Using Music for Stress Management

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the use of music in its context as a stress management tool and provides some examples from the literature as to the efficacy of its use for ordinary people in managing stress in their lives.

From the Paper:

"Ever since man first banged two rocks or his hunting implements together and chanted at the moon, music has formed part of mankind's culture and society. According to one authority, "The first beginnings of music lie ever deeper in historical obscurity than those of speech, the relics of which are very much older" (Einstein, 1959, p. 3). Another advocate of using music as a stress-management tool says, "The use of sound as a healing modality is nothing new. It is probably as old as the first sound ever made by man or a woman. The first humans were believed to have used sounds in sacred and ritualistic ways to promote fertility, to aid at birth, to facilitate the growing of crops, to accept death and for many other occasions" (p. 17). By using sound, our ancient ancestors attempted to summon spirits in order to cure sickness and disease. Music is simply sound which has been arranged into pleasing or interesting patterns. Music continues to form an important part of many cultural and social activities and people use music to express their emotions and ideas; music also serves to entertain and generally helps people to relax. From a stress-management point of view, music can play an important part in helping people unwind after a tough day and can provide an alternative to relaxation than more caustic methods such as alcohol or drugs."

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