Can a composer-musician change Health?
I was born into a family of doctors in Austria, and instantly achieved the status “black sheep,” when I would not talk for years and even later on predominately communicated just through music. I see myself as “sound inventor, ” but they labeled me composer and musician. This playful life turned exciting though: Now I have a wonderful and loving family. I received platinum records, built two companies, sold “Music Beyond” to BMG, worked with the best of the best from Spielberg to Wenders, created the ubiquitous Intel audio branding, and I still cannot sit still. All that was not the nucleus to building HealthTunes. It happened because, …
When our, at the time five-year-old son Lucca experienced a rare bone syndrome, and western medicine could not offer answers nor remedy, a new journey started to unfold.
Many tears and sleepless nights later, my wife Evelyne, delved into the unknown and became a licensed Healing Touch® practitioner. A mother’s love can move mountains, yes, that is what Evelyne did. She found the best osteopath and even was able to change Lucca’s aversion to needles during acupuncture treatments. We implemented Sound Healing, a strict diet and just one year later, doctors looked amazed when they diagnosed Lucca’s accelerated healing. Currently, Lucca is running at least as fast as his friends, as if nothing ever had happened. The only reminder, Lucca is quite shy. While his peers had the chance to learn how to bond on playgrounds, Lucca spent hours in car rides from and to health appointments, missing out on social interaction.
Still, I am incredibly thankful; We owe to the world! The three of us learned exactly what we needed to learn; we awakened into a new life. There is something much bigger than us that guided; I want to reciprocate. So, a new idea developed in observing the need of noninvasive, academically researched healing.
I founded HealthTunes, a streaming platform, which pairs sound/music with evidence based clinical research. This service turned into my Master’s Project at the University of Santa Monica. I graduated that summer from University gliding into a new phase in life. I was able to transform sadness into hope and joy. This journey made me vulnerable beyond belief, but it additionally enabled me to re-learn trusting and re-experiencing hope. In trust, the impossible turns possible! With hope, I find the energy to continue, even when my perception aka ego, says “I cannot go on.”
There is incredible academic research available for hospitals and doctors to start trusting in sound and music as a healing modality. I know that I am on my way to open a research center with musicians, doctors, psychologists and trusting, hopeful patients. What my colleagues and I have collected, composed and produced is now available to all. HealthTunes is a free service, a 501 (c) (3), California non-profit. Phase one of HealthTunes® is already changing patient’s lives. Our goal is to assist those who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Chronic Pain, ADHD, PTSD, and Sleep disorders, as well as enabling individuals to develop greater focus. There are sounds available to alleviate Chemotherapy patients of nausea; there are sounds to ease the strain under dialysis treatments. The list goes on. We are developing hardware for NICU implementation, and algorithms to interpret biofeedback data. Just this last week, one of HealthTunes’ volunteer composers sent a video. It shows a preemie in NICU, with the high heart-rate of 172, and just one minute of preselected music the baby’s heart-rate eased to 155! I was crying of joy, with the baby’s mother.
HealthTunes was officially birthed June 18th, 2016 at the Cannes Lions Health. Thank you, Moby for your endorsement! A new future is here, and music is opening new gates to health.
Listen up, Be well!
Thanking life for all its lessons,
Walter Werzowa, HealthTunes®