MusiCure

MusiCure is a series of specially composed ‘soundscapes’, written and produced by the Danish composer and oboist Niels Eje over a period of more than ten years. The music has been created specifically for a variety of therapeutic purposes.

The Music

MusiCure is deliberately intended to have a soothing and relaxing effect, and at the same time create positive mental stimulation and inspiration. The creation and development of the music is based on feedback, knowledge and insight received from the medical research.

The musicians participating in the MusiCure productions are all professional classical artists, who in this context show new sides of their instrumental and artistic expertise. The acoustic solo instruments used by the composer include the oboe, harp, cello, piano, flute, horn, guitar and others, which combined with strings, sampled sounds and authentic natural sounds provide the basis for the music.

The Research

The MusiCure ‘music as medicine’ productions originally stem from the Musica Humana research project in which independent medical researchers carried out numerous controlled clinical trials using this music and published scientific documentation on its effects on several different patient groups in Scandinavia and the USA. In particular, MusiCure has been used in studies examining the effects of music on patients recovering from heart surgery,^[1][2][3][4] in which evidence has been presented that music can reduce stress. Many other uses related to anxiety, stress and pain have also been reported, including a trial on postoperative music for children.^[5] Common to all trials has been an increase of well-being in patients and lower levels of stress.^[6]

References

1. ^ Nilsson, Ulrica (2009). "The effect of music intervention in stress response to cardiac surgery in a randomized clinical trial". Heart & Lung: the Journal of Acute and Critical Care 38 (3): 201–7. doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2008.07.008. PMID 19486788. 
2. ^ Weeks, Birgit P.; Nilsson, Ulrica (2010). "Music interventions in patients during coronary angiographic procedures: A randomized controlled study of the effect on patients' anxiety and well-being". European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. doi:10.1016/j.ejcnurse.2010.07.002. 
3. ^ Nilsson, Ulrica (2009). "Soothing music can increase oxytocin levels during bed rest after open-heart surgery: a randomised control trial". Journal of Clinical Nursing 18 (15): 2153–61. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02718.x. PMID 19583647. 
4. ^ Nilsson, Ulrica; Lindell, Lena; Eriksson, Annika; Kellerth, Thomas (2009). "The effect of music intervention in relation to gender during coronary angiographic procedures: A randomized clinical trial". European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing 8 (3): 200–6. doi:10.1016/j.ejcnurse.2009.01.001. PMID 19186107. 
5. ^ Nilsson, Stefan; Kokinsky, Eva; Nilsson, Ulrica; Sidenvall, Birgitta; Enskär, Karin (2009). "School-aged children's experiences of postoperative music medicine on pain, distress, and anxiety". Pediatric Anesthesia 19 (12): 1184–90. doi:10.1111/j.1460-9592.2009.03180.x. PMID 19863741. 
6. ^ Fredriksson, Ann-Charlotte; Hellström, Leif; Nilsson, Ulrica (2009). "Patients’ perception of music versus ordinary sound in a postanaesthesia care unit: A randomised crossover trial". Intensive and Critical Care Nursing 25 (4): 208–13. doi:10.1016/j.iccn.2009.04.002. PMID 19446459. 

External links

• MusiCure
• Musica Humana