Music Therapy

The tongue drum is an ideal musical instrument for music therapists

Music therapy is a "gentle" therapeutic approach that relies on music as a mediator in the caring/cared-for relationship. More and more people are becoming interested in it as they learn about its many benefits and amazing results.

The use of a musical instrument in a therapeutic setting promotes self-expression, which encourages a link between the inner world of the patient and his surroundings, thereby stimulating the mechanisms of communication and interaction. This type of therapy also calls for listening, which has the direct effect of working on the concentration and memory of the person being treated. If the aim is to affect one’s mood or anxiety, playing an instrument, such as the tongue drum, with its soft and soothing timbre, can lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol and release endorphins, which have calming, pain-killing and mood-enhancing properties.

Moreover, music therapy may partially relieve chronic pain as well because the active practice of playing an instrument keeps the patient focused on the task at hand and serves as a catalyst to "letting go," somewhat like meditation. Furthermore, positive effects on sleep disorders and improved coordination in people with Parkinson’s disease, for example, are widely highlighted by practitioners.

Music therapists work in schools, hospitals (psychiatry, psychotherapy, pediatrics, neonatal care, etc.), long-term care facilities, senior living facilities, physical rehabilitation centers, community centers, rehabilitation centers for alcoholics and drug addicts, and correctional settings.

By stimulating the senses of touch, sight and hearing, the tongue drum is in a way the ideal tool of the music therapist.

Benefits of music

I am sure that the amateur or professional musicians who read this will intuitively affirm the benefits of music. Even if one’s practice of music is not necessarily linked to research or therapy, we have all been witnesses to its positive effects in our lives: socially through interactions with other musicians and learning to get along and create with others; physically through the improvement of coordination or simply the cathartic aspect (for our drummer friends in particular!); or even psychologically through creative expression, playing music to work through one’s emotions and let go, and the ability to work on improving oneself.

And for the "non-musicians," know that it’s never too late to discover all of the above. The tongue drum is undoubtedly one of the most suitable instruments for easy musical initiation!