Music Strategies for Wellness

Berklee College of Music

Blog with practical advice regarding how to use music as a coping strategy to enhance wellbeing at this stressful time.

Suzanne Hanser writes, “In Greater Good Magazine, Dacher Keltner provides an answer. He says, ‘Choose awe: Wander outdoors looking for awe, reflect on people whose courage and kindness give you the chills, listen to music that lifts you up. If you open yourself up to feeling awe, our research suggests you’ll gain strength for facing our collective challenges. And perhaps lead us out of the toxic dimension of these times, to an age of awe.’

I like to think that we can do this – enter the age of awe – when we really listen and allow ourselves to feel the awe of music. Music can echo our feelings, helping us identify and acknowledge how we feel. It can also change our moods, soothing or exciting us, validating or empowering us. Back in March, my first blog post after learning about COVID-19 addressed how to use the “iso-principle” to create music playlists to modulate emotions and manage moods. This concept is based on matching your feelings with music and slowly changing the music with the intention of changing your mood.”

Additional Details

Suzanne B Hanser, EdD, MT-BC is Professor and Chair Emerita of the Music Therapy Department at Berklee College of Music.  Dr. Hanser is Past President of both the World Federation of Music Therapy and the National Association for Music Therapy.  She established the music therapy program at the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and is also a Resident Scholar at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University. Dr. Hanser is the author of The New Music Therapist’s Handbook, and co-author of Manage Your Stress and Pain, book and CD, with Dr. Susan Mandel, and Integrative Health through Music Therapy: Accompanying the Journey from Illness to Wellness. In 2006 Dr. Hanser was named by the Boston Globe as one of eleven Bostonians Changing the World.  She is the recipient of a National Research Service Award from NIA, the Sage Publications Prize, and the American Music Therapy Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.