Music Therapy-An Interview By Stanley stephan

An Interview by Stanley Stephan


1.Music therapy overview.

1Music means different things to different people.How do you define music?What does it mean to you?

Ans:It is undefinable.Because it is Naadabrahma/God for me.

2.What is the theory behind music therapy.Homeopathy theory is that like cures like.Ayurveda states that the human body is composed of three fluids vaatham,pitham,kapham.And disease is an imbalance in their proportion.

Ans:The basic principle behind music therapy is Naadalayayoga.To be one with naada,to be one with prakrithy or nature.In Homeopathy the principle of similia and in Ayurveda the principle of balancing the thriguna(satwa,rajas,Thamas)are the basic principle.Music therapy by Naadalayayoga gives an advaitha of all the different types of methods of cure.

3.Can diseases be cured with music?What are they?

Ans;Yes .can be cured.From lullaby to deathbed there are innumerable situations where we can use music both as curative and prophylactic measure.The best thing would be to start using it as a preventive one,and do research on the curative values.For developmental defects and for normal development of personality we can use music in children.In adults also to reduce stress,to increase creativity and efficiency and to prevent Cardiovascular symptoms and for curing several diseases you can use.

4 How does music cure diseases”?

Ans:If I speak in terms of Allopathy ,I will have to say Neuropsychoimmunologically.There are several neuronal pathways and networks which affect our psychosomatic character and behaviours.The stimulation of such networks lead to secretion of chemicals collectively called neuronal peptides ,or even as hormones .The blood supply to the activated centers increase,bringing more oxygen to the site,which allow these centers to be identified when we give music.The neuropsychoimmunological function activation leads to the cure,prevention and arrest of certain symptoms and signs of disease.This is a very general statement .It involves quiet a bit of complicated and complex interaction between immune systems,nervous system and our psychosomatic system which is kept in complete homeostasis(a word for balance)
If,I say by ayurveda ,I will say that the thrigunas in our body are wellbalanced (homeostasis called sama and saama by Indians)by good music,so that we get a balanced Niraamaya personality,and the aama or toxins in our body are removed by increased blood supply and oxygen which is equivalent to Praana.Indian Raagachikitsa developed as a part of Yoga and Ayurveda and the principles are more in line with them.
5.If music plays a supporting role to mainstream medicine ,rather than directly cure all illness ,what is the underlying principle that makes this happen.

Ans:I don’t think that music plays only a supportive role to medicine.It is part and parcel of ayurveda and yoga which are traditional methods of medical treatment in India.The underlying principle as I said from the point of view of modern medicine is neuropsychoimmunology.
But,you should not mistake music for music therapy.Just by learning music or by hearing music one is not proficient in music therapy.It requires training and knowledge of the discipline of health also.At present we don’t have a fullfledged educational training center or a university approved programme etc .Till such things develop and music therapy become a welldeveloped science with enough trained therapists to support the training and therapy and research programmes,it has to function under wellestablished Allopathy or Ayurvedic centers.As part of such institutions.

6.How does music therapy compare to Reiki ,pranic healing,acupuncture ,acupressure and other forms of holistic and energy healing?

Ans:Reiki involve touch,Music therapy also involve touching the heart of the listener.Music therapy as I first mentioned is naadalayayoga.It directly connects the cosmic energy to bioenergy fields through the various plexuses or nerve centers and in that respect it has similarity to the other systems you mentioned.
7.How does music therapy compare to devotional or faith healing
Ans:The question is whether it is just a placebo effect.Placebo effect depends on the formula,
Best-documented thoughts are known to affect health
•To counteract the effect of the placebo-by-proxy, researchers have resorted to the double-blind study, in which neither the subjects nor the experimenters know which subjects are receiving the placebo. However, according to Dr. Larry Dossey in Healing Words:
The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine, the placebo effect has contaminated even double-blind studies.
For example, researcher Jerry Solfvin conducted three double-blind studies on the effectiveness of vitamin E on heart patients' angina pectoris, the chest pain associated with heart disease.
An enthusiastic doctor who believed in vitamin E found it significantly more effective than placebo, while two studies conducted by skeptics showed no effect
Dossey cites studies dealing with meprobamate, an early tranquilizer of questionable effectiveness, which showed similar results:
Enthusiasts consistently found it worked, skeptics could find no effects beyond those of placebo. To clarify this situation, researchers designed double-blind study in which one of the physicians had a "skeptical, experimental" attitude toward the drug, while the other had an "enthusiastic, therapeutic" attitude toward it. They were totally unaware which pills were which, meprobamate or placebo. The patients also were in the dark; they did not know they were involved in an experiment.
Results: meprobamate proved significantly more powerful than placebo -- but only for the physician who believed in it. There was no drug effect for skeptical physician's patients.


Study repeated, simultaneously at 3 metropolitan psychiatric outpatient clinics. results were replicated in two of the three clinics.... Thus Solfvin concludes,".... the double-blind cannot be assumed to guarantee exclusion of nonspecific effects of treatment, especially when actual treatment has a weak or variable effect.". suggests existence of something extraordinary: Experimenters' and physicians' beliefs about remedy communicated to patients subliminally, if not telepathically.
placebo effect points towards : thoughts do heal. very existence of this effect, especially to the extent that researchers must take great pains to work around it, proves that belief in the efficacy of cure, can and do heal.
Power of the Placebo Effect
Faith in cure was one of the essential elements in healing in statements attributed to Jesus (Matt: 17:20, 13:58, and Mark 6:6).
Michael Murphy, in The Future of the Body, a comprehensive treatise on extraordinary human abilities, devotes an entire chapter to the placebo effect

Michael Murphy studies ,he cites :-
1.Angina Pectoris
2.Warts.
3.Asthma.
4.Pain Relief.
5Arthritis.
6Cancer. “Meaning and Medicine,” Dr. Larry Dossey gives an anecdotal account that strongly suggests that placebos can cure cancer in some cases:


Placebos work best under proper social conditions, which Michael Murphy summarizes as follows:
1.Enlarging patient groups improve responses to placebos, because power of suggestion is increased by greater number of participants.
2.A placebo's effectiveness depends to a large extent upon physician's interest in the patient involved, interest in treatment, and concern about treatment's results.
3.A placebo's power is increased by experimental studies that impart a sense of interest and care to subjects.
4.Placebo effects increased when treatment has good reputation
5.Relationships with others are important element in reinforcing beliefs.


The placebo effect offers some of the most convincing evidence there is for the existence of psychosomatic healing, and for two reasons:
1. It is overtly acknowledged, and almost universally presupposed in practice, by mainstream medical research.
2. Its effects can be quite dramatic.
Accordingly, it not only demonstrates the reality of psychosomatic healing, but it also demonstrates the extent of the mind's power in effecting it. Hence, it poses a very serious problem for anyone who would deny either the reality or the significance of the power of thought to heal.

.
In Music therapy
1.In selfhealing-if patient has faith in it-placebo.effect may be working.
2.If doctor has no faith in it-may not work-because with a doctor/patient it is not psychosomatic but psychokinetic healing.Christ believed what he said and did.If healer has no faith in himself and his deeds and words and healing techniques psychokinesis cannot work.

Ans:I have to be healthy in body,mind,intellect and spirit to be able to help those who come to me.If I am unhealthy in these 4 aspects ,I would not be able to help others balancing their Thriguna.
And I do follow some disciplines in my life.I have been a vegetarian throughout my life.And had been practicing celibacy from 1980.Whether it has been of help to me or not ,I am not saying anything.Because ,people may have different opinions on such matters.

12.Is there a difference in being a musician and a music therapist?

Ans:Plenty.Musician can learn about his ragas,perfecting the ragas,etc but need not be humanistic.But a music therapist cant afford to be like that.I remember here the words of one of the great pathologists ,William Osler.”The disciplne of Medicine is noble to those who are noble”I would like to say the same about music and music therapy too.For those who are noble every profession is noble.For those who are not,all professions are just for personal gains only.

13.Does music has any specific status in the maintaining of wellbeing?

Ans:Yes.With music your countenance changes to calm,quiet and tranquil and peaceful which is a change in the electroencephalographic patterns in your nervous system towards meditation waves.This helps us to have a wellbeiing /feel-good sensation.

14.What are your thoughts on commercial music.How does it impact music therapy?

Ans:You have to specify when you say commercial.Do you mean film music?Do you mean any other specific type of music?Many people classify film music as commercial and classical music as noncommercial.I have found no such distinction.Any music can be touching your heart and thus healing you ,provided you use soft melodies and less of noisy gimmicks and heavy metal music.There are many film oriented music which are raagabased melodies .(Like naadabrahmathin,sindurathilakanchithe etc etc ) On the other hand you can see commercial oriented classical musicians mushrooming around with gimmicks of their own to make a mark in the field of competition
.That is why I said we have to specify the term commercial music.

15.What is the impact of cultural upbringing in a music therapy session?Does music transcend cultural barriers?

Ans:Cultural upbringing has only limited value in music therapy which is universal,useful even to a cow or plant which does not know which raga is being played.But for music appreciation it is important.From the point of view of therapy ,any person ,whether he/she had musical training or not gets relief .Here we can compare it with a medical treatment.It is not the doctors alone who know the details of the treatment who get cured,but also laymen who have no idea of what they are getting/taking get cured.As medical value of music is concerned it is more important that your music should be able to touch the hearts.
Music transcends all cultural,caste/creed/religious barriers and is universal in its message and spirit.

16.What are your recommendations towards wholesome life?What are the things that every person must know ,like home remedies,in terms of music and its therapeutic effects?
I would recommend moderation in everything(no excesses whether it be food,sex, or sleep )and simple life with high thinking.(less of gossip,more of high thinking!!!!)Soft melodious music to start the day,and to end the day will make your nerves relaxed and give you good sleep and less stress.Parents and teachers in every school/home should be given this message .Heavy metal music is injurious to health.Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.Decrease intake of fatty foods .Be yourself.Be satisfied Have positive thinking..These will help us a lot to lead a wholesome life useful to us as well as to society.


THE POWER OF MUSIC

1What is the power of raga?What is the underlying principle by which it colours the mind?Is it possible for someone who is unaware of a particular raga to experience its mood?
Ans:The power of the raga is in the 7 swara and the 22 pitches.If you are using all the swaraas naturally all the centers must be stimulated depending on the principle of swara.If we are using different thaalaas also ,the number of possibilities are many .then there are the ragas with one or two swaras missing,giving different shades .The number of raagaas are thus anantham and their moods are also anantham.No single musician have ever known all the raagaas .
The minimum we can do to achieve all the swaraas in all the possible combinations is to have the 72 raagaas of the basic melakartha upon which (it is a mathematical edifice)the other derivatives are based.
As I said,no musician knows all the raagaas.And if music therapy is for musicians who know some of the raagaas only,what is the science behind it?That itself shows that identification of raga is not needed for cure of disease
In fact our ancestors when they said,pasurvethi,sisurvethi,vethi raagarasam phani(animals,infants and even serpents can enjoy the ecstacy of raga)meant this.Your second question is therefore null and void.
In fact those who know a few raagaas waste time when a new raga is heard ,to find out the name of it,instead of getting involved with the mood of the raga evoked.They are trying to find fault with rendering of the raga and in that endeavour ,their brain never achieve the shanthi mood ..They loose chance to enjoy the moods of raga by intellectual slavery to scholarship.A childlike involvement in the lullaby ,(like a child listening to its mother)makes you a better experiencer of the emotional content/bhaava/rasa/

2.What is the role of taala?How does rhythm induce a response in us?

ANS:Thala is included when we say naadalayayogam.It is part and parcel of music.Rhythms (without language or saahitya)are very important when you train a child who has not yet aquired language ,and in mentally retarded.

3.What is the perception of bhaavam or layam?
Bhaavam is the emotional content which produce rasa or aesthetic experience.It is that which touches the heart and healing touch has to come through that.If it is not there,no patient will relish your therapy.Layam you get when all these are amalgamated into the final product,the music.(which has,swara,raga,thaala,bhaava and laya producing a specific rasa or experience which attracts and pleases the hearts,touches the heart)When we use the term raagachikitsa all these are included.Not separate .Indian classical music is a combination of these giving different possibilities and anantham variations which is unique in the history of the world itself.

4.What are the parallels to this in other forms of music?
Ans:There are parallelisms when we use the instrumental music and western classical music . In classifying pitch etc they too use the same mathematical formulae.What was used by Pythagorus was used in India from saamavedic times and Sulbasuthra period,and what is known as Eulers formula is known to ancient musicians and astronomers of India alike.So ,there is no comparison with Indian music which has the most complex and most pleasing form .For comparison we should know the modern theories as well.

5.What is the role of words?Sahityam?

Ans:Man as he aquire language ,his brain structure has welldeveloped language centers .The words /sahitya and the music actually stimulate the adjacent parts of brain and there is superimposition.Before developing language(infancy,embryo,protohistoric man,mentally retarded children and adults)brain recognize rhythms only as music ,since heartbeats are heard even in uterine cavity of mother.But this is not enough for all healing So ,we have to be careful when we select sahitya.The only defect I have found with film music is that it creates lot of Vibhava in individuals so that instead of healing ,some of the songs may precipitate illhealth.Devotional music has no such problem with patients.Select spiritual music with melodious peaceful raagaas would be a good method to adopt.

6What is the role of tone colour or sound quality?Most often we find that we are drawn to highend music systems and digital recording In order to enjoy music.Even with highend systems ,if we playback a song recorded with inferior equipment ,we cannot focus on the m usic or enjoy it.

Ans Natural sounds are the best for toning the chakra of your body.For that digitalization is not necessary.Each of us being a unique multitude of frequency vibrations ,there is one fundamental tone at the root of our existence ,a tone that represents the pure essence of that person that is synonymous with the soul.Vocalise that tone to send sympathetic vibrations to the root ,awaken the energy that assist in spiritual unfoldment.It is a vibrational point of reference that can be sounded at any time ,even hummed as you walk around.Just by toning OM alone you can choose your fundamental tone rather than selecting a tone arbitrarily.only things you need are patience and perseverance.Even without digital music one can achieve that.
Naadalayayogam is music therapy .It does not have the prerequisite of any high-tech equipment.You are talking now about the enjoyment ,quality of instrument etc.Not about the quality of human being,or of the giving of peace of mind /relief to a ailing person.The language of therapy and the language of music are slightly different there,though both have to function simultaneously for maximum results.
If I can meditate only with a perfect digitalized system,I haven’t learnt to meditate properly.To meditate on music and to get relief,we need not depend on external sources.That is from the point of view of an individual.

But when you give music on a mass scale in institutionalized music therapy,you have to be very careful to select the best quality voice and the best quality equipments .Because you cant afford to experiment with the wellbeing of your client.You want to give them the maximum benefit with your therapy.(and reduce the number of failures in your therapy practice)


7.What is the connection with music and spirituality?

Ans:Music is Naadabrahmam.It is spiritual. It is not a connection between two separate things. It is ONENESS with God.

8.2oth and 21st century science tends to support the theory that we are a sum total of the chemical processes in our bodies ,even the mind is a manifestation of this process.Ayurveda believes that a human system is consists of the body and the mind.Spiritual sciences talk about the body ,the mind,and the indestructible soul.So from musical frame of reference what is a human being?

Ans:Please do refer to answer no 4 under Music therapy overview.
I don’t think that we can segregate human being into purely physical or purely mental/intellectual beings.We have all these elements in us.Essentially a human being is the vibrating energy which manifest as these various forms.The frequency of vibrations determine our gross body,subtle mind and intellect .(in varying proportions)In musical terms we are bundles of vibrating energy what is called Naadabrahmam.The frequencies differ and so the other features also differ.Just as there are anantham raga possibilities,there are anantham possibilities of manifestations for human also in the vibrating sense.
In short ,this is equivalent to saying that each one of us have an equivalent raaga in the cosmic vibrating field.Or we are one with cosmic principle.In Sanskrit:Aham Brahmasmi and Sarvam khalvidam brahma.

9.How does learning music contribute to development of intellect?

Ans:Just like any other discipline it opens up the possible neuronal networks for cognizance,memory ,concentration,communication etc.

10.What is your advice to parents regarding education of children in music?

Ans:If the child has a vaasana only send for music training professionally.Don’t compel .
Even if there is no vaasana,do give exposure to good melodious music regularly at morning and evening before bedtime because it will make your child stressfree and happy throughout.
11.What is your advice to students regarding learning music?

Ans:Keep your calm in all situations and devote yourself to your art and science as if it is God.Not just as a jobseeking training.Music is an ocean.No one can master it completely.So be humble in your endeavours and respect the elders.Especiallly the Guru.If someone is below your standards,don’t ridicule.He/she may be having a higher intelligence than you in something else/

12.What is your advice to adults and people in power regarding music?

Music therapy is still an infant discipline in India.We need proper curriculum,syllabus,administrative and management guidelines,therapeutic guidelines,centers of training etc. For these people in power should be given awareness of the discipline its merits and national and international opportunities it create etc.If given proper care ,and developed Indian music can work wonders for national and international integration,for world peace and overall development .It is a mahaaadvaitha of integration and assimilation of arts and sciences and philosophy for world peace to develop world citizens.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

1When did you find you have music in blood?

Ans:At the age of 3-5.

2.Was there a special incident in your life that lead to your induction into music education?

Ans:I am not a musician.I never had proper music education in my life.I am a doctor by profession.But ,I had a series of rhythmic periodic astronomical synchronicities which made me delve into music and music therapy .Which I am writing as a book at present.

3.What is your motivation behind your sadhana?
Ans:Moksha only.

4.Can you describe a deep emotional and personal experience with music?

Ans:Several. I was moved by a young cancer patient who wanted me to sit beside her and hold her hands so that she gets good sleep.And she wanted to talk to yesudas ,whose Kalyani raga Nithichaalasukhama of Tyagaraja ,I had given her in her last days.But ,she could not wait for that golden moment.Death took her away so soon.I often think of her and her unfulfilled last wish.

5.Every musician suffers great constraints and deep anguishes.Would you like to share some of those moments?How did music help you survive that?

Ans:Music has always helped me to be in happy mood,to have a peaceful atmosphere around me in which I can have highly intellectual works and mental works done.Even in times of trials I have been in company of music which kept my intellect steady.

6.Are you a spiritual person?

Ans:I think so.What do you think from what I have just said?It is you who should say that .Not me.Thank you for the questionnaire.
7 When you interact with people who have no interest in music or who have very little training ,what do you feel ?What are your observations about them?

Ans:There is no one who is to be discriminated like that in therapy.Even such people can get something out of our love and concern.Touch their hearts with compassion,concern if they don’t relish music.And then slowly bring them to a musical environment through a careful listening to their MLP is my policy.It usually works well.
8.Can you describe your creative process?Do you find parallels with other human activities?

Ans:My creative processes are almost like dreams to me.Because my creativity comes in out of the body moments of dreams or musical transcendence.(The poetry ,I mean)The other writings come as usual in waking states but they too are often a continuation of what I felt in my most intimate moments of creativity.
The human activities ar e all interrelated and especially as a student and researcher into human consciousness ,I think my creativity is a part of my consciousness,as natural as a flower to a plant .

9.Do you feel you had enough music?What do you do then?

Ans:How can one have had enough of music?Is it not an ocean?What we have is only drops from it.I will be in love with music ,till my death.(as I had been in my infancy).Still an infant learning and enjoying the intricacies of music .

7.If you didn’t have musical training ,what do you think you would be?

Ans:I didn’t have musical training.I am a medical doctor by profession,a pathologist .I would have become a paatologist ,(as lyricist /poet R.K.Damodaran said one)if I had some training in music.But I didn’t have it .!!!!!!

Institutional details.

1The name of institution.

I am a retired professor of Pathology from Amrita institute of medical sciences and research center.
I am at present engaged in writing a few text books and developing a curriculum/syllabus etc for the music therapy as a discipline in India.For which I have taken retirement from my profession.


The vision: Worldpeace ,national and international integration through a Mahaadvaitha of arts and sciences in a musical environment .

The services offered. Educative/research/administrative/therapeutic advice for music therapy and for spirituality of music.
How do you advertise your institution?
I do not advertise.
10.Expansion plans ?Future plans?
Please do see the book naadalayayoga to be released next month by DC books It is the first of a series on music therapy research .The discipline has just begun in India.We have to go a long way.Miles before we sleep.