Music in general hospital treatment from 1900 to 1950

Beginning at the turn of the century, this report examines the effect of the recently invented phonograph on practical and experimental efforts to reconcile the century-old separation of medicine and music. Progressing chronologically, events are examined which affected the use of music in physical medicine during the first half of the 20th century. Topics include the first college course-work in hospital music, important theories regarding the neurological basis of musical effects, early research investigating the influence of music on physiological behavior, the inclusion of permanent musical hardware in hospital construction, social and physical rehabilitation in orthopedic medicine, psychological applications in pediatrics and psychosomatic medicine, and the use of music to combat pain in surgical, dental, obstetrical, and gynecological procedures.