Research
MUSIC AND MUSIC THERAPY IN HEALTH, RECOVERY AND LEARNING
Music Therapy in the Neurologic Inpatient Setting
Mercier, L. J., Langelier, D. M., Buchanan, J., Robinson, S., & Plamondon, S.(2024). Development and integration of a music therapy program in the neurologic inpatient setting: a qualitative study. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1–10.
There is a growing body of evidence that supports the scientific rationale for Wellplayed, specifically in these five areas. The Wellplayed platform itself is undergoing separate usability and feasibility evaluation.
ANXIETY
Does music therapy reduce anxiety?
A 2025 systematic review with multilevel meta-analysis pooled 44 randomized controlled trials across mental health, medical, and workplace/study settings. It found that music therapy, especially receptive listening or a mix of receptive and active approaches, produces a meaningful, consistent reduction in anxiety symptoms.
Can listening to music lower anxiety before surgery?
This Cochrane review of randomized trials on surgical patients found that listening to music before an operation reduced anxiety levels. In one large trial, music was as effective as the anti-anxiety drug midazolam, without the drug’s side effects.
Can telehealth music therapy reduce anxiety in cancer survivors?
A 2026 randomized clinical trial involving 300 cancer survivors compared seven weekly telehealth music therapy sessions with cognitive behavioural therapy, a first-line treatment for anxiety. Music therapy was found to be noninferior to cognitive behavioural therapy, meaning it produced similarly meaningful reductions in anxiety both immediately after treatment and approximately six months later. Participants in both groups also experienced similar improvements in outcomes including fatigue, depression, sleep, pain, cognitive concerns, and health-related quality of life.
PAIN
Can music therapy reduce pain during cancer treatment?
A review of 81 trials of music interventions in people with cancer found a moderate, statistically significant reduction in pain, along with improvements in anxiety, quality of life, and physiological markers like heart rate and blood pressure during treatment and recovery.
Does music reduce pain and anxiety during surgery?
This meta-analysis of 30 randomized trials (2,280 patients) undergoing surgery found that music significantly lowered both pain and anxiety, along with heart rate and blood pressure, compared with standard care. Interventions lasting approximately 30 to 60 minutes produced the largest reductions in pain and anxiety, suggesting that even relatively brief musical experiences may support comfort during medical procedures.
Can music therapy help people manage chronic pain?
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 9 randomized controlled trials (787 patients) found that music therapy significantly reduced pain among people living with chronic pain. The results varied across conditions and intervention designs, but personalized music and interventions involving trained professionals appeared especially promising.
QUALITY OF LIFE
Does music improve quality of life?
This meta-analysis of 26 studies (779 participants) found that music interventions including listening, music therapy, and singing, produced significant, clinically meaningful improvements in mental health-related quality of life, both pre-to-post and vs. treatment-as-usual.
Can music therapy improve quality of life for cancer patients?
In 2025, a systematic review and meta-analysis found music therapy improved quality of life in cancer patients navigating treatment, with parallel reductions in anxiety and depression compared with usual care.
DEPRESSION
Can music therapy help reduce symptoms of depression?
Lee et al. conducted a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, finding that music therapy significantly reduced depressive symptoms compared with control conditions, and also improved quality of life and sleep, with benefits holding regardless of the specific type of music therapy or who delivered it.
Is music therapy effective for depression alongside standard treatment?
A Cochrane review found that adding music therapy to usual care improved depressive symptoms, anxiety, and everyday functioning more than usual care alone. The review supports music therapy as a complementary approach rather than a replacement for established mental health care.
CONNECTION
How can music support social connection and emotional wellbeing?
A scoping review of 63 studies examined the pathways through which music activities may affect health and wellbeing. Across activities including music listening, singing, playing instruments, songwriting, and movement to music, the review identified social connection, emotional regulation, identity, meaning, and cognitive engagement as important potential mechanisms. Because the studies were diverse, the review provides strong conceptual support but does not establish that every type of music activity produces the same outcomes.
Music therapy has the potential to improve health and quality of life in the elderly and also foster the amelioration of various chronic illnesses, such as depression.
A narrative synthesis was conducted on 20 eligible studies published between 1981 and 2023, involving 1170 participants, of whom 830 had ADHD or ADD.
Music Therapy Impacts Dementia Care
Music therapy boosts cognitive function and reduces long-term depression in people with dementia, improving quality of life during treatment—though effects may fade after therapy ends.
The Value of Collaborative Research in MT
Research needs collaboration across fields, with music therapists, to better understand how music can relieve pain in healthcare.
Effects of Music Therapy on Depression
This meta-analysis of 55 RCTs found that specific methods, short-to-medium term therapy, and longer sessions in music therapy had stronger effects, guiding clinicians and policymakers in designing effective depression therapies.
Music Therapy for Stress Reduction
A 2022 review of 47 studies (2,747 participants) found music therapy had a medium-to-large positive effect on stress, due to tailored interventions used by music therapists.
The State of MT Over the Last Two Decades
Music therapy shows promising trends, offering insights for researchers on collaboration, key issues, and future directions, with potential to enhance quality of life.
The Effects of Music Intervention on Burn Patients
Music therapy and music interventions are linked to reduced pain, anxiety, and heart rate in burn patients.
The Effects of Music on Pain
A 2016 meta-analysis of 97 randomized trials with 9,184 participants found that music-based interventions may reduce pain intensity, emotional distress, and the need for pain-relief medications.
Music Interventions Improve Outcomes in Cancer Patients
A 2016 Cochrane review of 17 studies with 1,381 participants found that music-based interventions may significantly reduce anxiety and improve pain, fatigue, and quality of life in adults with cancer.
Music Listening for COPD
A 2021 review of 12 studies (812 participants) found music interventions improved shortness of breath, anxiety, and sleep in adults with COPD but not depression.
Music Therapy on the Frontlines
Music Therapy in Alberta Health Services
– South Health Campus – Acute Care
Music Therapists Promote Patients’ Well-Being
With the Help of the Calgary Health Foundation
Managers, Allied Health, Staff and Music Therapists
Sharing the Positive Impact on Patients
at Alberta Health Services
The Power of Music Therapy in Acute Care Hospitals
Requires the Power of Advocacy
with Dr. Stephanie Plamondon
The National Music Centre’s Music Therapy Initiative
is Bringing More Music Therapy Across Canada
with the Help of Local and National Donors!
Music Therapy at the Frontlines with
a 97-year old War Veteran at
Carewest Colonel Belcher.
Featured Book
Wellness, Wellplayed: The Power of a Playlist
This book guides readers through a playlist-inspired journey, offering targeted exercises, stories and insights to harness the power of music throughout our week and personal growth.
“In this well written book, Jennifer Buchanan has explained to me the science and psychology of what I have done intuitively for the past 30-plus years: use music to reduce stress and regulate moods, to motivate movement and inspire peak performance, and yes to be a virtual time machine and evoke memories of days gone by. ”
– Daniel Martin
More Notes!
Music Therapy: Bridging the Gap in Mental Health Services
There's something about music—it reaches us in ways that words often cannot. It lifts us when we're weary, sits beside us when we're overwhelmed, and ignites something in us when we feel disconnected from ourselves or the world. And right now, at a time when both...
The Impact of Music Therapy in Forensic and Correctional Settings
The Power of Music Therapy in Forensic Mental Health and Correctional Rehabilitation At the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre (SAFPC), we've witnessed firsthand how music therapy transforms lives within forensic mental health settings. Since the early 2000s,...
Maximizing Music Therapy Collaborations for Optimal Outcomes
"There is a significant amount of research showing that patient outcomes, quality of care, and cost of care delivery are all optimized when disciplines work together toward a shared goal that focuses on the patient." – Heidi Sanborn, RN, MSN, CCRN, Clinical Assistant...
The Health Benefits of Singing: A Tune for Body and Mind
From improving our emotions and communication skills to enhancing physical health and creating community, singing is a powerful practice that nourishes both mind and body and helps us to cope with life’s challenges.
Bridging the Gap: The Essential Need for Online Music Therapy
Over the last four years we have learned a lot about providing online music therapy—for individual and group sessions. It wasn't easy at the beginning. How do you share a predominantly active, audibly focused therapy online and still see the necessary impact? The...
How Music Therapists Are Working with Grief, Trauma, and Significant Loss
While our hearts yearn to embrace the world with unwavering optimism and peace, the stark realities we face make it challenging. People we deeply care about, along with countless others globally, grapple with the harrowing effects of trauma, wars, and profound...