I went to the most amazing conference last week at St Thomas University, put on by Room 217 in partnership with the Atlantic Institute on Aging, Arpeggio Music Therapy, and Alzheimer Society N. B. It was on the therapeutic use of music for care giving, but also for personal wellness. Speakers ranged from the founder of Room 217, to music therapists and researchers, to a researching-music making cardiologist, to Susan Aglukark who sang as well as spoke (of course) and was the highlight of the day.

The message I came away with was that music is a powerful tool for caring and for personal wellness, and that each of us can be more intentional in our use of music to improve our health, our creativity and our quality of life. Calgary music therapist, Jennifer Buchanan (www.jenniferbuchanan.ca), spoke about the value of using the music that you love to motivate, energize, nurture and inspire you to live your best life. She contends that 20 minutes of intentional music each day can make a difference in personal wellness.

While emphasizing the positive effects of music, Jennifer also cautioned that, because music is so closely related to emotion and memory, it can have deleterious effects as well. The “life playlist” concept was introduced to assist anyone to discover which tempos and tones they prefer, and which music genres are most meaningful for them. From there, anyone can develop a library of playlists for specific purposes such as decreasing stress, motivating movement and exercise, improving productivity, combating loneliness and depression, and improving confidence.

I love music, singing, and performing in choirs and bands. But in the life I now live, I tend to pop on a CD only if I happen to think of it, if the house seems to be too quiet, or if I need some background sound for a quiet project I’m working on. How strange that I had never thought about the intentional use of music in my life. As Jennifer suggests in her book Tune In, I began to think about the music that was important to me in various stages of my life: Sunday School songs as a pre-schooler; silly songs and choruses as a school girl; Beetles, Cat Stevens, and ABBA as a teenager. As I grew older and busier, listening to music was limited to whatever happened to be playing on the radio when I was in the car. Most recently I’ve been involved in choral singing and the varied repertoire of the Doha Singers has been my regular food and drink. I was amazed at how many memories were tied to the music that came to mind.

I’ve just begun to survey my life play list, but soon I will be ready for the next steps, as suggested in Tune In, to maximize my music:

1. Decide what it is that you want music to help you accomplish. Be specific.
2. Create a playlist of sounds that support relevant feelings and memories.
3. Listen to the playlist consciously and with intention for at least 20 minutes every day. “Intentionally” means with purpose or a plan in mind.
4. Evaluate the results. Pay attention to how the music makes you feel. Changes may be necessary if your playlist is not creating the desired effect.
5. Continue to add new music to your listening diet to help discover new things about yourself, and your relationships.
6. Make your voice heard in song. Singing is a healthy activity and makes you feel good. Try it even if it’s only in the shower.

Whether or not you consider yourself to be musical, music can hold a key to higher levels of wellness and life satisfaction. With a bit of thought and intention, listening to your life playlist could become a life changer.