Pythagoras – Father of Music Therapy
by Steve Rees, Ret. RN, Harpist
Many of us remember the Pythagorean Theorem from our high school algebra days. But did you know that Pythagoras, besides being a brilliant mathematician, was also a musician? Many therapy practitioners consider him to be the "Father of Music Therapy." So, I explored some history and see how this came about. The key thought here is that music and sound have been utilized for healing for much longer than most people think.
Just because our current medical system is just now starting to pay attention to the power of music to heal, doesn't mean it hasn't been understood and used for millennia. We even find reference in scripture to King David, before he became king, playing his harp to King Saul whenever he had a "troubling spirit" come over him, and the music would relieve the king of that trouble. David even predates Pythagoras by about 500 years, since he lived around 1000 B.C.
Pythagoras lived from 570 -490 B.C. according to the historical record. Wikipedia states that he was known for his expertise in mathematics, ethics, music theory, metaphysics, mysticism, politics, and religion. The bio lists some of his accomplishments. "In antiquity, Pythagoras was credited with many mathematical and scientific discoveries, including the Pythagorean theorem, Pythagorean tuning, the five regular solids, the Theory of Proportions, the sphericity of the Earth, and the identity of the morning and evening stars as the planet Venus. It was said that he was the first man to call himself a
philosopher ("lover of wisdom") and that he was the first to divide the globe into five climatic zones." However, some historians debate whether he made all those contributions .
It is agreed by classical historians that the area of music was one of his most significant contributions. "Pythagoras of Samos, Greece, was not only one of the greatest mathematicians and philosophers of all time, but he was also an extremely accomplished musician. His instrument of choice was the kithara which is an ancient form of the guitar. He also sang whilst he played his music. He was known to be able to soothe both animals and people with his music and he came to recognize the effect that his music had on the senses and the emotions of those people that he played for. He eventually came to call it 'musical medicine."