Music as a resonant experience – a contribution to health psychology from the discipline of music therapy

Abstract

Music therapy has generated robust evidence for the role of music in enhancing health and well-being across populations. Drawing on empirical research, theory, and clinical observation, this evidence highlights how musical engagement can support vitality, agency, belonging, and meaning. These benefits extend beyond clinical settings, suggesting that everyday uses of music may contribute to health promotion and quality of life. Insights from music therapy are increasingly relevant to health psychology, particularly in addressing stress-related conditions, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. This paper argues for recognising music therapy as a form of contemporary folk medicine based upon active and receptive forms of health musicking with clear implication for public health initiatives. Two central questions guide the discussion: How can music support everyday health and well-being? And how might this knowledge inform health psychology? The paper introduces the concept of music as a “cultural immunogen,” focusing on four domains of health musicking, with particular emphasis on Hartmut Rosa’s theory of resonance.