An exploration of the practice of using music/sound as an agent of healing and consciousness-alteration, and as a therapeutic and complementary adjunct to Ibogaine treatment.
Music has charms to soothe the savage beast, to soften rocks or bend a knotted oak.
-William Congreve

It has long been known to mankind that music has awesome, yet somewhat intangible powers: the power to soothe a child to sleep, the power to incite violence, the power to evoke tears, the power to alter consciousness. Every culture of the world has used music to enhance and alter their mental and physical states.

In modern times, music is all-pervasive: it is virtually impossible to imagine weddings, funerals, nightclubs, supermarkets, movies, shopping malls, religious or spiritual gatherings, and television without it. It can be a magnificent crux of social cohesion, and it has a way of enhancing and sometimes defining any situation in which we might find ourselves. It always has.

Music making as a means of consciousness-alteration has been a part of human life for many thousands of years. It has even been postulated that music may predate language, and may have found its' origins in the gentle cooing of mothers attempting to lull and pacify their infants.

In addition to the vocal aspects of music, mankind has been constructing devices that produce sounds and tones for tens of thousands of years. The oldest preserved instrument known to archaeologists is a Neanderthal bone flute, circa 50,000BC, found in Slovenia. Several similar instruments- though not as old- have also been discovered in Asia and the Middle East. There are many references to the healing power of music and sound in the mythologies and religions of the world. In the Old Testament of the Bible, David would calm King Saul by playing him the harp. The ancient Greeks believed that certain musical modes had the power to heal both physical and emotional pain. Their mythology is laden with references to the use of music as a healing power and a natural anesthetic. In fact, drugs and musicaided hypnosis were two of the most common methods used to treat emotional and surgical pain. It is interesting to note that Apollo, the god of music, is also the god of healing.

The Romans were known to use war drums as a means to not only excite and invigorate their legions, but also to intimidate their enemies. The Romans would also heighten the tension of the Coliseum or Circus Maximus by blowing on trumpets, or by playing the hydraulicis- an organ powered by a bellows and pumped by foot. It is perhaps here in the coliseum that the organ anthem of the sport's game found it's genesis. In ancient Egypt, music was used to ease the pain of childbirth, and in India, different ragas, or musical modes, are played at various times of the day to evoke particular moods and sensations. The Hindi/Urdu word "rag" is derived from the Sanskrit "raga" which means "colour", or "passion". In essence, each different raga is used to evoke a particular mental/physical state- to 'paint' an emotion- and is believed to have its own speciality in curing diseases.

Modern science is now beginning to understand the healing and consciousness-altering properties of music as originating, at least in part, from the realms of neurochemistry, neuropsychology and physiology. Recent studies by researchers at McGill university have indicated that certain types of music can stimulate the production of endorphins, the body's natural opiates, as well as reduce levels of cortisol and noradrenaline, hormones related to stress.

In addition, music has been demonstrated to increase cerebral blood flow and to affect change in the regions of the brain normally associated with reward/motivation, emotion and arousal, such as the nucleus accumbus- thought to be the epicenter of addiction- and the limbic system- the part of the brain involved in pleasure(including sex, drugs, eating), and pain(fighting, fleeing, guilt).

Researchers have used PET scanning to study the effects of certain types of music on the brain. Consonant (pleasing, harmonious) chords or intervals seemed to activate the orbitofrontal area (part of the reward system) of the right hemisphere and also part of an area below the corpus callosum. Consonant, harmonically and melodically-stable music has been well documented to have an anxiolytic, or anxiety reducing, effect on the listener. It has been demonstrated to reduce the physical and psychological discomfort associated with childbirth, surgery, drug withdrawal symptoms, physical rehabilitation, cancer or other ailments, and also psychotherapy. It has been used with success in the treatment of individuals with brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and William's Syndrome.

In contrast, dissonant (discordant, causing tension) music can stimulate and excite the listener by triggering an elevation in heart rate, cortisol levels (associated with stress), respiration and temperature. Dissonant chords and intervals seem to activate the right parahippocampal gyrus, which has been associated with the sensations of fear, anxiety and panic. Music with a very fast tempo- in excess of 150 beat per minute- can evoke similar physiological and neurological effects.

Cross-culturally, there are many examples of using music with a rapid tempo in rituals of transcendence and ecstatic trance . In Haiti, tribal drums with polyrhythmic(the use of several rhythmic patterns or meters simultaneously) activity and a tempo of sometimes 170 beats per minute accompany rituals of possession and divination in the Vodou faith. In fact, many indigenous cultures will employ a tempo of at least 155 beats per minute when they attempt to make contact with the supernatural world. The Navajo, Hopi and Plains peoples have long used rhythmic percussion and singing in order to make contact with the spirit world, to heal illness, to ensure a plentiful harvest or bountiful hunt, and to ward off evil spirits. The Navajo, in particular, use music and dance in the ÒEnemyway CeremonyÓ. This ceremony is used to exorcise ghosts, violence and ugliness and is derived from old ceremonials used for returning warriors, performed to cleanse and purify themselves after contact with enemy dead and to realign themselves with their people.

In modern North America, many young people attend raves or similar parties, which can feature a type of music classified as 'jungle', which features polyrhythmic textures and beats per minute often in excess of 180. Many of these individuals report transcendental, mystical experiences, particularly when coupled with the ingestion of mind-altering substances such as MDMA, psilocybin, ketamine or LSD.

In terms of the Ibogaine therapy experience, the ideal music should be both calming and stimulating simultaneously. The calming/soothing properties of an appropriately chosen piece can help alleviate physical or mental discomfort, while the stimulating properties can enhance the visionary experience.

When selecting music for the Ibogaine experience, it is important that it be well-balanced and somewhat stable, in terms of harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, melodic elements, tempo and timbre. Overly dissonant intervals or harmonic progressions should not be sustained over long periods of time, and should quickly resolve.

As it unfolds slowly and morphs over time, drone-type music- particularly pieces with a sustained bass note in the 50-130hz range- seems especially well suited to Ibogaine treatment. The anchored bass note provides an underlying sense of stability, which allows the melodic/harmonic elements freedom of motion. Several musical modes, particularly Mixolydian, Lydian and Ionian, have been demonstrated to have calming effects, and have been used with success in the Ibogaine experience.

The ideal music will have a tempo that reflects the median range of the target resting heart rate. This rate will vary from person to person, based on age, concurrent medications, and overall health. The rhythm of music has been demonstrated to possess the ability to affect and entrain the heart rate, though to what extent it is still unclear.

The principle of entrainment was first identified by the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens, in 1665. Huygens found that when two clocks were hung from the same mantle, the swinging of the pendulums, though disparate to begin with, would soon synchronize. In terms of rhythmic entrainment, music with a tempo of 80-105 beats per minute seems to work well for most people. As Ibogaine has been demonstrated to induce bradycardia in rats and dogs, it is recommend to avoid music with a tempo that falls below the normal sitting heart rate, unless the specific intention is to promote a calming effect.

The same applies to music that exceeds the normal sitting heart rate; in fact, it is preferable to avoid music with a tempo above 110 beats per minute. The 105-110 range can be used to temporarily excite the patient; however, in my experience, this tempo range should not be used for more than 4-5 minutes straight, and overall sparingly. If polyrhythmic percussion is used, the beats per minute should not exceed 95-100.

There are various types of instruments that seem to be well suited to the Ibogaine experience. As a general rule, these instruments have the capacity to both soothe and stimulate. Javanese or Balinese gamelan are examples of instruments which can soothe and stimulate simultaneously- the percussive features are stimulating, while the pure, cool timbre and smooth tone are calming. The mbira from Zimbabwe, is another such instrument, as is the harp, the piano, the psaltery, and the dulcimer- hammered and plucked. In addition, the didgeridoo- with it's droning bass note and flanging harmonics- can be employed, in moderation, within the Ibogaine treatment process, particularly in the waking dream phase.

The Bwiti people of Gabon, use the scraping of the iboga root, coupled with music and ritual, in their initiation ceremonies. The ceremony lasts one week, with the initiate experiencing a metaphorical death and rebirth, and communicating with their dead ancestors. They refer to this experience as 'breaking open the skull.' Interestingly enough, the Bwiti temper the excitatory effects of the percussion instruments with the soothing timbre and tone of the eight-stringed, diatonic harp(called Ngoma or Ngombi). Used within the Ibogaine treatment context, the right music can promote a calming effect by releasing endorphins, slowing respiration and heart rate, lowering blood pressure and cortisol levels, and relaxing the mind. It can guide the patient through physical discomfort, and act as a stimulus in the enhancement of the visionary, waking dream phase.

1)Ture H, Ture U, Gogus FY, Valavanis A, Yasargil MG. The Art of Alleviating Pain in Greek Mythology (abstract only)

2)Zatorre, Blood. Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion.

3)Samorini, Giorgio. The Bwiti Religion and the psychoactive plant Tabernanthe iboga

4)Music Journal, Effects of Music on the Brain.

5)Stefano GB, Zhu W, Cadet P, Salamon E, Mantione KJ. Music alters constitutively expressed opiate and cytokine processes in listeners.

6)Scientific American, Music and the Brain

7) Tiffany Field, Alex Martinez, Thomas Nawrocki, Jeffrey Pickens, Nathan A. Fox, Saul Schanberg. Music shifts frontal EEG in depressed adolescents Ð electroencephalography

8) Rider MS, Floyd JW, Kirkpatrick J. The effect of music, therapy, and relaxation on adrenal corticosteroids and the re-entrainment of circadian rhythms (abstract only)

9) Robert Wyatt, DMA. A Spoonful of Music

10) Omni Magazine. The mystery of ibogaine: can an African psychedelic cure addiction?

12) NM Weinberger, The Musical Hormone

13) Spoor PS, Swift GW. The Huygens entrainment phenomenon and thermoacoustic engines Abstract only

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