An idiosyncratic guide to literature, audio & video about the effects of music and sound on body, mind and spirit, compiled by Clement Jewitt and others.
Annotators: CJ: Clement Jewitt. SN: Susan Nares. MS: Maxwell Steer. RS: Russell Stone. DW: Delyth Wilkinson. SVC: Sarah Verney Caird.
BOOKS - General Music
Armstrong, Frankie & Pearson, Jenny (eds). Well-tuned women: growing strong through voicework. Women's Press, 2000
15 chapters by women whose passion is voice, both spoken and sung. Full of experience and variety, and very moving. DW
Berendt, Joachim-Ernst. Nada Brahma - the world is sound: music and the landscape of consciousness. East West, 1988
Packed with fascinating material on all aspects, sometimes hard to link with his sources list - may be a consequence of translation. CJ
Berendt, Joachim-Ernst. The third ear: on listening to the world. Henry Holt, 1985
An enlargement of one chapter in Nada Brahma. Interesting, but sometimes seems a little lost in the enlargement, or maybe in the translation. CJ
Campbell, Don G. Introduction to the musical brain. Magnamusic-Baton 1986
Aimed at teachers: entertaining as well as informative, though now in some respects overtaken by recent research. Campbell is the 'father' of American sound healers, and has written several other books. CJ (see also Recordings)
Chatwin, B. The songlines. Pan| Jonathan Cape, 1988
'I have a vision ... that wherever men have trodden they have left a trail of song; and that these trails must reach back ... to an isolated pocket in the African Savannah, where the First Man shouted the opening stanza of the World Song, "I am!" '. Book about the sung trails across the Australian aboriginal landscape. CJ
Cousto, H. The cosmic octave: origin of harmony: planets - tones - colors: the power of inherent vibrations. Life Rhythm, 1988
Planetary tones calculated after the manner of Johannes Kepler. Rather a lot of printing errors in the mathematics, but the text is interesting, if a little breezy in manner. CJ
D'Angelo, James Healing with the voice. Thorsons, 2000
An instructive and informative book for anyone interested in the deeper aspects of sound and the human voice. RS.
Daniélou, A. Music and the power of sound: the influence of tuning and interval on consciousness. (1st publ 1943) Inner Traditions, 1995
Masterly survey of scales and their structures, oriental and occidental: not for the mathematics phobic. CJ
Godwin, Jocelyn. Harmonies of heaven and earth: the spiritual dimension of music from antiquity to the avant-garde. Thames & Hudson, 1987
The most profound of the modern esoteric books on this subject. The extended passages on the nature of composition and of listening are superb. Contains historical material not otherwise easily found on speculative attempts to link music with mystical and esoteric theories of the universe. Godwin has written several books on related topics. CJ
Godwin Jocelyn. Music, mysticism and magic. Routledge 1986
Anthology of texts from Pythagorus to Stockhausen. CJ
Hunt, Valerie. Infinite mind: science of the human vibrations of consciousness. (2nd ed) Malibu Publishing, 1996
A record of 25 years exploration of the electromagnetic fields (aka aura) surrounding us and everything else, and how they interact. This scientist affirms our interconnection with the universe. CJ
Inayat Khan, Hazrat. The Music of Life. (orig ed <1926) Omega, 1988
Impressive work on spirituality and music by the founder of the Western Sufi order. Astonishingly catholic and up-to-date for its period. MS
Inayat Khan, Hazrat. The mysticism of sound and music: the Sufi teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. Shambhalla, 1991
The most recent compilation of this great Sufi master's writings on music and the Sufi tradition. A "must" for anyone interested in such things. SVC
James Jamie. The music of the spheres: music, science and the natural order of the universe. Little, Brown, 1993
A contemporary survey of the ancient and enduring tradition expounded by Joscelyn Godwin and many others. Noteworthy for his discussion of the situation of Western music in the post-Romantic age. CJ
Ling, Dorothy. The original art of music. (OP) Aspen Institute UP, 1989
The lovely and moving autobiography of an intelligent and very spiritual lady working & teaching in 1970s Argentina. Let us know if you find it. CJ
Madaule, Paul. When listening comes alive. Moulin (Canada) 1993
Copy not found in UK yet: please inform us if one is located (Internet?) CJ
Paton, Rod. Living music: improvisation guidelines for teachers and community musicians. W Sussex CC, 2000
Leads you through the projects in a way that really encourages creative thinking. SN. Includes CD of various school groups improvising.
Rudhyar, Dane. The magic of tone and the art of music. Shambhalla, 1982
Interesting not least for his defence of 'modern' music as spirit feeding. Rudhyar is known as an astrologer and composer as well as a writer of esoteric books. CJ
Steer, Maxwell (ed). Music and mysticism. Contemporary Music Review #14 (2 vols). Harwood Academic Press, 1996
For contents see link on M&P website. Scholarly and nonetheless fascinating in-depth articles - Punitively expensive though. CJ
Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Towards a cosmic music. Element, 1989
A compilation of conversations and essays in which KS talks of music, composition and spirituality with great insight and personal clarity. SVC
Storr, Anthony. Music and the mind. Harper Collins, 1992
Very readable, and rational, psychological point of view: ignores spirit. CJ
Tame, David. The secret power of music. Destiny, 1984
General survey: good on Chinese music: unbalanced in some other respects - he tends to fall into the New Age fallacy that only the 'light' is to be approved. CJ
Whone, Herbert. The hidden face of music. (OP) Gollancz, 1974
Delightful little book packed with esoteric correlations. CJ
BOOKS - Music & Sound in Healing
Andsell, Gary. Music for life - aspects of creative music therapy with adult clients. Jessica Kingsley, 1995
Makes more sense if you also get the accompanying CD. Andsell presents case studies of his work and that of colleagues and uses them as the basis of explanation and exploration into Music as Therapy. Similar idea to the book by Pavlicevic, but more academic and involved. SVC
Beaulieu, John. Music and sound in the healing arts: an energy approach. Station Hill, 1987
Beaulieu uses specially designed tuning forks in his healing practice. These are now available in the UK from the Tao of Books. CJ
Bonny, Helen & Savary, Louis. Music and your mind: listening with a new consciousness. (revised ed) Station Hill, 1990
The book of Active Imagination with Music (now known as Guided Imagery with Music), therapy of the whole person. CJ
Campbell, Don G. (ed). Music & Miracles. Quest (US), 1992
Symposium of articles by leading US sound healers.
Chinmoy, Sri. The source of music: self-expansion through spiritual music and mantras. Sri Chinmoy, 1995
The source of music is Supreme Silence, to which we are all engaged in returning. Leonard Bernstein said after hearing Chinmoy's music "My musical spirit is very, very deeply impressed." CJ
Dossey, Larry. Healing breakthroughs. Piatkus, 1991
Interesting survey of the boundaries and limitations of conventional medicine. Included here for the chapter 'The body as music'. CJ
Drury, Neville. Music for inner space: techniques for meditation and visualization. Prism|Unity, 1985
A general survey with ideas on the use of music for meditations and in workshops. Compares Kabbalah with Tarot CJ
Gardner, Kay. Sounding the inner landscape: music as medicine. Caduceus, 1990
Very readable and comprehensive introduction. She also writes well constructed music for healing CJ (see also Recordings)
Goldman, Jonathan. Healing sounds: the power of harmonics. (new ed) Element, 1996
A survey from the leading American overtone chanter and sound healer. CJ
Hamel, Peter-Michael. Through music to the self: how to appreciate and experience music anew. (1st German pub 1976, 1st English pub 1978) Element, 1990
A seminal work. Includes group exercises for developing awareness of the bodily effects of sound. CJ
McClelland, Randall. The healing forces of music: history, theory and practice. Element, 1991
Comprehensive survey, as good any produced at the time. CJ
Newham, P. The Healing Voice: How to Use the Power of Your Voice to Bring Harmony into Your Life. Element (UK+US) 1999
Pavlicevic, Mercedes. Music therapy - intimate notes. Jessica Kingsley, 1999
A marvelously broad introduction to Music Therapy. Pavlicevic has taken nine case studies, covering different client groups and varying approaches to this work in order to give a clear and representative overview of the discipline of Music Therapy today. Recommended reading for anyone who is interested. SVC
Roden, S. Sound Healing: How to Use the Healing Power of the Human Voice. Piatkus, 1999
Tomatis, Alfred. The conscious ear: my life of transformation through listening. Station Hill, 1991
Autobiography of a remarkable ENT specialist whose researches point to the primacy of the ear and listening in development and psychological well-being. His Method has positively affected 'untreatable' conditions such as autism. There are now Tomatis Centres worldwide, inc 3 in England. CJ
