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Abstract
In modern times, the use of music in the fields of health and mental health is becoming mainstream. Its application is of interest in both the treatment of mood disorders such as depression and in healthcare settings such as cancer wards or palliative care. However, this powerful effect is by no means a new concept, with music being used for mood regulation purposes since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. In fact, it was only during the 18th century with the dichotomy between the arts and sciences that occurred, that music became regarded as of less interest to health scientists. This paper investigates historical literature on the use of music in mood regulation from ancient times until today, drawing on a narrative synthesis of historical reports in order to demonstrate the various mechanisms and types of music that were believed to be involved in its power to influence moods. It is argued that while individual music therapists in clinical practice continually consider individual differences and the potential for music to have a negative impact on mood, these issues are rarely considered in empirical studies on music and mood.
Key words: Mood regulation, individual differences, music therapy, harmony of spheres, doctrine of ethos, humours
Today, most music lovers would instinctively agree that music has a power to alter our moods, at times helping us relax or to enjoy a strangely pleasant state of melancholy, at other times driving us to exhilarating heights of joy. Indeed mood regulation is recognised as a core aim of current music therapeutic practice (Barrera, Rykov, & Doyle, 2002; Cassileth, Vickers, Lucanne, & Magill, 2003; Magee & Davidson, 2002; McKinney, Antonie, Kumar, Tims, & McCabe, 1997). Over the past 15 years in the Western cultures of the USA, Europe and Australasia, music for mood regulation has also become much more common in a broad range of health and mental health contexts (Mitchell & MacDonald, 2012; Pothoulaki, MacDonald, & Flowers, 2012).
The use of music to influence emotional states is not a recent concept. Historical sources reveal that the relationship between music, mood, affect and mood-regulation are concepts that were understood many centuries ago. In fact it wasn't until the scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries -...