Premature babies are thought to go

through a lot of pain when healing.

Though now in some hospitals, they have

started playing music in the hopes that

it'll put them at ease. (2) This is very inter-

esting, because most of us would not

think of music as a primitive form of

stress reliever. None of this has been

made completely concrete yet, but it is a

popular theory. Most of us would agree

though, that if we could reduce the

amount of pain and discomfort that pre-

mature babies face, we would sleep a lot

better.

Music has been shown in more than one study that listening to music on a regular basis can help lower blood pressure. In a study in Maryland University, 28 adults (45-70 years of age) on high blood pres-sure, or hypertension, medication were asked to listen to thirty minutes of Classi-cal music, Celtic music, or Raga music eve-ryday while breathing slowly. (3, 5, 7) In a week, their blood pressure was down by 3.2 points, and in a month, their blood pressure was down by 4.4 points. (7) This can be an extremely helpful thing to these people, as sometimes medication and healthy eating cannot do enough, and can be expensive. (7) Music is an inexpensive, risk free form of aiding people with high blood pressure be relieved faster. Most of us already listen to music, who knew it could be such a helpful medical tool when

used on a regular basis? iPods do have a use after all. So go plug in, and relax to some tunes, its good for you.

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Interview

with Kathy

Lord

2

Making Music 2

Music in My

Life

2

Music Ther-

apy at Home

3

Bibliography 4

Resources 4

M I C D S

B Y H E L E N A D E O .

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

Interesting

news for the

musically

intrigued

Light tone

and easy

reading

High Blood Pressure Remedy in Music

Musical Premature Babies?

Healthy Music N O V E M B E R 2 4 T H 2 0 0 9 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

P A G E 2

Note: This

newsletter was

made while

listening to old

jazz and

alternative rock.

Listening to music

can make us feel in a

state of bliss.

Making Music

Music in My Life

Interview with Kathy Lord Kathy Lord, the Co-

Founder of Music that

Heals, a foundation that

plays music for the ill,

kindly shared her views

on the subject of healing

music with me. She

found that in the past

thirty years that she's

been playing music, it

brings people memories

or fantasies, and that

feeling will often uplift

someone and help them

get over what's bringing

them down, be it emo-

tional or physical. (6)

This is one of those

things that you can’t

deny. If anyone knows

about this subject, it’s

Kathy. The way she de-

scribed how music heals,

or how it takes us to an-

other time makes sense.

We all have songs that

remind us of people,

times, places, feelings.

It’s hard not to connect

songs to memories.

healing process. Long

airplane flights became

therapy sessions. Playing

the trumpet has also

helped, because no mat-

ter where I live, I can

always play that. Music

can and has been one of

In my life, music has defi-

antly played a big part. I

know that when big

things like moving across

continents and leaving all

my friends behind hap-

pened, my iPod was defi-

antly a big ally in the

the few things that has

been stable in my life. My

iPod is my only friend

that won’t move, that I

wont move away from,

and that can’t die!

worthwhile pastime,

hobby, and sometimes

even what you make a

living out of. Knowing

that playing your instru-

ment helps you feel bet-

ter about yourself and

helps you calm down or

get hyped up hast to be

useful information for

musicians out there.

Maybe this is why

MICDS has a music pro-

gram? Should we invest

more into it?

Playing music has been

known to help people

concentrate. (3) It can

help raise your self-

esteem, and when your

body synchs with the

music it can make you

calm or agitated, depend-

ing on the tune (3 and

10) Playing music is a

H E A L T H Y M U S I C

Music Therapy at Home

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

Want to test these Music

Therapy theories out on

yourself? Don’t have a pro-

fessional Musician

at home? Well here

are some ideas. Ac-

cording to Jonathan

Goldman, “Sonic

Tools” can help you

calm down. (10)

One of those tools

is a singing bowl,

which creates a lovely sound

when you use a mallet to

trace its edge.(10) You could

also go to websites

like healing-

sounds.com or

biosonics.com if you

don't happen to have

a singing bowl or tun-

ing fork handy at your

office desk.

Famous iPod advertisement

by Apple

“ According to

Jonathan

Goldman,

“Sonic Tools”

can help you

calm down.”

Bibliography

1. American Music Therapy Association. Music Therapy Makes a Difference. 2009. 18 November 2009 <http://www.musictherapy.org/>.

2. "Children: music may help premature babies.(Science Desk)(VITAL SIGNS)(Drawing)(Brief article)." The New York Times,

June 2, 2009 v158 i54694 pD6(L). Science Resource Center. Gale. 02 November 2009 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/ servlet/SciRC?ste=1&docNum=CJ200946033>

3. "Get tuned in: whether you listen to it or play it, music has been shown to ease pain and anxiety." Natural Health, June 2007 v37 i6 p15(2). Science Resource Center. Gale. 02 November 2009 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SciRC? ste=1&docNum=A164110830>

4. "Jukebox.(SCENES AND SIGHTINGS FROM THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS AND BEYOND)(songs to fight AIDS)(Brief arti-cle)." Smithsonian, March 2008 v38 i12 p28(1). Science Resource Center. Gale. 02 November 2009

<http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SciRC?ste=1&docNum=A176588298>

5. "Listen to the music.(What's Good For You: News from the world of natural health)(Brief article)." Natural Life, Sept-Oct 2008 p58(1). Science Resource Center. Gale. 02 November 2009 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SciRC? ste=1&docNum=A184132763>

6. Lord, Kathy. Healthy Music Helena de Oliveira. November 2009.

7. "Music to you heart.(Brief article)." Prevention, Oct 2008 v60 i10 p023. Science Resource Center. Gale. 02 November 2009 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SciRC?ste=1&docNum=A192647906>

8. Rose, Charlie. Healthy Music Helena de Oliveira. November 2009.

9. Thayer, Marc. Healthy Music Helena de Oliveira. November 2009.

10. "Tune in: discover the healing power of sound with singing bowls, tuning forks, and other musical instruments.(Natural Healing: holistic wellness solutions)." Natural Health, May 2009 v39 i5 p80(2). Science Resource Center. Gale. 02 Novem ber 2009 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SciRC?ste=1&docNum=A198713110>

Resources 1. American Music Therapy Association. Music Therapy Makes a Difference. 2009. 18 November 2009 <http://www.musictherapy.org/>.

6. Lord, Kathy. Healthy Music Helena de Oliveira. November 2009.

8. Rose, Charlie. Healthy Music Helena de Oliveira. November 2009.

9. Thayer, Marc. Healthy Music Helena de Oliveira. November 2009.

Images Almirall, Marizel. The Witch's Garden. 2009. November 2009 <http://www.thewitchsgarden.com/-%20New%20Folder/5%20singing%20bowl% 201.jpg>. Complete Wellbeing Publishing Private Limited. Complete Wellbeing. November 2009 <http://completewellbeing.com/static/img/ articles/2009/02/healing-energies-of-music-1.jpg>. Cultomedia Corp 2009. Cult of Mac. 2009. November 2009 <http://www.cultofmac.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/I pod_people_blue.gif>. JBANetwork, Inc. myNewsletterBuilder. 2009. November 2009 <http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/ex/template_content_corner/ex107/I mages/high_blood2.jpg>. The Science Museum. Science Museum. November 2009 <http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/babybrainscans/images/ wtebabeinc3lowEX.jpg>.