Music is the Best Therapy

by Gregory Allen Butler

Music is the best therapy that I know of for restoring the passion of my soul. I remember years ago, while in college, coming to the conclusion that listening to music increased my productivity. I started listening to music 24 hours a day. Well, except when I was in class, and that was hard. But I would sleep with music on, study with it, exercise with it, drive with it.

I found that it increased my abilities as a saxophone player. My experience was that listening to music was as important as practicing. It filled my subconscious with musical ideas. But that was not the primary thing that happened.

What got my attention was that it increased my energy. I’m not sure how or why that was except that it relaxed me, and as we all know, stress is a great sapper of energy. Plus, music made me happy, and a happy spirit has more energy than a sad one.

I remember that the effects were so great that I couldn’t understand why music wasn’t played in every classroom. I found that it helped me to relax, focus, and stay happy.

I’m aware that studies done on the effect of music on the brain suggest that classical music in general and Mozart specifically, have the most beneficial effects. But I was never a big classical music fan. I went to a classical music school and for the most part, I didn’t like it. I liked some of the more contemporary classical composers like Stravinsky and Schoenberg. But classical music for the most part dampened my spirits. So I don’t care what the studies show, if a type of music depresses me it can’t at the same time make me feel more energetic and focused. My loss, I guess.

But listening to something that I resonate with has great effects. It makes me feel more alive than when not listening. I guess that this proves that one man’s food is another man’s poison. For instance, I love listening to jazz sax player Michael Brecker (listening to him on headphones as I write this) but it grates on the nerves of my wife. She says it’s too mental. She prefers classical music which I find very mental.

Regardless of what kind of music you like, listen to that. There must be a reason that it resonates with you, and that must have something to do with your soul’s expression and longing. If it makes you happy, relaxed, energetic and motivated, then I don’t care what the musicologists or psychologists have to say about it. If it resonates with you, it’s a healing energy for you. It’s your remedy. It’s just as important as good nutrition and exercise.

The Sufi teacher Inayat Khan was a master musician and wrote about music and its effect on consciousness. I found these two paragraphs of great interest that support my hypothesis that music is the best therapy for invigorating the soul:

Is there an explanation of why man rejoices, or why he is impressed by the music played to him? Is it only an amusement, or a pastime? No, there is something else besides it. The principal reason is that in man there is a perpetual rhythm going on, which is the sign of life in him, a rhythm which is expressed in his pulsation and in his heart-beats, even in his heart. Upon this rhythm depends his health - not only his health, but his moods. Therefore, anywhere, a continued rhythm must have an effect upon every person, and upon every person its effect is distinct and different.

It is amusing and interesting to know that when the jazz band came into existence everyone said to his friends: 'Something crazy has come into society'. Yet one has not resisted it! It has come more and more into fashion and, however much a person hates it and is prejudiced against its name, he at least likes to stand and listen to it for five minutes. What is the reason? The reason is that, in whatever form the rhythm is emphasized upon the body and the mind of man, it has a psychological effect.

So the next time you find yourself feeling down, put on your favorite piece of music. Try it all day long. If it makes you feel like dancing, dance. If it makes you want to sing, then sing. If it makes you want to tap your heel or tap your thigh, then do that. You might just discover that within 20 minutes you have found the rhythm within that restores the state of your consciousness to one of joy and enthusiasm. Maybe you’ll come to my conclusion that for you too, music is the best therapy for restoring the passion of your soul.