Episode 3. Music As Medicine

Science, Music, and Society Podcast

How would you react if you went to a medical specialist and, instead of pills, they prescribed you singing, drumming, and other forms of music making?
I asked scientist and certified neurologic music therapist Dr. Kyurim Kang of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to describe music therapy, how it works, and some therapeutic activities that they offer.
01:27 Can you tell me what you study?
02:08 How did people come up with the idea of music therapy?
02:53 Is there scientific evidence that music therapy improves conditions of patients of neurodegenerative diseases? If so, what are some of the signs of improvement?
06:36 Can you tell me about the clinical trials such as ParkinSonics, Guitar-PD, and Drum-PD that are conducted at the Center for Music and Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine?
08:45 Is group therapy more effective than doing it on one's own?
09:38 Do the guitar, drum, and singing therapy only work for Parkinson's patients or do they work for other conditions also?
12:06 How do you measure the effectiveness of a particular therapy?
15:28 For people who can’t travel to the institute, are there other ways they can still benefit from music therapy?
16:30 For someone who wants to pursue music therapy, what advice do you give them?
ABOUT SCIENCE, MUSIC, AND SOCIETY PODCAST
A show that explores the intersection of science and music and their benefits to society through personal stories of scientists and musicians.
You can watch the entire video podcast on YouTube at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc83Bpg8hEEHuEXWk7qIJm2SbUMbww74j or listen to the audio podcast at https://ScienceMusicAndSocietyPodcast.buzzsprout.com
ABOUT SOPHIA SI
A high school senior in Houston, TX, who grew up playing the piano and loving science.
ABOUT KYURIM KANG
PhD, licensed professional and board certified music therapist and neurologic music therapist, and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Music and Medicine in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/dev/center-for-music-and-medicine/team.html, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jhmusicmedicine/, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopkinscmm, Twitter:https://mobile.twitter.com/jhmusicmedicine).
RESOURCES
Due to space limitations, check out the Science, Music, and Society Podcast show page on YouTube at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc83Bpg8hEEHuEXWk7qIJm2SbUMbww74j for links to relevant publications, contact information regarding virtual ParkinSonics Choral Group, Drum sessions, Neurology music therapy support group offered by the Center for Music and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and more.