Editorial Musings

We’ve known they were coming for some time now, but finally the holidays are truly here. The stores are overflowing with merchandise, the craft fairs are in every school, church, and neighborhood place, and the air is filled with holiday music both traditional and non-traditional. Do you know about the healing power of drumming? The Little Drummer Boy brought a powerful gift with his pa-rum-pa-pum pum. Rhythm is the pulse of life…our heartbeat and breathing are the bodies natural rhythms, without which there would be no life. Drums of all kinds stir our energy and our feelings.

 Percussion has been an integral part of healing ceremonies for centuries. Drums and rattles are among the most ancient of musical instruments. They get people’s attention and they get the energy that we all have in our bodies, flowing. The field of music medicine has a sub-category called vibro-acoustic therapy. Large drums, often called table drums, are used with a variety of populations from Alzheimer’s patients to deaf children and adults because even when cognitive awareness is gone, or the senses of sight and hearing wanes, the patient can still feel the vibrations of the large drums through their hands (when playing) and throughout their entire bodies when listening passively. More and more hospitals and nursing homes are purchasing these large table drums and during a therapy session the patient, or group of patients, sit in chairs around the drum and follow the lead of the therapist. At the conclusion of a 30-minute session the patient feels invigorated, successful, and is quite energized and less apt to be combative, anxious, or depressed.

The table drums and many other drums and percussion instruments can be purchased at www.healingmusicenterprises.com/hmestore1.html, click on "Apollo's Axes" then Drums or Percussion from the left menu. Most of these drums and instruments come with an instruction book and also music to play!

Studies have shown repeatedly that children who can play a musical instrument have higher self-esteem and are also less likely to get involved with drugs and other illicit activities. Adults, both well and impaired also benefit socially and emotionally from playing instruments. Remember that rhythm is life and all of life is built around rhythm. Give yourself or a loved one the gift of rhythm. Happy Holidays!

Dr. Alice H. Cash
President, Healing Music Enterprises
"Tune Your Life with Music!"
3219 Marion Court
Louisville, Kentucky 40206
www.HealingMusicEnterprises.com
502/895-7688 (phone) 502/896-7277 (fax)
502/419-1698 (mobile)

No matter which holidays you celebrate: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or none of the above, chances are you’re going to hear lots of holiday music over the next month and you’re also going to spend some time with family. How do you feel about that? As a therapist, I had to ask. Holiday music is among the most powerful stimulants of memories and feelings. Personally, I love this music and feel energized and nurtured by it. Of course I have my favorites and many songs I enjoy hearing performed by new artists that are not the ones from my childhood. I love the sacred and the secular; the new carols and songs, and the very traditional. Unfortunately, not everyone loves holiday music because of their own memories of someone dying at this time of year, or perhaps a childhood filled with drunk adults fighting and creating havoc. Every year I have some clients and patients who tell me they do not want me to play it during our music therapy time. Usually I end up doing an individual session with that person later because I respect and understand what they are saying.

From early childhood, we hear this holiday music and many of our mental images of Santa or Baby Jesus, or whatever are based on songs we sang in early childhood. If these are positive memories for you, I urge you to indulge! Buy yourself some new CD’s or join a neighborhood group of carolers. Nursing homes often will welcome most any volunteer group of musicians that will come and sing or play instruments. Get together with friends at your office or neighborhood party and sing these songs that have brought great joy to people for hundreds of years.

Your immune system will get a boost, your endorphins will be flowing and you’ll feel good about yourself! What more could you want? See you next month!

As always, please contact me with any questions about this or any other music-related topic!

Alice

At the conclusion of every workshop and presentation that I give, I hand out an evaluation to determine what people liked the best and what ideas they will use first. This month I have three new sets of evaluations for my readers to enjoy in the Testimonials section of the HME web site at: www.healingmusicenterprises.com/testimonials.html

March 26, 2004 - Tampa, Florida - “The Healing Power of Music” at the Center for Conscious Living - Contact PatCCL@cs.com

February 2004 Santa Fe, New Mexico - topic pending

July, 2004 - Alberta, Canada - joint conference with Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine - topic pending

Date undecided: Washington, D.C. area - “Music in the Golden Years”

Read about the newest Calendar updates!

Have YOU done all of YOUR Christmas shopping? I know I haven’t and I’ll be getting lots of musical gifts for people. Everything you could want from CD’s, books on Healing with Music, instruments, and books of music are there. Check it out!

Dr. Cash is available as a keynote speaker, workshop and seminar leader, course educator, and individual "music medicine consultations" with people, as well as other group and individual instruction in using music for healing and promoting health and wellbeing. Go to http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/services.html for more information.

Attention: Louisvillle Area Health Professionals

Dr. Cash offers classes on a regular basis on:

1. How to create music tapes for surgery
2. Using music with pregnancy, childbirth and newborns
3. Understanding how music affects the Mind-Body-Spirit & applying this to practice
4. Toning, Chanting, and Drumming for Health
5. Using Music with Alzheimer's Patients