by Dr Winsome Miller-Rowe, M.B.B.S, F.A.A.P.  As we listen to music, few of us realize how it is  affecting  us - but it is orchestrating our lives, touching  on the  social, physical, spiritual and intellectual  aspects of our  being.

How to use Music for Health

Music is a non-verbal form of expression. It is channeled from the ear to areas of emotional responses in the brain. Music stimulates the imagination, fantasy and intuition. Music which generates the "Relaxation Response" is the key. This is not limited to any particular genre.

The therapeutic effect of music will be limited when people are angry, resentful, critical, distracted, analytical and resistant.

Set aside 20 minutes for your Relaxation time. Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Observe your breathing pattern, check your pulse rate and notice your muscle tension. Is there neck and shoulder stiffness? Evaluate your mood state. Are you angry, happy, etc?

Take long deep breaths, breathing in through the nostrils and out through the mouth, lips slightly open. Imagine the tension leaving your body as you exhale. Let your body respond to the music. Try not to analyze the music. The important thing to do is examine how the music makes you feel.

Following the session, assess your breathing, pulse and muscular tension.

Note the music selections, and your before and after response, and put this information in a notebook. This way you can build a catalogue of your own therapeutic tapes.

How Music affects us

Music can be healing and Music can be harmful.

To understand how music can heal we have to look at how it affects us. As long as we have this knowledge, then we can use it to produce the effect we want.

To be truly healthy we not only have to have healthy bodies (that is the physical), but we need to be mentally and spiritually fit. At the root of most illnesses is stress. Stress undermines our immune system. The immune system is made up of an army of special cells and organs and chemicals and hormones which travel in the blood, fighting off infectious agents, cancer and allergies on a daily basis.

UNPLEASANT FEELINGS AND SOUNDS

Music can mask unpleasant sounds and feelings which are a source of stress. Quiet Baroque music can give a sense of safety, predictability, stability and creates a mentally stimulating environment. Bach, Handel, Vivaldi etc.
These sounds can mask the sound of the dentist's drill for instance or any other unpleasant noises. One can also use the voice to do this by toning. Toning is the use of long vowel sounds or humming and this humming can, through bone conduction, change the sonic landscape.

BRAIN WAVES

The electrical activity of our brains produce waves which vibrate at different cycles per second according to our state of consciousness i.e. ordinary waking states, sleep, deep sleep, meditation, and as our feelings change from being calm to that of strong negative emotions, our brain waves change their frequency. Music can change these brain frequencies so we can consciously use it to change how we feel.

BODY CHEMISTRY

Music has been shown to increase the levels of interlukin 1 in the blood which in turn increases production of lymphocytes, the cells we use to fight infection and also other blood products like platelets. Music used in this experiment was classical, New Age and mild jazz. The subjects were asked to choose the music they preferred (Michigan State University, 1993).
The journal of the American Medical Association, 1996, reported that in a study done in Austin Texas, Music Therapy increased endorphin levels (the body's own pain killers) so that mothers in labour needed less anaesthesia. The music was also providing distraction from pain and relieved anxiety. Besides a natural high which can be had from music, it generates the production of T-cells which boosts our immune system. The cells decline in AIDS/HIV, herpes, leukemia and other diseases.

MUSCLE TENSION, MOVEMENT AND COORDINATION

The ear is not only for hearing, but the vestibular part of it actually orchestrates our movement and balance. The ear integrates information from sound and lets us know horizontal from vertical. Through the medulla, or brainstem, the auditory nerve connects with all the muscles of the body - therefore muscle tone, flexibility and balance are influenced by sound. Through the vagus nerve the inner ear connects with the larynx, heart, lungs, stomach, liver, bladder, kidneys and intestines. This suggests that vibrations from the ear drum interact with the parasympathetic nerves to affect all these organs. Music then can be used in physiotherapy to increase movement in people who are partially paralysed.

RELIEVE ANXIETY

The Director of Baltimore's Coronary Care Unit showed that half an hour of classical music produces the same effect as 10mg of valium for some of the patients. Patients who plan to undergo surgery should choose soothing music and listen to it daily 3-5 days before surgery and ask the nurse in the recovery room to make sure they wake up to this music. It has been shown to enhance healing and recovery.

INCREASE STAMINA

Playing music while we exercise can increase our stamina. Music in the workplace has been shown to increase productivity.

CHANGES OUR PERCEPTION OF TIME AND SPACE

Slow music contains more space between the notes than fast music. When we feel pressed for time and our blood pressure is rising while we are in a traffic jam, slow soothing music can calm us. And when we are feeling down and depressed, fast music can give us a boost. And make time appear to pass quickly

Biography

Dr Winsome Miller-Rowe, M.B.B.S., F.A.A.P.
Medical Doctor - Composer / Artiste / Producer
Artiste name: Winmil

Dr Miller-Rowe is a graduate of the University of the West Indies with a postgraduate degree in Paediatrics from Creighton University, Nebraska, U.S.A. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is the Vice President of the Paediatric Association of Jamaica.

Dr Miller-Rowe is also a Composer and Pianist who passed with distinction and credits the exams set by the Royal School of Music, London up to Grade 8 (finals). She is a Member of the Executive of the Jamaica Federation of Musicians.

She began composing in 1990 when she created The Literacy Song for Jamaica's Adult Literacy Program. This song was used during International Literacy Year. Her song Montego Bay which was among the top ten in the Montego Bay song contest was shown on CNN. She has also played "pan" in the All Girls Steel Band and "The Playboys" while on compus at the University of the West Indies.

Dr Miller-Rowe has been the forerunner in bringing to the public in Jamaica the importance that sound and music play in our lives as regards healing and learning. She has given many workshops on this and has been on radio and appeared on television both in Jamaica and abroad speaking on music as a healing and a learning tool. She presented a paper Music for Health to her medical colleagues at the 50th anniversary of the University of the West Indies Medical Conference in July 998. It was well received.

She released her fir album Music for Relaxation and Joy in August 1996. This album was chosen in 1997 by JAMPRO (the Jamaican Government's export agency) to be represented at Midem, Cannes - the largest marketplace for music. Her music is now international and being heard worldwide.

Since then she has composed four other albums - Quiet Times created for PEACE and LOVE, Music for The Imaginationfor children, Time to Relax done with Dr Tony Vendryes who does a relaxation exercise with her music in the background, and Music for Meditation.

Dr Miller-Rowe's music is being used by hospitals, by a Reiki Master in Florida, by the John Bascoe Children's Home to lessen the aggression in the boys taken off the streets, in spas, in several hotels, on Air Jamaica - the national airline of Jamaica - and in doctors' and dentists' offices. Her music can be heard daily on the radio stations in Jamaica and also abroad. She also entertains at various functions.

Her Mission Statement:
"It is my wish to bring Health, Love, Peace and Harmony to the world through my music"

e-mail: winmil@n5.com.jm
Tel/Fax: (876) 952 3117
SnailMail: 3 Fort Street, Montego Bay, Jamaica, W.I.
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