Snowed In? Make Music!

Stuck at home and can’t go outside (unless it’s to make snow angels)? Tired of scrolling on your phone or binging TV shows? Making music can be a great way to spend your time.

According to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), Recreational Music Making (RMM) is defined as, "Recreational Music Making refers to playing musical instruments alone or in a group without the goals of mastery or performance." It is music-making for the sake of enjoyment, not in order to be perfect. It is music for you, by you, and it might even make you healthier.

As I researched this subject, I found an article titled “Recreational music-making alters gene expression pathways in patients with coronary heart disease” by researchers Bittman B, Croft DT Jr, Brinker J, van Laar R, Vernalis MN, and Ellsworth DL. Participants had a history of heart disease and were monitored during random one-hour intervals of either RMM or quiet reading. The results of the study showed that, “stress reversal through RMM is more effective than quiet reading at altering the expression of immune response and transcriptional control pathways, suggesting that RMM may be more clinically useful for stress amelioration and may confer greater benefit to cardiovascular patients than traditional modes of relaxation.” Stress is a huge contribution to the ailments that we experience in our bodies, and RMM was shown to significantly reduce stress, induce relaxation, and can “play an important role in stress reduction within the realm of chronic disease management.” Even if you are not facing a chronic disease or chronic stress, but simply chronic boredom from being snowed in, we could all benefit from the relaxation music creation brings. 

The participants in the study engaged in a group session that included an “arrival song”, “mind-body wellness warm-up with relaxing music, movement, and imagery”, a drum circle, improvisational music, a song of the day based on pre-existing music, a cool down, reflection, and lastly a farewell song. This order of activities sounds incredibly similar to a music therapy session!

If you would like to experience the relaxing and enriching benefits of music making, either in a music therapy session or an adaptive music lesson, don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Healing Waves for a consultation!