According to the AMTA:

Music Therapy is an established healthcare profession that uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals of all ages. Music therapy improves the quality of life for persons who are well and meets the needs of children and adults with disabilities or illnesses. Music therapy interventions can be designed to:

• promote wellness
• manage stress
• alleviate pain
• express feelings
• enhance memory
• improve communication
• promote physical rehabilitation

Research in music therapy supports its effectiveness in a wide variety of healthcare and educational settings. AMTA associate member, composer Chuck Wild, began writing ultra-slow music to help himself recover from clinical anxiety and panic disorder in 1987. Chuck’s journey through healing led to recording a series of eight relaxation music albums under the name Liquid Mind®.

At the International New Age Trade Show in Denver this past June, the Coalition of Visionary Resources presented Liquid Mind VII: Reflection, with the award for the Best Healing and Meditation Music Album of 2005.

Characteristics of Liquid Mind® music are:

• Ultra slow zero beat tempo
• Frequency restriction
• Absence of dominant rhythm and percussion
• Melodic and rhythmic elements are subtle
• Blanket of sound approach: continuous music, little space
• Variety of melodic and emotional elements
• Gradual changes in sound/music, absence of jarring elements

While we make no scientific claims for the music, Liquid Mind has been used successfully in many traditional and CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) settings:

• anxiety/panic management
• addiction recovery & rehabilitation
• corrections (prison) addiction recovery programs
• chemotherapy centers
• hypnotherapy
• chiropractic pre-treatment
• anger management in schools
• sleep disorders including insomnia (pediatric and geriatric)
• guided relaxation and meditation, especially group settings
• guided imagery
• maternity/childbirth
• post-surgical recovery rooms
• palliative care, including hospice
• attention deficit
• pain management including migraine
• massage therapy
• acupuncture
• yoga and other exercise-based healing regimens
• veterinary post-surgical recovery

To read excerpts from Chuck Wild's presentation at the 2005 American Music Therapy Conference, click here.

Click here to read an article from the Journal of Advanced Nursing: Music Improves Sleep Quality in Older Adults