What is Therapeutic Harp Music?

Therapeutic music is passive, non-prescriptive music being offered for therapeutic purposes. There is no pre-set goal before the session. Instead, the therapeutic musician would tailor the music to the overall state of being of the client, meeting their immediate needs and responding to the changing needs throughout the session. Unlike entertainment or atmosphere music, therapeutic music supports reflection, accompaniment, and connection rather than attraction or pleasing.

Therapeutic harp music is a kind of therapeutic music popularly used for healing purposes and offered by professionally trained practitioners. The therapeutic harp music practitioner uses the inherent healing elements of live music and sound to enhance the environment for the client or patient in the healthcare setting, making it more conducive to the healing process. Throughout the music vigil, the practitioner observes the client’s breathing patterns and other immediate physical, mental, and emotional conditions and adjusts the music being played accordingly. No two presentations are ever the same.

While listening to pre-recorded music can bring comfort, the resonant sound of live, improvised music played by a therapeutic harp practitioner facilitates personalized care for the client’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being by incorporating changes in the rhythm, modes, or genre of the music according to the client's immediate needs.

Harp Therapy is recently gaining popularity in hospitals, pediatrics, rehabilitation, hospices, memorial services, schools, organization wellness initiatives, supporting clients, patients, and their families. Therapeutic harp music is sometimes offered in collaboration with other integrative health practices like yoga and meditation or animal shelters to comfort the animals. The healing atmosphere is created mainly by working with clients’ breathing, anxiety, fear, pain, and depression. The unique repertoire of harp music creates an environment for the recipient to rest, rebalance, and recover. While receiving the music in person, people usually find they are responding to the vibration of the harp strings.

Among various therapeutic musician training, the International Harp Therapy Program emphasizes the use of ancient church modes. Music is offered according to the resonant tone of the client or the atmosphere, meeting the personalized needs. In the IHTP training, the primary and only agenda is to be open to the client’s present agenda and attune to that musically to alleviate their suffering at all levels. The program is accredited by the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians (NSBTM) from the US.