Thanks Dot! I hope you will read my book and find more that is useful to set the foundation for discovery of the cause of this demon! Kind regards, Barbara

Just found this post and was awed by it. Fibromyalgia does seem to be, at least in part, a neurological illness and this idea is brilliant. Have you continued your research on this? I plan to look into this further and experiment on my own fibromyalgia.

Dear Margaret: I am so sorry that you are unable to go to graduate school and fulfil your dreams. This dis-ease is one which devastates so many of us. Unfortunately I don’t know of any studies that incorporate music and fibromyalgia but the books I have presented about changing the brain could lead you to music therapists in your locale who might be able to help. The research that is being done by the neuroscientists doing brain changes and music appear to me to be very helpful. To my knowledge they are not doing much with fibromyalgia and music hoever. Please keep in touch and let me know what you can uncover. Best wishes, Barbara

I have fibromyalgia, and it has had a devastating effect on my life. I am a classically trained pianist, and I can no longer practice for more than 30 minutes a day. I sprained both of my wrists three years ago, and the physical therapy that followed made little difference. When I finally received the diagnosis of fibromyalgia, I began to wound whether I hadn’t simply a predisposition for this disorder, and I began to believe the sprain merely agitated what was lying dormant. I want to go to graduate school to study music pedagogy, but most programs require a high degree of proficiency on the piano, and I am no longer capable. Do you know of any studies being conducted in the US? I have no health insurance, and I cannot afford Lyrica or any other medication. I am willing to travel. If you reply, Barbara, I will be glad to submit my contact information to you privately.

Dear Anon:
Your comments have inspired me beyond belief! I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this letter of yours. If you remember the research on FM and the hyper-aroused amygdala which you read several years ago from McGill I would really appreciate the reference.
I have always wished I had been a musician, dancer or an artist of some kind but don’t have the talent for any of it. The rigid Catholic nuns took any hope away from me by teaching me to colour within the lines. Yet, my appreciation for the arts is a secret passion that gives me pleasure.This is why I took up quilting this year and have made 4 quilts since Easter, all by hand, and definitely not following a pattern but making up my own. Of course now I have sore wrists and have to take a rest from it. Typical of the FM personality!BUT, I created something lovely:-)
It is often difficult to discard that which causes stress since much of it is due to familial or work related responsibilities. The trick I think, is to find at least a balance between that which gives pleasure and that which causes stress! And, I have found something that is pleasurable may actually itself induce too much excitement! That amygdala has a lot to answer for!
Please keep in touch,
Sincerely,
Barbara

Hello again Barbara,

I have truly enjoyed looking over your Website since I first discovered it a couple of days ago. This particular entry on music therapy really struck a chord with me. I have been using music to help control my fibro-pain for nearly 3 years now. I first got on this line of thinking after reading some research out of McGill University which connected FMS and the hyper-aroused amygdala.

My first memory of music was when I was two years old sitting on my mother’s lap while she rocked in a rocking chair, singing along with Ray Charles records (remember those?). I can still feel the vibrations from her chest against the side of my face and my ear. When I was four I began setting up pots & pans to use as my drum kit. By age six I had my first real drum. By age eight I had my first real drum kit. By age twelve I was playing drums in my father’s nightclubs with the band after closing. I enjoyed the black blues bands the most. Those guys understood how to play without knowing how to read music. They understood that you could just “feel” the music. Over the years I’ve learned to play a number of instruments just by being around other musicians.

In 2007, I began experimenting with re-mapping my brain in order to ease my FMS pain. I started discarding the things in my life which I recognized as stressors and replaced them with things that brought me pleasure. Music was on the top of my list of pleasurable activities. I make it a point now to get together with other musicians at least once each week to play. And, living in Nashville makes it easy to find musicians who want to jam.

I don’t know if I can answer your question about how different types of music bring on different feelings, but I’ll try. I think it has something to do with the way each person hears music. I tend to hear in rhythms and chords. I don’t hear melodies very well. I can’t read music and have no desire to learn. There are moments when I am playing, when everything falls together just right and all the musicians lock up tight like they are one person, I can actually enter another dimension. I know that sounds strange. The best way I can think to describe it would be to imagine you are floating down a river on a big inner-tube. You are not controlling the direction or the speed you are going. You are just going with the flow of the river, wherever it takes you. That’s what it’s like. You surrender yourself and just go with the flow. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does it’s an amazing experience. In fact, it can be out-of-body experience.

I have a small recording studio in my home, as do many people who live in Nashville. I can spend hours at a time bending and shaping and coloring sound. Musical instruments produce vibrations and harmonics. These vibrations and harmonics cause things to happen to our bodies. Just look at the way government armies and police departments have learned to use sound to disperse crowds and even produce sickness in someone they wish to control. But sound can also bring pleasure. It can relax or stimulate. Certain types of blues music could even be compared to a sexual encounter. Well, at least for me. When an instrument is out of tune and someone hits a chord, it’s like taking a bite of some food that’s gone bad. The harmonics are off and you can feel it. It’s sour. The vibrations are wrong.

Yes, music is therapeutic. Without question. Thank you for posting your thoughts on this subject.

Kind regards,

Anon1984

Thank you so much for the info Stephanie: I shall certainly look into this! A great reference for all of us!
Barbara

Hi Barbara,
I am a music therapist practicing in Huntsville, Alabama. Yes, there is a Canadian Association for Music Therapy. You can find them at http://www.musictherapy.ca and they should be able to help you locate a music therapist in your area. You can also ask them if they know of current research being done with music therapy and fibromyalgia. If there is a university music therapy program nearby, you can also contact the director of music therapy. They are often great resources for local/regional contacts, and they will know of ongoing research projects as well. Hope this helps!
Stephanie

Thanks for the info Carla! Those of us with chronic pain need to find alternate ways of dealing with it rather than with just the usual pharmaceuticals. The idea of music therapy excites me. Do you know of a Canadian Music Therapy Association? I am hoping that some of the nueroscientists will soon do research with people with fibromyalgia as we would make good research participants! Do you know of any research done by music therapists in this regard?
Barbara

I am a music therapist in Huntsville, Alabama and I enjoyed your article. We music therapists are out here and many of us are looking to meet the needs of those suffering with chronic pain. To find someone in your area, contact the American Music Therapy Association. Their web site is http://www.musictherapy.o