David Teslow can no longer manage a round of golf without supplemental oxygen, but on Thursday the 82-year-old’s cheeks were huffing and puffing as he played “On Top of Old Smokey” and “Wild Irish Rose” on the harmonica, along with bandmates in the lobby of Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. 

“Old-time songs,” he said. 

Teslow is part of the harmonica group formed at Methodist last June as an adjunct therapy for patients with breathing disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. While also completing traditional rehab exercises, the patients gain physical and psychological benefits from being part of the band, which practices every other week. 

Rehab patients need to “exercise muscles that help push and pull air out of the lungs,” said Dawn McDougal Miller, a music therapist at Methodist. “This gives them another way to do those exercises, and it’s a whole lot more fun.” 

Playing the harmonica as an exercise makes...(READ MORE)

Check out our new video: What is Music Therapy!

Elvis once said, “Rhythm is something you either have or don't have." But where does it come from? 

A new study suggests that Elvis and everyone with rhythm may have gotten it from their moms. 

The experience of singing to a baby is universal, across languages, cultures and time -- especially well-loved lullabies. Canadian researchers took a look at the relationship between mothers and babies during lullabies. 

“We know lullabies work with babies,” Laura Cirelli, the primary author, said. But she wanted to know, “how our parents shape that experience.” 

In this cross sectional study, 30 mothers were asked to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to their children in two moods: “playful” and “soothing.”

For the study, moms sang to their babies up to 10 times. Baby brain arousal was measured via devices placed on the skin that are similar to a polygraph and measure sweat gland activity. 

Cirelli explained that sweat is an indicator of mood because “when we are excited, levels increase” and...(READ MORE)

A WIRRAL based music therapist is hoping to help people living disabilities through groundbreaking facial expression technology. 

Director of Vibe Music Therapy Greg Hanford has created a new facial analysis tool that detects changes in the face which can be translated into the understanding of an emotional expression. 

Using the facial analysis coding system (FACS) Greg has been able to see the impact of music therapy on those who have difficulty expressing themselves. 

Greg told the Globe: “It’s difficult with any therapy to gauge the impact treatment has on a client who had difficulty expressing themselves due to a physical or learning disability. 

“When speech is simply not an option how are you to understand how a person is feeling or whether progression in sessions is occurring? 

“Up to now clinicians relied on their own judgement, measurement scales that have been defined by other people or feedback from relatives and support workers. 

“If a patient was receiving treatment for cancer we would not rely on a Doctor’s opinion alone, we would want hard evidence, scans, toxicology reports etc,. 

"With this new technology we are able to identify the slightest changes in facial expression and compare to previous sessions as well as changes in and out of the therapy room.” 

Marcos, 21, from Chester lives with a severe physical disability has been going to music therapy sessions with Greg. 

Only available to verbalise through certain words, Marcus is now able to paint on a canvas in art sessions due to Vibe Music Therapy. 

Greg added: “We felt Marcos would benefit greatly from one to one time to give more focus and attention on developing his gross and fine motor skills as well as his social interaction. 

“By supplementing music therapy sessions alongside Marcos’ physio and existing group activities we have achieved great results. 

“Due to this new technology we are able to see...(READ MORE)

Singing as a therapeutic strategy may be a viable treatment for voice, respiratory, and swallow impairment in persons with PD. Singing shares many elements in common with voice production and targets the musculature involved in respiratory control and swallow. Both voice and singing use the larynx as the primary sound source with the respiratory system serving as the pressure generator for vocal fold initiation and vibration.19 Singing is generally considered to be a more sustained form of speech where greater emphasis is placed on rhythm, tempo, and pitch modulation, and which requires increased respiratory control requiring greater vocal control and increased respiratory muscle strength.20-22 Moreover, singing enhances QOL and well-being in healthy populations and is perceived by persons with PD to help with self-management of symptoms and social isolation.23-25 

Previous studies investigating singing in persons with PD are limited and equivocal. Some results have demonstrated improvements in speech intelligibility and increased vocal intensity as well as singing quality and vocal range, while others found... (READ MORE)