Music Therapy Simply Explained

1. What It Is About

Music therapy is a procedure used in medical care. Music is applied in a targeted way: people sing, play an instrument, improvise or listen to music. The aim is to influence emotional, mental or physical processes. Some forms are active, others passive. In passive listening, a prepared piece is heard, while in active singing, the person participates themselves. Music therapy takes place in hospitals, clinics or group settings, with or without guidance from a trained therapist. Its roots go back to ancient healing traditions, with modern forms developing from the 20th century onwards, particularly in psychiatry—i.e., the treatment of mental illnesses—and in rehabilitation. Today, the procedure is recognised in psychotherapy, in the support of seriously ill people and in neurology. Important for research: there is no single music therapy. Duration ranges from a single session to programmes spanning several weeks. Only a few areas, such as cancer treatment or dementia care, have standardised procedures.

2. What Studies Show

The best-studied areas are stress and exhaustion. A large review from 2022 1 summarised 47 controlled studies involving 2,747 participants. Music therapy was delivered by trained therapists, and the music was tailored to the individual. Measurements included heart rate, the stress hormone cortisol and questionnaires on feelings of anxiety. Stress levels decreased more in the music groups than in the comparison groups. In studies outside Western countries, the differences tended to be greater. However, comparisons were mostly made with waitlist groups or standard care rather than another relaxation method.

For chronic pain, a review from 2017 2 summarised 14 randomised studies. Randomised means participants were assigned to groups by chance. Again, pain levels were lower in the music groups. In children undergoing surgery, a review from 2015 4 with 196 children aged one day to 18 years reported less pain and less anxiety. Live music tended to have a stronger effect than recorded music.

In Alzheimer’s disease, a review from 2023 5 examined eight randomised studies involving 689 participants. Programmes lasted between 4 and 24 weeks. Some studies reported improvements in general cognitive ability, memory and attention, while others found no difference. During Caesarean sections, self-selected music reduced anxiety, as reported in a study from 2018 6 with 304 women.

Proven Music therapy has a well-documented effect on anxiety, pain and stress. Plausible: There are indications that cognitive abilities in dementia may improve, but this is not yet confirmed.

3. What Remains Unclear

Above all, it is unclear how long the effects last. Long-term follow-ups are rare. The studies vary widely: different music styles, varying session lengths and often small participant groups. In many studies, participants knew whether they were receiving music, which could influence the results. Comparisons were frequently made with standard care or silence, less often with another relaxation method. This raises the question of how much of the effect is due to the music itself and how much to the attention, distraction or expectation. Individual studies report that white noise with musical characteristics had similar effects to targeted therapy. It also remains unclear which procedures produce the most lasting effects.

4. What This Means in Everyday Practice

Music therapy is one of the best-studied non-pharmacological procedures. What stands out is how often similar observations appear across very different fields: before surgery, in cancer treatment and during childbirth. What would make the many studies more comparable is a standardised approach, which is currently lacking. When comparing two studies, it becomes clear that the setting and duration of application change the picture. There is a clear difference between the well-demonstrated short-term effects on anxiety and pain and the still-open question of sustainability. The next step would be to clarify which procedures produce the most lasting effects and whether cognitive abilities in dementia change over the long term.

All details with study numbers and sources: detailed page on music therapy. For children: Music therapy for children.