Healing Through Music

by Michelle Hoffman

A client shared that after her husband died, she was cooking one day and decided to play music from his laptop to help fill the silence. She did not know what to expect, and upon clicking the play button, she heard love. She heard music that meant something to him, even if it was not to her liking, but that always put a smile on his face, and so, she continued to play that music and there beside her while cooking was her husband.

Music has this power to bring back a memory, to distract us from our grief, to remind us of who we are or who they were. Listening to music you enjoy may bring you a sense of self and surround you with the safety net we desire when our sadness seems profound. Play your music! Do not focus on what others think of your musical taste, of the lyrics you can recall so well. If your music releases endorphins and you can step out of your grief, then feel that freedom.

Hearing music that reminds us of our loved ones who have died, may also release those endorphins. A playlist of their favorite tunes, a channel of their music genre, or sitting in on a live performance can bring their memory alive. Many church hymns have the ability to soothe your spirit. Listening to a cellist, such as Yo-Yo Ma, perform Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 can bring a tear to your eye.

Plenty of research supports the idea that music is medicine for the mind, the body, and the spirit. Music provides relaxation by releasing endorphins and reducing stress.

Alexander Pantelyat, M.D., with the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine, states “Listening to music activates as many, if not more, parts of the brain than any human activity…” His center researches various music-based interventions, including music therapy, which is often a treatment for patients with chronic illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease or Huntington Disease.

For someone unable to speak or to write, music can be a way to express their emotions, including their grief. I have witnessed the magic of playing a song from an Alzheimer’s patient’s childhood and witnessing the patient light up and hum along. Music therapists bring in various instruments a drum to beat, a guitar to strum, that a patient may use to express themselves. The ease of creating a small sound, not even a full melody, may bring joy.

Using these breathing techniques may also help ease intense grief. As a musician, breathing techniques help how you perform, how you lower anxiety and focus. In the article, “How Music Helps People Heal: The Therapeutic Power of Music,” by David Victor, he describes how the use of rhythm in breathing can relax the body in order to address pain, to lower heart rate and blood pressure.

Listening to the “Big 3” classical composers of our lifetime – Bach, Mozart and Beethoven – you can identify the rhythm easily in their melodies. It’s okay if you feel like you are off count or are unsure if you are counting correctly. Focus on the pattern of notes, the melody and that will guide you to relaxation! Put on Pandora or Spotify and ask for relaxing music, even spa music, and close your eyes. Let the music flood into your body and calm grief’s handle on you.

Another breathing exercise is the “4-7-8” technique: breathe in for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds. Using this breathing technique with calming music increases relaxation!

If you are unsure of what to listen to or want to explore examples of music that may bring relaxation to you, may bring joy, or that may make you feel something you did not know music could trigger, then I recommend these 10! As there are countless songs and compositions out there I could recommend, these are 10 that I enjoy and that take me out of my grief, even if only for a few minutes:

• Anything composed by Claude Debussy! Try “Clair de Lune” or “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”, lay down and close your eyes. You will thank me.
• Jon Baptiste’s “Freedom” and rendition of “Blackbird” brings the soul in music that I think is missing from the radio these days.
• Bruno Philippe, a young cellist, portrays such emotion in his body and in his sound! Watch his beautiful performance of Camille Saint-Saens’ Cello Concerto in A Minor.
• If Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade” does not evoke passion and all the endorphins of love, then I do not know what will!
• Including some rock n roll, the group Shinedown has a lead singer who knows how to soar in “Crow and the Butterfly”!
• An artist who has crossed several genres over the years and should be applauded for her songwriting skills, is Brandi Carlile. Check out “The Story”, and keep a tissue handy.
• As a flutist, I have to add composer, Valerie Coleman, a fellow flutist who has created several complex yet amazing melodies. I recommend “Requiem Milonga”.
• As a flutist, I also need to add Andre 3000 from the rap group, Outkast, who decided on a whim to learn flute. Check out his music from his upcoming album, “New Blue Sun”.
• A vocal group making waves, Pentatonix, knows how to produce chords that bring goosebumps. Check out their performance of “Hallelujah”!
• Chris Stapleton is a part of outlaw country, yet his voice is bluesy and knows how to hit emotions, such as “Fire Away”.