Music and Medicine: Quickening the Tempo of Progress

It has been known for millennia that music can bring joy and ease suffering. An increasing number of researchers from different disciplines are studying the possible mechanisms for music-based interventions (MBIs) and working to establish the effectiveness of these interventions in alleviating the symptoms of neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, and other disorders. Develop­ments in this field were discussed at a workshop, Music as Medicine: The Science and Clinical Practice, in December, 2023,1 co-chaired by Francis Collins and Renée Fleming and organised collaboratively by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Renée Fleming Foundation.