While the first healers were musicians who relied on rhythm and song to help cure the sick, over time Western thinkers and doctors lost touch with these traditions. In the West, for almost two millennia, the roles of the healer and the musician have been strictly separated. Until recently, that is. Over the past few decades there has been a resurgence of interest in healing music. In the midst of this nascent revival, Ted Gioia, a musician, composer, and widely praised author, offers the first detailed exploration of the uses of music for curative purposes from ancient times to the present. Gioia’s inquiry into the restorative powers of sound moves effortlessly from the history of shamanism to the role of Orpheus as a mythical figure linking Eastern and Western ideas about therapeutic music, and from Native American healing ceremonies to what clinical studies can reveal about the efficacy of contemporary methods of sonic healing. Gioia considers a broad range of therapies, providing a thoughtful, impartial guide to their histories and claims, their successes and failures. He examines a host of New Age practices, including toning, Cymatics, drumming circles, and the Tomatis method. And he explores how the medical establishment has begun to recognize and incorporate the therapeutic power of song. Acknowledging that the drumming circle will not—and should not—replace the emergency room, nor the shaman the cardiologist, Gioia suggests that the most promising path is one in which both the latest medical science and music—with its capacity to transform attitudes and bring people together—are brought to bear on the multifaceted healing process. In Healing Songs, as in its companion volume Work Songs, Gioia moves beyond studies of music centered on specific performers, time periods, or genres to illuminate how music enters into and transforms the experiences of everyday life.

The use of music in healing from prehistoric times to the present.

The Healing Forces of Music explores the shamanistic practices and musical cosmologies of the ancient world, the worlds of Eastern and Western classical forms, as well as contemporary resources. McClellan takes us into basic acoustics, the process of hearing and the vibratory nature of the human body. He presents a healing method through cymatics (the effect of vibration on physical matter), and also systems of healing with sound, voice and mantra, Tantric therapies and the utilization of the Endocrine Gland system and Chakra energies. He presents a thorough investigation of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual effects of music, the characteristics of healing music, procedures for using music as a healing agent and advocates a new philosophy of music as a transcendent experience. -- Back cover.

Americans have long been aware of the phenomenon loosely known as faith healing. During the 1990s the American cultural landscape changed and religious healing became a commonplace feature in our society. This is a look at this new reality.

Explores new avenues in music therapy. The author discusses connections between music therapy and theorizes that every little nuance found in nature is part of a dynamic system in motion.

Heal yourself and your community with this proven 12-week program that uses the arts to awaken your innate healing abilities. From musicians in hospitals to quilts on the National Mall—art is already healing people all over the world. It is helping veterans recover, improving the quality of life for cancer patients, and bringing communities together to improve their neighborhoods. Now it’s your turn. Through art projects, including visual arts, dance, writing, and music, along with spiritual practices and guided imagery, Healing with the Arts gives you the tools to address what you need to heal in your life—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. An acclaimed twelve-week program lauded by hospitals and caretakers from around the world, Healing with the Arts gives you the ability to heal your family and your friends, as well as communities where you’ve always wanted to make a difference. Internationally known leaders in the arts in medicine movement, Michael Samuels, MD, and Mary Rockwood Lane, RN, PhD, show you how to use creativity and self-expression to pave the artist’s path to healing.

Heal yourself and your community with this proven 12-week program that uses the arts to awaken your innate healing abilities. Acclaimed by hospitals and caretakers from around the world, Healing with the Arts brings a tried and true program out of the medical field and into your home and neighborhood. Improve your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health in just 12 weeks. Whether you are ill, suffering from emotional trauma, or looking to unite your community, the arts become the conduit to restore your wellness and thrive in life. Dr. Michael Samuels and Dr. Mary Rockwood Lane created and developed this unique and powerful process to help anyone heal. Through innovative art projects—from the visual arts, movement and dance, writing, and music—along with spiritual practices and guided imagery, readers learn to get in touch with their inner muse and inner healer. Based on years of research and experience in the medical community, Healing with the Arts sets the stage for a more meaningful and healthier existence.