Health News Blog

Striking a tune can be beneficial for man, beast and many others too. Harpist Alianna Boone has been researching this subject. “The structure of the harp is considered to be the most healing instruments next to human voice,” said Boone, who plays for ill family pets and produced an album Harp Music to Soothe the Savage Beast.

The Franklin Park Zoo in Boston treated their gorillas to a harp concert. One of the gorillas, Little Joe to be specific, blew the harp musician a kiss before he fell asleep. Casie is a cow with a traumatic past. The cow escaped a slaughter house by jumping a high fence. Now safe, the cow resides in a New England animal sanctuary. However, Casie still has moments of anxiety. One morning the caretaker found Casie snorting and stomping in the barn. After 20 minutes of harp music the bovine was sleeping like a baby. Ms. Boone performed for dogs in a Florida animal hospital. After 60 minutes of the soothing harp music the dog’s heart rates, respiratory rates and anxiety were largely found to have lowered.

Diane Schneider, a conservatory musician, pastoral theologian, and hospital chaplain uses the harp with hospitalized human patients with positive results. "I use certain harp vibrations to resonate with, or entrain, a patient's own cellular rhythms to help release tense muscle tissue, calm anxiety, improve digestion, induce restful sleep, increase endorphins for pain management — to aid the body's own efforts to heal itself," Schneider said.

Maybe we don’t need to take more notes on this subject but rather play some notes to find some relief.

Jerri, DTR
Nutrition Specialist

Labels: music