The Healing Forces of Music: History, Theory, and Practice [Paperback]

Randall, Ph.D. McClellan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1991

The Healing Forces of Music explores the shamanistic practices and musical cosmologies of the ancient world, the worlds of Eastern and Western classical forms, as well as contemporary resources. McClellan takes us into basic acoustics, the process of hearing and the vibratory nature of the human body. He presents a healing method through cymatics (the effect of vibration on physical matter), and also systems of healing with sound, voice and mantra, Tantric therapies and the utilization of the Endocrine Gland system and Chakra energies. He presents a thorough investigation of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual effects of music, the characteristics of healing music, procedures for using music as a healing agent and advocates a new philosophy of music as a transcendent experience.A scholarly survey of the history, theory and practice of sound and music healing, remarkable in its cross-cultural and historical perspectives.very well received by professionals in the field.David Lorimer, Noetic Sciences Review"A major piece of work on music therapy in its widest meaning that would be of great value to musicians and non-musicians alike. Of special interest is his analysis of the physical, emotional and spiritual effects of music, including the characteristics of music for meditation.James DAngelo, Caduceus MagazineSingular work in the fields of historical perspective and potential clinical applications of music as a health promoting modality. We have no knowledge of any other individual with Dr. McClellans background in this field.Dr. Jonathan Klate, Journal of Alternative MedicineInnovative and important to a high degree.I consider this one of the two most far-reaching books on music that I have read. Dr. McClellans role in defining the full nature of music promises to be one of unusual dist

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Randall McClellan is a Professor Emeritus of Music and director of the Centre of Sacred Sound who holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in music composition from the Eastman School of Music. A composer, performer, teacher and author, he is internationally recognized as a leading authority on music consciousness and healing, philosophy of music and fostering intuitive creativity through the arts. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Element Books Ltd (November 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852302550
• ISBN-13: 978-1852302559
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,978,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right sound as nourishment for mind, body, and spirit., July 1, 2001

By 

tepi "tepi" - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Healing Forces of Music: History, Theory, and Practice (Paperback)

THE HEALING FORCES OF MUSIC : History, Theory & Practice. By Randall McClellan, Ph.D. 252 pp. August, 2000. ISBN: 0595006655 (pbk.)

Sound is a subtle form of nourishment. Consider how a loving mother is naturally impelled to talk to her baby, although the baby cannot understand a word. Consider the great pleasure we all take in chatting. Consider how we will often be found humming or singing to ourselves in our lighter moments. Consider the howling of wolves, and the sounds made by other non-human creatures such as whales. There is a whole science of sound that has barely been touched upon by official science, perhaps because, although equipped to handle knowledge, it finds itself at a loss when confronted with wisdom.

It is this wise understanding of sound that is being brought to us today, and in their different ways, by writers as diverse as Jonathan Goldman, Don. G. Campbell, Katharine Le Mee, and Randall McClellan. All of these writers have things to tell us about sound, voice, and music, that are extremely important for us to understand, but that aren't widely understood at all.

We learn from them that sound is is a far more powerful energy than the visual and penetrates us far more deeply. We also learn that sound is a powerful means of re-centering our frazzled spirit and restoring us to wholeness because its effect is to balance mind, emotions, and body. This is why the right sort of sound or music is a real and needed form of subtle nourishment.

And since the books of most of these writers offer detailed and practical instruction in the relatively simple art of using our voice to produce right sound, they bring this valuable method within the reach of everyone. Here are details of the other three books :

HEALING SOUNDS : The Power of Harmonics. Revised Edition. By Jonathan Goldman. New York : Harper Collins, 1996 (1992). ISBN: 1852308486 (pbk.)

THE ROAR OF SILENCE : Healing Powers of Breath, Tone & Music. By Don G. Campbell. 134 pp. Wheaton, Ill.: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1994 (1989). ISBN 0-8356-0645-7 (pbk.)

CHANT : The Origins, Form, Practice, and Healing Power of Gregorian Chant. By Katharine Le Mee. 169 pp. New York : Bell Tower, 1994. ISBN 0-517-70037-9 (hbk.)

Along with the present book, these are lucid and exceptionally important books which should be read by anyone who would like to learn about a vitally important element in our life which few of us know anything about at all - the power of sound to affect our mind, spirit, and heart, and the dessication that results when we lose touch with right sound.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Healing Forces of Music: History, Theory and Practice, February 10, 2006

By 

ascent magazine (Montreal Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Healing Forces of Music: History, Theory, and Practice (Paperback)

Because our ear bones vibrate from the time before we are born until we die, what we hear and how we hear are important. Sound can add to the quality of our life and the life of the planet. It's as if the universe is one big orchestra and every vibration contributes to the music. By adding to the harmony of the music, we can add to universal health.

In The Healing Forces of Music, McClellan explains the basis of sound in scientific terms and shows how sound has been used in various times and cultures for healing. He demonstrates many principles for understanding our own inner resonance, and how to connect with the power within to heal.

McClellan shows how our voice unites body, mind and spirit, and has properties that can increase our sensitivity to internal resonance and healing. Voice can also help remove obstacles-such as emotional stress and negative mental attitudes-that make our energy stagnant. Music can also be used in healing to quiet the patient, to help concentration and to facilitate the expression of emotions. McClellan presents a variety of techniques for working with sound and breath, from the use of relaxation to chanting vowels and ancient mantras.

"The first requirement of learning the process of healing is to experience the effect of various pitches on your own body." Finding your own natural voice or note is very therapeutic. McClellan tells a story of an old Armenian man who played one note on his cello day after day. His family, driven to distraction by the sound, told him that other musicians played different notes and created melodies. The old man replied that all the others were still searching for "the right note" whereas he had already found it.

The discipline of music can influence us spiritually and create a meditative atmosphere. "The slower the rate [that?] individual sound events pass through our consciousness and the greater the periods of silence between them, the slower our sense of time becomes.... We may experience a sense of timelessness." In a time-stressed world, focusing on mantras and breath can give us an experience of stillness and tranquility that we can bring into our daily life to create a healthy, relaxed perspective.

The Healing Forces of Music gives a reassuring look at the potential of sound and music for creating a state of well-being. It made me want to learn more and try out my own voice in all its variations.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a seminal book in the subject, November 12, 2010

By 

J. P. Mantilla (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Healing Forces of Music: History, Theory, and Practice (Paperback)

This book covers a very broad subject that is music and sound healing. Some chapters are very "mystical" (ch. 9 Music Cosmologies and the Inner Sound) and often open to debate, and others a very scientific (ch. 2 The Process of Physical-Psychological Hearing) and hard to grasp. So at points it can be very abstract and even subjective and at other very specific and objective. The overall approach by the author is scientific, even when he writes about subjects that he might even be a bit skeptic like giving specific western note names to planets and zodiac signs or the musical notes related to each one of the chakras. The result is that you end up trusting McClellan's writing but also you realize how speculative music healing can be. At the same time it is a very interesting subject and quite relevant to modern and alternative medicine tendencies (i.e. singing bowls used by oncologist Mitchell Gaynor to treat cancer). Sound therapy has a significant potential in helping improve our health but it needs still more research and investigation, this book is definitely one of the places to start: It is both accessible to the layman and can be used as a reference book by the professional.

The book is well documented and has a good bibliography, but it is lacking an index and that would very important specially when used as a reference book. The book was first published I believe in 1991, and it is starting to feel dated, this shouldn't stop anyone from reading it, but this fact makes it difficult to track some of the examples or experiments that are mentioned in the book, like the music by composer Sam McClellan, searching the name on the Internet will show very scarce results. In addition to this, even finding information about the author has been difficult for me. In a time when almost any information is easy to track down this can be a little frustrating. I read this book after reading "The Power of Sound" by Joshua Leeds, that book on the other hand has a website with links to most of the subject that are mentioned in the book! This definitely helps track new discoveries. BTW, The Power of Sound seems to be very closely modeled after this book.

Clearly a seminal book in the subject and one that I foresee myself reading more than once.