The History of Music Therapy
Ancient civilizations such as Greece and Egypt used music for healing. This Greek philosopher wrote about music influencing emotions and behavior.
Who is Plato?
This stress hormone decrease when listening to calming music
What is Cortisol?
This from if music therapy focuses on vocalizing, humming, chanting, and toning to calm the body and activate the vagus nerve.
What is vocal toning therapy?
Music can lower your heart rate and decrease this type of stress biomarker.
What is blood pressure?
Sitting quietly and focusing on the sound of one calming song is known as this relaxation technique.
What is Mindful Listening?
This ancient medical expert, often called the "father of medicine", believed that music had healing qualities for one's mental and physical health.
Rhythmic music (110bpm-120bpm) can naturally slow down this body function to reduce anxiety.
What is breathing rate?
Although not classified as a form of music therapy, this form of stress reduction through the act of beat matching, mixing, and rhythmic flow to regulate mood and energy is known as __________
What is DJing?
The emotional benefit of music therapy helps people calm intense feelings and respond more thoughtfully.
What is improved emotional regulation?
Tapping your hands or fingers to a rhythm/beat in order to release tension/stress is a form of this grounding practice
What is Body Percussion?
This university was the first in the United States to offer an accredited music therapy degree program in 1944.
What is Michigan State University?
Music activates both the emotional (limbic) system and the higher thinking part of the brain.
What is the prefrontal cortex?
This structured method pairs music with imagery to reduce stress and help people explore their emotions.
What is Guided Imagery and Music (GIM)?
Research shows that engaging with music can strengthen memory and focus by stimulating the brain area responsible for memory.
What is the hippocampus?
Creating your own lyrics about your emtions and mathcing them with a meoldy is this self-directed from of music therapy.
What is Therapeutic Songwriting?
In the early 1900s, hospitals hired musicians to improve patients' breathing, mood, and heart rate. This observation is known as a _________ effect.
What is a therapeutic or clinical effect?
When you listen to a song you enjoy, your brain realeases these "feel-good" chemicals.
What are dopamine and endorphins?
This scientific branch of music therapy is designed to help people gain emotional control and increase cognitive function who have suffered brain injuries.
What is Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT)?
Music therapy supports healing as it activates both logic and emotion centers simultaneously, this is called ______ brain enagamenent.
What is bilateral activation?
If you are feeling stressed, choosing music with slow tempos helps the body calm down and relaxes the mind to get better focus. The practice of putting certain songs into a collection is known as
What is Playlist Creation?
This recently published book in 2025 by Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist and cognitive psychologist, writes about the health benefits music has on your mental and physical health.
What is Music as Medicine?
Music therapy helps regulate this system responsible for calming the body after stress.
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
This technique is used by therapists to mirror their clients' musical expression, allowing them to build a connection and deepen their communication with their clients.
What is musical attunement?
Music therapy helps reduce mental overload by shifting the brain into a slower, calmer electrical activity known as ________ brainwaves.
What are alpha brainwaves?
Syncing your breathing to the beat of a song, such as exhaling or inhaling for four counts, is known as this breathing style.
What is Music-Paced Breathing?