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MusiCure is a series of specially composed ‘soundscapes’, written and produced by the Danish composer and oboist Niels Eje over a period of more than ten years. The music has been created specifically for a variety of therapeutic purposes.
Contents
The Music
MusiCure is deliberately intended to have a soothing and relaxing effect, and at the same time create positive mental stimulation and inspiration. The creation and development of the music is based on feedback, knowledge and insight received from the medical research.
The musicians participating in the MusiCure productions are all professional classical artists, who in this context show new sides of their instrumental and artistic expertise. The acoustic solo instruments used by the composer include the oboe, harp, cello, piano, flute, horn, guitar and others, which combined with strings, sampled sounds and authentic natural sounds provide the basis for the music.
The Research
The MusiCure ‘music as medicine’ productions originally stem from the Musica Humana research project in which independent medical researchers carried out numerous controlled clinical trials using this music and published scientific documentation on its effects on several different patient groups in Scandinavia and the USA. In particular, MusiCure has been used in studies examining the effects of music on patients recovering from heart surgery, in which evidence has been presented that music can reduce stress. Many other uses related to anxiety, stress and pain have also been reported, including a trial on postoperative music for children. Common to all trials has been an increase of well-being in patients and lower levels of stress.
Applications
Niels Eje and Susan Binau incorporated MusiCure CDs in patient donation packages provided to terminally ill patients by the Danish charity Landsforeningen Støtte før Afskeden.