Hello, and welcome to Music for Wellness: an Integrated Approach.
I'm Suzanne Hanser.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH], and I'm Annette Philip.
And we're happy to guide you through this course.
I'm a music therapist-- I chair the Music Therapy
department at Berklee College of Music.
And in that work, I have found the wonders
of music, its power in releasing emotion and changing mood.
And also in helping people cope with whatever they're going through--
whether it's pain or anxiety, or just the little
stresses that we all experience every day.
And so we'll introduce you to some of these techniques which
have been researched and practiced, some of which
have been practiced for thousands of years.
We'll introduce you to ancient approaches,
and some modern technology to enhance bringing out your inner creativity.
I'm a vocalist from India.
I am also a composer, a producer, and an arranger.
And the thing that I love the most about music
is experimenting with the human voice, and working with large groups of people
all over the world-- especially with choirs.
At Berklee, I am the artistic director of the Berklee India exchange,
and the founder director of the Berklee Indian ensemble,
which now has musicians from over 42 countries.
And no matter where in the world these students come from,
or wherever I've been performing, touring,
I've found that music really is the connecting force.
You don't really have to understand every single lyric,
or obviously we don't understand all the languages that we hear songs in,
but we do get the vibe.
Whether it's joy, sorrow, pain, wonder, surprise, elation-- we get that.
We understand part of that human experience, and we can relate to it.
And essentially what this course is helping us to do
is find functional ways to use music to help us in our daily life.
You know the music that's meaningful to you.
But do you use it every day when you really need it?
So in lesson one, we'll be singing.
We'll be writing songs.
And we'll give you tools to help you unlock that musician within you.
In lesson two, we talk about music for comfort-- music
that maybe you need before you go for an interview or a meeting,
or when let's say you're going to the doctor,
or you're preparing for a surgery.
Anything that requires you to be calmer, to soothe your senses,
to find your center, to find your balance.
We also talk about ways to use breathing exercises,
and we'll take you through a guided meditation,
as well as introduce you to the ancient technique in yoga
called pranayama, which is a breathing technique that
allows us to channel our breath to help alter our emotional state.
Lesson three is about awakening-- awakening the senses
and the sensibilities through music.
We'll talk about the ancient art of mantra--
you'll hear an experience mantra.
This form that is designed to focus the attention, and to really have you
use the mantra in your life.
We'll translate it to a contemporary personal jingle-- something
to set an intention so that you can bring the meaning, the positivity,
of mantra.
And that brings us to lesson four-- developing your personal playlist,
your very own, customized go-to music that you can apply in any situation
that you face in your life.
We'll talk about relaxing music to help you reduce anxiety, attention focusing
music that helps you manage pain, sleep-inducing music that
helps you get into deep relaxation, and maybe helps you with meditation,
energizing music when you're feeling just a little bit low,
and spiritual music that helps you get into the flow.
Suzanne and I have been so blessed to have music be part of our lives
at very pivotal points-- very difficult situations--
and also in celebratory occasions.
We find that we naturally, just instinctively, move towards music.
And we hope that if you're looking for something to add to your creativity,
and to lead to more fulfillment in your life,
you'll find some tips in this course.
Ultimately, we hope that you find, through music, balance, freedom,
self-confidence, relaxation, and inspiration.
Enjoy, and unleash your creative self.