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Writer's pictureJoshua Leeds

21st Century Soundwork–Great Opportunities to Grow Your Sound Practice

Updated: Aug 28

Soundwork continues to be in the largest period of growth I’ve seen in the last

forty years. Life is very different now and becoming more so every year.

As soundworkers, there are great opportunities on the horizon.


To begin, I define soundwork as the varied modalities contributing to the therapeutic applications of music and sound. This includes music and sound therapies, vibroacoustics, therapeutic bedside musicians, musical thanatology, scientists, technologists, and all music lovers.


What’s causing this tremendous momentum?


The Drivers of Change

1. Money. Since 2017, famous opera soprano and arts advocate Renée Fleming has been instrumental in US gov’t research funding that’s now reached $40m+. There have never been resources of this magnitude for the study of music and neuroscience.


2. Research. The creation of practical programs results from vibrant explorations taking place in university and clinic research centers.


3. Need. Mental health issues and the sheer size of aging baby boomers have

created a vacuum for health and wellness therapeutic modalities. Global warming, social justice issues, and geopolitics present a perfect storm.


Health Applications of 2024 Therapeutic Music

and Soundwork

1. Anxiety disorders

2. Depression

3. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

4. Chronic pain

5. Insomnia and sleep disorders

6. Alzheimer's disease and dementia

7. Parkinson's disease

8. Autism spectrum disorders

9. Stroke recovery

10. Cancer-related symptoms and treatment side effects

11. Cardiovascular conditions

12. Premature infant development

13. Traumatic brain injury

14. Fibromyalgia

15. Multiple sclerosis

16. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)


In many instances, calming and mood alteration are accomplished with common soundwork techniques using resonance, entrainment and pattern identification:


Anxiety disorders: Guided listening, playing instruments, and songwriting

aids the expression of emotions.

Depression: Drumming circles, singing, or composing music to build self-esteem.

PTSD: Rhythmic entrainment helps regulate the nervous system,

and songwriting creates non-verbal expression of experiences.

Alzheimer's and dementia: Singing familiar songs and rhythm-based activities maintain cognitive abilities and reduce agitation.

Premature infant development: Gentle lullabies with the sounds of

heartbeats.

Insomnia and sleep disorders: Specially composed music and binaural beats.

Cancer-related side effects: Soundwork can help improve mood, reduce stress, and provide emotional support.


In more complex challenges, specialized music and sound techniques are effective:

Parkinson's: Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS)

Autism spectrum disorders: Sound therapies like the Tomatis Method

Stroke recovery: Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT)

Cardiovascular conditions: Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS)

Traumatic brain injury: Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS)

Multiple sclerosis: Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS)

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Rhythmic exercises and instrument playing are used to enhance focus and self-regulation skills.

Chronic pain: Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) improves movement and guided imagery with music for pain management.


Advanced therapeutic techniques mentioned above (i.e., RAS and MIT) require specialized Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) training. More information can be found at https://nmtacademy.co. Of course, it is always imperative to know our wheelhouse and when we are outside of our proverbial knowledge lane.


21st Century Music and Sound Therapies

I feature Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) in this blog as an example of

how techniques change when 21st-century neuroscience plays an informing role.


Beginning in the 1990s, neuroscientist and music therapist Michael Thaut, Ph.D. and his colleagues developed/adapted the following techniques as part of the innovative Neurologic Music Therapy. The following NMT methodologies are exemplary of the confluence of 20th-century music therapy and 21st-century neuroscience research:


• Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation

RAS is a therapeutic rehabilitation technique to improve motor function and is primarily used for neurological injuries (stroke, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, and others). RAS uses rhythmic auditory cues found in music or metronome beats.


The success of RAS is based on neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. RAS leverages the natural tendency of the human motor system to synchronize with external rhythms. This entrainment can help retrain neural pathways involved in movement. By repeatedly practicing movements in time with rhythmic cues, patients can potentially rewire their brain's motor control circuits.


• Melodic Intonation Therapy

MIT uses melodic and rhythmic elements to renew speech production from stroke or traumatic brain injury. Originally developed in Boston in the 1970s, MIT was designed to help people with non-fluent aphasia, usually due to left-hemisphere language center damage which affects the ability to speak. MIT was adapted by NMT to capitalize on the often-preserved ability of patients to sing, even when they have difficulty speaking.


MIT typically begins with the therapist singing simple phrases with exaggerated pitch changes. The patient listens and then attempts to reproduce the sung phrase. Gradually, melodic elements are reduced as normal speech patterns return.


• Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance

TIMP involves playing musical instruments to stimulate movement patterns. Applying neuroplasticity principles, the goal is to retrain motor functions where neurological motor impairments have occurred.


Using percussion (drums, tambourines, maracas) keyboards, adapted string or

wind instruments, and, if necessary, electronic instruments that can be triggered with minimal movement, repetitive movements lead to motor rehabilitation. Music exercises to target specific movements utilize gradual progression in complexity. TIMP is often combined with physical and occupational therapy. Due to the strong connection between the auditory and motor systems in the brain, the goal of TIMP is to create new neural pathways, or strengthen existing pathways, through repetitive, music-guided movements. Its effectiveness stems from enjoyable repetitive movements that come with music-making.


• Patterned Sensory Enhancement

PSE also leverages the brain's ability to integrate auditory and motor information using rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic components. These musical elements provide movement cues that reflect daily life activities. Like other NMT music techniques, PSE is targeted to neurological disorders affecting movement.


The goal of PSE is to facilitate and organize movement patterns. By providing auditory cues that match the intended movement, PSE enhances balance and coordination activities.


How Will You Embrace NeuroScience?

I find it fascinating these evolved techniques have recognizable antecedents: resonance, entrainment, and/or pattern identification. Understandably, progression takes place when we stand on the shoulders of those who precede us. In other words, NMT is a great example of taking principles widely used in the 20th century and putting them through a 21st-century neurologic lens. NMT has greatly refined and expanded foundational soundwork approaches.


As a consequence of understanding what’s happening in the brain while listening or moving to music, highly focused processes have developed that increase the sophistication of both music and sound therapeutics. This results in effective soundwork techniques contributing to holistically-oriented recoveries.


As mentioned earlier in this blog, these musical methodologies require special

training; therapeutic professionals using these techniques are directly re-wiring the brain in people with debilitating neurological illnesses. To date, there have been approximately 5,000 professionals, world-wide, who’ve also been trained in NMT.


I’ve heard it said that the only things that are new in the world are new combinations. The integration of soundwork methodologies often depends on the therapist's training and the specific needs of the client. The combining of music and sound therapies with neuroscience can offer enhanced psychological and physiological aspects of healing. As research in these areas continues to grow, we may see more integration and specialized applications develop.


With the 21st century in full swing, a concluding question I offer for your consideration: How will you, as a music-loving professional, integrate, revise, or expand your therapeutic sound efforts to meet rising opportunities and need?

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