ABSTRACT
Music and health is one of the most rapidly growing research areas in music cognition. Scholars in psychology, neuroscience, psychoneuroendocrinology, and public health have taken a serious interest in investigating cultural activities such as music as a source of health, healing, and wellbeing. In 2012, the OUP volume Music, Health & Wellbeing (Eds. MacDonald, Kreutz, & Mitchell) brought together experts on music therapy, music medicine, public health, community music, and music education in a first step towards synthesizing our current understandings of how music connects to health and wellbeing. The realm of music and health is a vast one, touching on all aspects of human life. Therefore, this chapter begins with a presentation of a framework that provides an overall picture of the main factors involved (Figure 7.1). In this framework health and healing are conceptualized as covering the entire continuum from recovery and treatment to health promotion and health-beneficial growth. As illustrated in the figure, the framework further emphasizes the fact that musical healing always occurs in a certain context and is essentially a music-related act, performed and impacted by the individuals who engage with the music.
