Instrumental Music Performance as Therapy

The ability of music to stimulate emotion, whether happy or sad, energetic or soothing, inspirational or depressing, has been understood ever since the first note was played or sung. Music appears to trigger responses in the body and brain in ways that words and images cannot.

Based on my experience with music performance and chronic illness, I have some observations I would like to share and it is my hope that some who read this will find it helpful. I can attest to the fact that music performance does wonderful things to the body and to a healthy outlook on life.

So, what qualifications do I have? I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease almost ten years ago. I have been playing the tuba for over thirty years (not continuously ... I do take breaks occasionally to eat and sleep.)

As a high school student, tuba was "my thing" and I would practice two to three hours every day. I first became aware of the impact that sound can have on a brain by observing the reactions of our pets as I would practice. My dog would come into the room and lie at my feet. He apparently enjoyed hearing the low sonorous tones of the tuba. On the other hand, our cats would come into the room and begin clawing my legs. They apparently did not enjoy hearing the low sonorous tones of the tuba. As a result, I would often put the cats outside if I was going to practice.

Music performance reduces stress. No matter what kind of day I have had, if I can spend an hour playing the tuba at night then my attitude improves significantly and I feel I have accomplished something. I do not pretend to understand what is happening inside the brain that makes this happen, but it is something pleasant.

Related to this, I have found that music performance will reduce my heart rate. That makes sense - as stress diminishes and the body relaxes, the heart can slow down and relax too. This is true even if I am playing something fast and lively; perhaps my heart rate is up while I'm performing, but as soon as I stop playing, the heart rate will decrease to some rate slower than when I started playing.

Playing an instrument, especially when you realize you are improving, can be addictive. The more you play, the more you want to play. When you miss playing - perhaps you are out of town or just too busy - you may actually go through a slight withdrawal and a bit of a mental letdown.

Having been a long distance runner, I believe that this addiction to music performance is not just because it is a habit but because the brain or body has some kind of chemical experience, not so dissimilar to the familiar "runner's high" that long distance runners experience.

Indeed, playing the tuba in a long practice session will result to some extent in a feeling of euphoria, a heightened sense of well being.

Perhaps some of this occurs because of the breathing and air flow requirements of the tuba. Certainly, playing loud low notes requires a lot of air to be pushed through the horn, and many times I have been light headed from that. But I believe this euphoria is also achievable on non-wind instruments such as piano. I can say this because I also play piano, though not with the intensity and diligence with which I play the tuba.

For those of you who have a chronic illness and who do not currently play an instrument, I highly encourage you to try it! If you have never played before, it may be frustrating initially. Do not quit easily. Give it your best effort and some serious attention, and see what happens.