Beliefs and practices about music's ability to heal the mind, body, and spirit date back to the Upper Paleolithic period, about 20,000 years ago. Music was widely used by shamans and other healers to treat a variety of ailments, from mental disorders to injuries and illness. Only recently have we separated healing and music; we tend to see healing as the province of doctors and music as entertainment. Perhaps it is time to reunite two of the most intimate parts of our lives.

Scientific advances in the past 10 years have provided a rational basis for this reunifi­cation. An emerging body of research allows us to take what had been anecdotes and place music on an equal footing with prescription drugs, surgeries, medical procedures, psychotherapy, and various forms of treatment that are mainstream and evidence-based. In the past two years alone, more than 8,000 papers have been published on the topic in peer-reviewed journals.

Across millennia, music has been used to relieve a variety of ailments, from chronic pain to depression, anxiety, and simple boredom. It serves as a social lubricant, an intoxicating part of courtship, and in life-cycle ceremonies through birth, birthdays, marriage, anniversaries, and even death. It was 2024 that saw the culmination of years of scientific research and conferences focused on a deceptively simple question: Is music capable of delivering proven medical effects? The answer is a resounding and artfully reverberating yes.

We have now demonstrated the efficacy of music therapy and musical interventions for improving a variety of health outcomes and for promoting wellness. From the treatment of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's to the management of chronic pain and depression, music is no longer relegated to the fringes of modern medicine. Major health care companies now have procedure codes for the use of music in hospital, clinical, and outpatient settings.

The year 2025 will see a renewed and reinvigorated use of this age-old remedy based on evidence from rigorously conducted studies. We will begin to see more sophisticated and nuanced uses of music for specific ailments, as well as for improving immune system function and overall wellness.

The future of music in health care extends from hospital to home, from illness to neurorehabilitation, mindfulness practices, and wellness. AI will help here&mda...