Although the term "music therapy" is only a few decades old, the concept has been around for hundreds, and probably thousands, of years. Every culture we know of has used it according to their level of understanding with the common denominator being that it stirs the spirit.

Music has been used to ward off evil spirits, to communicate with God, and to appease the angry gods. Others have used it to heal illness and felt, like Pythagorus, that each note affected a different part of the body, a different organ.

All religions have used music as part of their ceremonies. With the Aztecs, the chief function was to obtain mystical communication with a particular god. We're close to the same ritual when we go to a place of worship to sing and pray. Music brings people together in a feeling of togetherness.

MUSIC STIRS THE SOUL
Music touches stirs us as no other art form. It can't be seen, or touched--it must be experienced. This is a deeply fundamental spiritual quality that is diminishing as we become more and more earthbound and materialistic.

Schools are unwittingly doing a grave disservice to children by removing music and art from their curriculum to make way for computers. The smartest educators would see that there needs to be a balance between left and right brain activities, between technology and the arts, between the head and the heart.

In the Middle Ages, cathedrals were built to classical music played by full orchestras in the belief that the stones held the notes and healings could take place within the walls. Families came from all over the countryside with a reverence to watch the church being built and listen to the music. Bickering among the workmen was never allowed; it was felt that this hostility would become part of the aura of the cathedral. If an argument broke out, all work and all music stopped until it was resolved.

Thousands of years ago, men felt music and the arts were a gift from God--a privilege to experience. They felt music was sacred and placed musicians in a loft with the audience below to honor their standings. Today the audience soars above the orchestra, which is in a pit; a telling sign of the times.

We need to rekindle the reverence our ancestors had for music, art, nature and the human spirit. Thousands of years ago, people lived in a state of awe and closeness to their source. Instruments were created to try and capture the voices of angels.