What is Live Therapeutic Music?
Live Therapeutic Music can bring comfort and healing to individuals is hospice, skilled nursing facilities and hospitals. Patients can be any age with any symptom including emergency and intensive care, obstetrics and neo-natal, pre- and post-op, cardiac and cancer care (to name just a few).
What does it look like to receive live acoustic therapeutic music?
You - the patient - are in charge:
We knock on the door and ask permission “Would you like to hear some live acoustic music now?” If yes, you relax and receive. It’s OK to lie down…or close your eyes…as you wish. Let the music do the work. You decide when are we through (sessions average 30-50 minutes). Falling asleep is likely, relaxation is a sign of healing.
What are the benefits of receiving live acoustic therapeutic music?
Relaxation. Sleep. Healing. Therapeutic Music is all about you. Research shows benefits can include (but are not limited to):
Pain distraction * Altering the sense of time * Reprieve from the present situation * Relieving anxiety * stabilizing vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate) * Augmenting pain management * Providing a bridge for communication between loved ones * Accelerating physical healing of post-surgery and injured patients * Easing the birth delivery process * Aiding mental focus in dementia patients / lifting and clearing the consciousness * Assisting the dying by facilitating ease in the transition process * enhancing neurological functions * Reducing stress hormones
Are you a Music Therapist?
No. I'm a Certified Music Practitioner (CMP) A graduate of the Music for Healing and Transitions Program, the the oldest and only
not-for-profit program accredited by the National Standards Board of Therapeutic Musicians.
A Certified Music Practitioner (CMP) uses only LIVE acoustic music, adapting and improvising to serve the immediate and often changing needs of you, the patient. We have no expectations of you; you are passive and may even fall asleep; it's possible to receive a single session.
Think about the difference between a physical therapist and a massage therapist. A physical therapist works with you and requires you to work (How many reps? How many times a week? For how long? ) Now picture receiving a therapeutic massage: You enter a quiet and peaceful place, perhaps you breathe in the scent of lavender or hear chimes. As you lie down on a table it is your job to simply relax and receive.
What kind of music do you play?
The patient and their current clinical needs direct the selection and manner of performance of live music at the bedside. A Certified Music Practitioner is trained to observe carefully, and continuously respond to, ongoing changes in the patient’s condition (a sensitivity that a CD or TV music channel cannot provide). We are certified in both guitar and voice, and working on certifications in kalimba and native American flute.
How much does Live Therapeutic Music cost?
When I work with hospitals and hospice, live therapeutic music is usually free for the patient because it is covered by Medicare or other insurance. If you wish to receive or give the gift of live therapeutic music in your own home, please contact me for details. I would be honored to serve you with this form of healing.