For thousands of years, the healing powers of sound and music have been known and revered by virtually every culture, most notably ancient Egypt and Greece. Music is also an integral part of many spiritual traditions.

Over the past 500 years, however, music devolved from its primary role in the healing arts to be relegated to the realm of entertainment. More recently, though, there's been a profound revival of interest in the therapeutic potential of vibrational energy frequencies that we perceive as sound.

The power of music to heal body, mind, and spirit is the subject of increased attention from health professionals, mainstream media, and the general public. Why?

The answer is simple: it works! But there's a caveat: not just any music will work, and therein lies much of the confusion surrounding the field of sound healing. Most music is not composed for healing or relaxation. Using inappropriate music is like drinking three cups of coffee to help you fall asleep.

Studies have shown that music can reduce stress, enhance immune system function, slow down and balance brain wave activity, reduce muscle tension, increase endorphin levels, and evoke feelings of inner peace. Reducing stress is so important because stress is a contributing factor in a wide range of diseases and conditions, such as hypertension, heart attack, stroke, ulcers, migraine, irritability, inability to concentrate or sleep, and sexual dysfunction.

This overview will help you harness the healing powers of music, so that you may more effectively choose and use the best music for your needs.

Taking a look at the record

Everything in the universe is vibrating at a faster or lower frequency, i.e., solid, liquid, or gas, visible light, radio, TV, X-rays, cosmic rays, etc. When anything vibrates, it both emits frequencies as well as resonates (responds) to vibrations of the same frequency, or a harmonic thereof.

Every atom, molecule, cell and organ in the body vibrates at a characteristic frequency in a natural state of being. When we're in alignment with our biological birthright of balance, we experience what I call "sound health." Disease may be understood as something vibrating out of tune, typically at a lower rate than its natural, healthy frequency.

A basic principle of sound healing is that by exposing the listener to harmonious stimuli, you assist the atoms, molecules, cells, organs, and the entire electromagnetic energy field to re-establish their genetically pre-programmed, natural, resonant frequencies.

Most music, however, is too busy or too fast, which renders it difficult to work with from a therapeutic standpoint. Classical music, in general, locks us into somewhat limited modalities of response. We are so culturally conditioned to respond to "familiar" melodies and harmonic progressions that our unconscious analysis overwhelms the subtleties of our cellular and electromagnetic responses, much as the stars are invisible in the radiance of the sunlight during the day.

For the purposes of this discussion, I will be limiting my remarks to instrumental music. The power of words—and our emotional and psychological response to them—is another article entirely.

How we respond to music

We are hard-wired to respond to rhythm. Certain sounds and rhythms assist us in making the re-connection to spirit. And since most music is composed for entertainment value, it's not surprising that such music may not be your wisest choice for this purpose, despite the disinformation that the marketing departments at most classical record labels continue to spin.

Research is also indicating that our brains are hard-wired for transcendence. The posterior superior parietal lobe of the brain grows very calm during deep meditation or prayer. This decreased activity tends to dissolve the usual boundaries of time and space, and meditators feel ineffably joined (at one) to the whole of creation. Quantum physics confirms the connections via the reality of entanglement and string theory.

Leading-edge research suggests the basic mechanics occur at the electromagnetic level of the human energy field, or aura. These subtle field effects transduce down through neuropeptides, endorphins, and through a whole host of biochemical processes, ultimately resulting in emotional or physical responses.

Listening to genuine relaxation music is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways of attaining and maintaining these ideal states.

The reconnection of science and spirituality has received mainstream attention through the popularity of "The Secret," "What the #$*! Do We Know!?", and "The Field." Additional support comes from studies on intercessory prayers and the power of intention, as documented in the bestselling books of authors like Larry Dossey, Deepak Chopra, and Wayne Dyer.

Dr. William Tiller, professor emeritus at Stanford University, has recently published the results of years of research into intentionality and water. His latest books demonstrate that intentionality can be captured and measured in a few drops of water. Another graphic demonstration of the power of music and intention can be found in the book Messages From Water. Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto photographed drops of water that were exposed to different kinds of music and then frozen. The before and after photographs are astoundingly different.

ikewise, intentionality is "captured" in music—in the composition, as well as in the performance. I learned early in my career that "music is a carrier wave for consciousness." Part of the healing effect of music is a function of the healing intention of the artist.

Be still and know

In a state of deep relaxation, our brainwaves slow down and shift into the alpha range, 8-12 cycles per second.

Since the earth itself has a fundamental resonant frequency of about 8 cycles per second, there is also a phase-linking effect. The electromagnetic field around our head entrains to the earth's electromagnetic field. I believe this supports a biological and physical basis for the advice that spiritual masters have given for millennia: "Be still...and know."

Why music matters

In more than one sense, our bodies are "music." I coined the term "human instrument" to describe the exquisite essence of our body, mind, and spirit. Thus, depending on the music you listen to, you'll orchestrate either more or less healthful and pleasurable responses.

As we research the phenomena with more sophisticated and subtle energy measurements, we may find that healing music invites spirit into our physiology and that such music builds the physiology to receive this higher energy. This has profound implications.

Sound healing is destined to take its rightful place in the lives of an increasingly large, growing, and motivated audience.

Ever since 1969, I have devoted my life to researching, composing, and recording music that nurtures our body, mind, and spirit. Back then, there wasn't a genre of sound healing music. Now, there are many choices and opportunities.

The next step is up to you. Enjoy the process!

About the author

Steven Halpern is an award-winning recording artist, composer, producer, and pioneering sound healer whose music has helped millions worldwide to experience the blessings and benefits of deep relaxation and inner peace. His 1975 debut album "CHAKRA SUITE" created a "quiet revolution" and established Halpern as the founding father of a new genre of contemporary instrumental/new age healing music. He is the author of two books, Tuning the Human Instrument (1977) and Sound Health (Harper & Row, 1985), that introduced the concept of sound healing to the mainstream audience and is currently at work on a third book. For more information, please visit www.innerpeacemusic.com.

© 2009 Steven Halpern