Sixty-six Airmen from the 362d Training Squadron underwent Music Medicine training in December 2019 at Solid Rock Café on Sheppard Air Force Base with Music4Life® music therapists Judith Pinkerton and Donnie Lee, III, and health professional Dennis D. Burkhardt, D.C.
During the 2-day training, totaling nine hours thirty minutes, the Music4Life® Team supported SAFB airmen leaning on each other with optimal sharing for support, strengthening empathy and desire to consider, invite, and accept diverse music genres to populate personalized playlists to optimize the creation of Music Medicine Pills® (aka Mood Exercise Regimens®) to optimize performance goals, i.e. physical fitness, and to keep them safe before, during and after deployment. Click here to view samples of individual summaries that reveal personal insights.
This music therapy-informed Music Medicine Protocol also addresses prevention and treatment courses. Colonel (R) Gerald Curry’s letter (page 15) advocates that funding be allocated to continue military training, supporting armed forces working at optimal health and peak performance.
Training Highlights
- Three e-courses: Accessible on cell phones, these courses are combined in the Music Medicine Advisor training to allow for self-paced learning and provide foundational knowledge on Music Medicine.
- Psycho-Analysis: Examines an Airman’s song choice, “Pumped Up Kicks,” to address earworms (stuck song syndrome reference on report page 8) and achieve emotional balance using Music Medicine techniques.
- Kinesiology Demonstration: Illustrates the impact of specific rhythms, like the anapestic beat, on muscle strength and overall physical fitness (reference anapestic beat, page 9).
- Music Medicine Pill® Meditation: A 40-minute guided session demonstrating the benefits of emotional processing and balance through music.
- Breakout Sessions: Facilitates peer support and the creation of personalized playlists for Music Medicine Pills®, enhancing teamwork, emotional and performance goals.
- Pre/Post Surveys: These include evaluations to measure the effectiveness of the training and its impact on participants’ well-being.
Music As Medicine For Active Duty Members or Veterans
92%
Gained new strategies to use music for personal growth and well-being.
64%
Improved EI (Emotional Intelligence) through music-based learning.
67%
Experienced reduced feelings of unsettledness with music applied as medicine.
