medical Assn. to reprint the article. ♫