Music therapy has been shown to help people suffering with cancer, chronic pain and depression. Our research is testing which parts of the brain are affected by different kinds of music
Music therapy is well-placed to provide support in addressing trauma and promoting wellbeing.
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
McMaster University’s LIVELab is a concert hall where researchers study how sound is produced and experienced, leading to therapeutic applications of music.
LIVELab
McMaster University’s LIVELab is a concert hall where researchers study how sound is produced and experienced, leading to therapeutic applications of music.
Does music usually put you in a better mood? That might help you try a little bit harder and stick with challenging tasks.
Shutterstock
From spontaneous mass singing after a terror attack to Irish laments, music reflects the painful, complex and laborious task of mourning.
J Cole at Etihad Stadium in 2014. Cole (aka ‘Therapist’) runs non-profit organisation Dreamville Foundation, and houses single mothers rent-free in his childhood home.
Photo supplied by Michelle Grace Hunder
Music is a universal human habit, but it’s particularly good for the elderly. From slowing cognitive decline to helping someone recover from a stroke, old age is a great time to pick up an instrument.
Making music helps people come to terms with traumatic life changes.
Matt Gibson
Singers on The Voice last week spoke of the healing power of songwriting. And a new study has found that writing songs about their experience is helping people cope with acquired brain and spinal chord injuries.
Music affords opportunities for emotions and connection like little else.
Nicki Varkevisser
Most young people rely on music to make them feel better, and have had multiple experiences of this working. But if someone you know is struggling with mental health problems it’s worth having a chat.
We’ve learned a lot about how music can help with pain and a score of other clinical problems. But with chronic pain affecting a quarter of us, it’s an area that has received too little attention.