Clinical musicologist receives US patent

About DrAlice

Dr. Alice Cash is one of the world’s few clinical musicologists. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, she brings to her work over 40 years of professional experience as a college professor, clinical therapist, solo and chamber music performer and composer. Since 1990, Dr. Cash has been in the field of Music Medicine and conducted clinical research at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, under the guidance of Dr. Joel Elkes, Dr. Leah Dickstein, and Dr. Rif El-Mallakh. Her clinical work at the University of Louisville lead to her career in music medicine. In addition to her work with the University of Louisville, Dr. Cash lead the development of using music a hospital setting at Baptist East Hospital, Louisvile, KY. She has founded 3 companies: Healing Music Enterprises, Surgical Serenity Solutions and Crescent Hill Counseling.

Who wants to be in an MRI machine: First person account about music in the MRI machine

hypertension and music in the MRI machine

Patient with hypertension uses music in MRI

Who Wants to be in an MRI machine?

Recently I was hospitalized for hypertension (high blood pressure) and dizziness. It’s a miserable way to feel but of course I submitted to their testing in hopes of finding out what the problem was. One of the ways they go about trying to determine the problem is to do MRIs and CT scans of relevant parts, like head and neck.

If you’ve ever had an MRI you know that it is not a pleasant test. Because I was there for evaluation, they did lots of test in a short period of time. Two MRIs and a CT scan as well as 5 or 6 vials of blood. I really don’t like any of it but I understand it’s necessary.

My Personal Experience

The first MRI was not bad at all and it was quiet in the MRI suite with just me and one technician. Of course he asked me what music I’d like and of course I said something like Chopin or Brahms. He talked to me throughout and even though I had a painful IV it really wasn’t that bad. Despite periodic advertisements for tires and fast food, I was able to be calm and tolerate it.

MRI machine But then, the next afternoon, I was told that I needed a different MRI that would take about 40-50 minutes. Unfortunately, this time, the music was not enough to keep me from suddenly experiencing a miserable attack of claustrophobia. By then, I had been in the hospital over a day with continuous tests and blood drawn and my back and leg were really hurting, in addition to my blood pressure rising more and more depite lots of hydralazine. Another factor I now understand was that the MRI tech did not break the different segments down for me like the others had done. It helps so much when they say “ok, now you’re going to have 7 minutes of this particular sound” and after 7 minutes they actually check in with me and ask how I’m doing. Assuming I’m OK, then they’ll say “now you’re going to have 6 minutes of this specific sound.” That helps me a lot, but this technician just went directly from one sound to the next with no conversation with me.

After about 30-40 minutes I pressed the botton he had given me to hold and said “I can’t stay in here any more!!” He brought me out and said there’s only about 12-15 minutes left, but I said “I’m sorry, I can’t do it anymore!!” It was really a horrible experience and I’m not sure I can ever tolerate an MRI machine again.

Is taking a pill as good as music?

MRI headphones I finally did go for an outpatient MRI of head and neck about two weeks later and they gave me an Ativan to calm me before hand. In that case, I fell asleep repeatedly in the machine and there was too much artifact for them to see what they needed to see.

So NO, taking a pill is even worse than having no music or the wrong music. This picture shows headphones that have been created specifically for use inside of an MRI machine and plug into the wall of the OR. I believe a certain brand of MRI machines offers them as an add-on, but I was told that they’re expensive. Our calming, therapeutic playlists can be licensed for the entire MRI suite very reasonably and played through the speakers in the machine. To find out more about this click here.

Having soothing music in an MRI machine definitely helps and of course, all MRIs are not the same in terms of the sounds they have to create to make various parts of your body vibrate. And now there are so-called “open” MRI machines. But an MRI is just not pleasant for people who are already in pain or have a tendency towards claustrophobia. My message is to the MRI technicians. “Pay attention to the patient in the machine and talk them through it. Don’t just put it on automatic and walk away or start scrolling on your phone. Also, PLEASE don’t play Spotify for the patient if it has advertisements periodically. It totally takes away the benefit of the calming music when a tire advertisement comes up! And besides, it’s illegal to use a personal, free Spotify account in a hospital.

Thank you from a patient who had a terrible experience.

www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/contact-us.

By DrAlice|January 8, 2026|MRI and Music|3 Comments

Don’t forget to use this powerful tool during the holidays

Could you actually forget to play music during the Christmas holidays? It’s unlikely I think but you might logically think that it’s only for celebration purposes. In reality, Christmas can be a time for a full range of emotions from jubilation to devastation and everything in between.

If you’re a trained musician you know that Christmas music has been written in both major and minor keys and has also been written in fast tempos and slow tempos. So whether you want “Joy to the World” or “We Three Kings.” “Carol of the Bells” or “Silent Night,” there is truly holiday music to match every mood.

We associate holiday music with parties, good times and festivities but what if you’ve had a major loss at holiday time. In addition to the death of a beloved family member or friend, the loss of a treasured pet can be devastating. In the last 100 years, the Earth has seen hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis in the month of December where people lost everything they owned including family and friends. But even if you haven’t lost anyone or anything, loneliness can also be a problem.

So how can music possibly make a dent in these uncomfortable feelings? Here’s what music therapists and music medicine practitioners say:

Music therapy can address limitations of traditional bereavement support by facilitating non-verbal emotional expression.

Active participation in music therapy promotes community connection and enhances coping resources.

These are both general statements, but we know that when grief or sadness is heavy, many people cannot find words to express what they’re feeling.

Music can elicit tears even if you’ve never heard the piece before. I remember vividly when I heard the soundtrack to “Schindler’s List.” I had not seen the movie although I did know what it was about. I burst into tears almost immediately just hearing this music.

There is so much music that has this power and can seriously help people feel their feelings and begin the grieving process.

In addition, when people are grieving, many tend to isolate and not want to go out. Participating in a bereavement group that is led by a therapist or other music professional can be extremely helpful.

Another Christmas song that can bring mournful feelings to the surface is the beautiful “In the Bleak Midwinter,” with lyrics by Christina Rossetti and music by Gustav Holst.

Of course I hope that you are having a very joyful Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa season. But if you have sadness, grief or loneliness, please remember to let music help you through it.

We sell music that has been shown to reduce anxiety and increase calm

By DrAlice|December 23, 2025|Holiday Emotions|0 Comments

Coping with anxiety and pain management in surgery or other procedures

pre-root canal You’re having surgery, or a painful, scary, medical/dental procedure! What should you use if you’ve heard about how music can improve your experience and even your results? The clinical research grows by the day and the result are clear. Using music chosen by the patient makes a huge difference.

But there is a lot of confusion out there about the difference between Music Therapy and Music Medicine and even Spotify for surgical/medical procedures. Because most people do not know that difference, I thought I would lay it our for you as clearly and succinctly as possible. It’s really not that complicated. Here’s a breakdown of the differences:

What exactly is Music Therapy?

According to musictherapy.org, music therapy is a professional practice that uses music interventions to achieve individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship. In other words, music therapy is only conducted one on one with a licensed music therapist. NO ONE else can do music therapy in a hospital or anywhere else. If a professional musician or a very good amateur musician plays music for patients in any way, it may actually be therapeutic, but you cannot call it music therapy.

Conducting a music therapy session takes time and some knowledge of the patient and why they are there. This takes specific training. Most hospitals do not have time or resources to have music therapists giving tailored sessions to hundreds of patients a day. Many music therapists work in Rehab settings, or on an Oncology Unit. Sometimes music therapists do group sessions with patients who all have the same or similar diagnoses.

A licensed professional music therapist will first get to know you and establish a therapeutic relationship. Then together they create a music intervention with you that has specific, measurable goals in mind. Music therapy deals with many populations, but surgery, typically, is not one. Most hospitals have no more than 3 music therapists.

Unfortunately, many of the research studies that are published say that the patient was given music therapy when they were actually given recorded music. This is something that I am attempting to clarify among professional health care workers.

What exactly is Music Medicine?

Music medicine is often defined as listening to music during medical procedures for a relaxing effect. The advantage over music therapy is that it doesn’t require a trained music therapist so it’s less expensive. It can also be used in more diverse situations where a music therapist wouldn’t be allowed, such as surgery.

Our Music Medicine system is unique because it has been curated by a clinical musicologist who is also a licensed clinical social worker. It has been used around the world in hospitals and clinics. Surgeons and anesthesiologists have recommended our music for joint replacements, aneurysms, cancer surgeries and heart by-passes.

Patients have also chosen it for Ceasarian sections, colonoscopies, cataract surgery and dental work. Because the music has been curated by a professional clinical musician, and the patient will be under anesthesia, a music therapist is not

Because patient-selected music has been shown to have the best effect, the therapeutic playlists are offered in 5 different genres. Surgical Serenity Solutions (” the patient can select from ) offers playlists in Classical, Jazz, New Age, Lullabies, and Memory Care. Most patients choose classical or jazz. We recommend that the hospital stock MP3 players or preloaded headphones in all 5 genres and let the patient choose their preferred genre and the pre-surgery visit

It can be ordered or suggested by the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, the nurse, the chaplain, or any clinical professional. This Music Medicine intervention is pre-recorded music that has been specifically curated for a medical need, like surgery, or even specifically for a patient, but not administered in a one on one situation. This therapeutic music can be used, ALWAYS through headphones or earbuds, in just the pre-op area, just during the procedure, or just in the recovery area. We recommend that it be used throughout the perioperative period for maximum positive results. To purchase the headphones or MP3 players, click this link: www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/hospitalheadphones.

Where does Spotify fit in?

Which finally brings us to Spotify! Spotify says very clearly on its website that it’s not for commercial use but many surgeons have told me that they “just use Spotify” and when I mention that a commercial license is required they say they had no idea!

I have been offered calming music when I have an MRI They usually ask what kind of music I’d like to hear in the MRI machine and I respond that I’d like to hear Chopin or Brahms. Maybe some Rachmaninoff, Debussy or Ravel. Then I ask the souce of their music and they laugh and it’s just my own personal Spotify account! When I inform them that it’s illegal to use a personal account they exclaim that they had no idea but continue to load the Spotify! It’s a little mind-boggling to me. https://support.spotify.com/us/article/spotify-public-commercial-use/

Spotify definitely has it’s place, but Spotify is intended for entertainment, not a medical procedure. The pain, anxiety and risk management requirements that enter into a surgical/medical procedure, require carefully thought-out and curated playlists.

Spotify states clearly that it’s not for medical use but hospitals truly don’t seem to be aware of this and Spotify doesn’t seem to enforce its license requirement,

In Conclusion

18089763 © Jhdt Stock Images Llc | Dreamstime.com

Two surgeons preparing for surgery

For surgical procedures, before, during and after, Music Medicine is clearly the only viable choice. Surgical Serenity Solutions is the only company offering therapeutic playlists in five different genres that the patient can choose from, delivered in pre-loaded headphones or MP3 players.

Music therapists do not go into surgical procedures and Spotify is not therapeutic music that will entrain your heartbeat and breathing. During surgery, your body responds to the steady pulse of our instrumental playlists and keeps your body rhythms stabilized. When you body is relaxed by music coming directly into your brain through the 8th cranial nerve, you require less anxiety meds, less anesthesia and less pain medication. This also allows you to recover faster and get back to your life!

Our headphones are available to both patients and in bulk for hospitals. The MP3 players are just for hospitals so that they can be branded and given to patients to take home after their procedure!

Again, to purchase the Surgical Serenity Solutions, go to www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/mp3players

Let me know if I can help you in any way! www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/contact-us

By DrAlice|October 10, 2025|Spotify Problems|0 Comments

“Why didn’t I think of this?”

Not all doctors and hospitals are thinking about therapeutic music and how it might integrate into their hospitals. Not surprising, right? I’ve been told many times that my only real competitor in business is “the status quo.” “This is the way we’ve always done it.” “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And finally, “why didn’t I think of this!” But this is NOT how progress is made!

Almost as soon as I had the idea to create preloaded headphones for surgery patients, I also started polling all of the doctors and nurses that I knew to ask if they thought this idea would work and be helpful. To my delight, EVERYONE thought it was a great idea and said things like “I can’t believe someone didn’t do this long ago.” “Such a great idea, hiding in plain sight!”

Of course, one of the reasons that no one had done this is because the technology wasn’t there is 2005. And so, in order to get a patent, I had to have an engineer figure out how to get the music into the headphones. And he did. He made a design that utilized RFID technology and this is what I got a patent on. Almost as soon as I got the patent in 2008, I found a headphone on the market that was programmable! I was so excited and I had already curated my Classical Playlist and was able to put it on this headphone.

Mayo Clinic Cardiac Unit

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN was my first hospital to use the headphones in their post-cardiac unit and they reported great results! Nurses reported that the patients loved the music and their vital signs stabilized faster and they required less anxiety and pain medication.

At that time, our first clinical study had not yet been published but the nurse said that once it was published, they would definitely be ordering our headphones.

Here’s what one anesthesiologist said:

“…Rarely, if ever, in medicine is there an intervention that has repeatedly demonstrated efficacy in multiple studies that also carries with it virtually no risk to the patient.
As a physician, I am always weighing the risks and benefits of each treatment to determine if it’s worth utilizing. Surgical Serenity Headphones are unique in that they carry immense benefits without any downside.
I am always pleased to accommodate a patient’s wishes to bring music into the operating room. I would be particularly enthusiastic if they had these pre-programmed cordless headphones that would maximize the physiologic benefits through rhythmic entrainment.
I recommend talking to your surgeon as soon as possible in the process, and certainly mention your desire to bring headphones in on the day of surgery to the anesthesia team. This would best be accomplished if you have a pre-op appointment with someone from anesthesia, but not everyone will have this chance. This could also happen during a pre-op phone call.” Thomas Mayo, MD

Cleveland Clinic Surgery

Dr Friedman at CCF The next big hospital that tried my headphones was Cleveland Clinic Florida, on recommendation from the main Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland. I was even invited down to give a Grand Rounds presentation to surgeons and anesthesiologists.

Dr. David Friedman, seen here in this picture, was so enthusiastic and positive about how much this would help patients (especially compared to “spa music” or “relaxation music,” and pointed out to my that the power of rhythmic entrainment is something that other playlists don’t contain. At that time (2011) we had just the Classical Playlist, but it strongly utilizes classical pieces with rhythmic entrainment and as a cardiologist surgeon, he recognized this difference.

To this day, rhythmic entrainment is the one ingredient that playlists chosen by the patients, don’t have. Rhythmic entrainment is so powerful that just putting on the headphones and starting the music, causes most patients to close their eyes immediately and breathe a hugh sigh of relief.

Johns Hopkins: Suburban Campus

In about 2013 I became acquainter with Dr. Michael Peck, anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins in Maryland. Dr. Peck was a strong advocate from the beginning and gave me so many wonderful ideas as well as purchasing a “Cloud Kit” product for their surgery department.

The Cloud Kit was a great idea but for a variety of reasons, not quite as practical as we originally thought. Nevertheless, Dr. Peck was so enthusaistic and said that our (now) 5 therapeutic playlists “should be a regular part of every Operating Room, as well as other parts of the hospital.”

Dr. Peck has been an imporant member of my advisory board and in addition to being a board-certified anesthesiologist, also has an MBA and has been able to advise me about many of the business aspects of getting a medical device into a hospital.

Seven different VA hospitals

Dr. Harvey plays piano during eye surgery for his friend.

In 2013 I was introduced to Chief of Surgery at the Robley Rex V.A. hospital in Louisville, KY. This brilliant surgeon, Earl Gaar, MD, was also a gifted musician who had studied music throughout his youth and had formed a performing group of brass players among V.A. staff called “Top Brass.”This ensemble still performs for events at the V.A. the University of Louisville, and graduations.

Dr. Gaar was fascinated at the idea of using music during the perioperative period and said he had absolutely no doubt that this would work for anxiety throughout, but also for pain perception management and possibly nausea and vomiting afterwards.

He arranged for our first clinical study to be implemented right there at the Robley Rex V.A. It took several years to complete the study and get it published, but the results were thrilling for us and showed a clinically significant decrease in opiod requirements. Here is a link to our study: https://www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Our-SSS-study.pdf

As a result I became an official vendor to the VA system (Sam.gov) and the Louisville V.A. started out ordering 100 of our pre-loaded headphones.

If YOU and YOUR hospital are ready to hop on the rocket to the future of helping patients through surgery without all of the anxiety and pain medications that are currently routine, go HERE to purchase the headphones.

Go HERE to get the MP3 players.

We have a price list on the product pages but are willing to negotiate with each hospital! Please hurry before the tariffs take effect!

By DrAlice|September 2, 2025|What hospitals and patients know|0 Comments

Music Medicine and Innovation

Music Medicine and innovation are always on my mind. I guess it’s because I’m always trying to find new ways to increase my own health and wellness…and I am a lifelong musician. I’ve always known what music can do for me in terms of calming and comforting me. From earliest childhood I’ve loved music and the way it makes me feel.

The young Cash family When I gave birth three times, I knew that I wanted music to be a part of that experience and that I did NOT want any more medication that I absolutely needed. For that reason, my husband and I took the LaMaze childbirth classes and the last time, the Bradley childbirth classes. I also knew that having soothing and calming music would make it a better experience for everyone and my doctor and nurses were fine with that.

In the mid-nineties I was told that I needed back surgery for a bulging disk, probably the result of sitting at the piano for many hours a day since childhood. Fear took hold of me as I knew I would need general anesthesia for back surgery and I had never experienced that. Luckily, I had a wonderful neurosurgeon here in Louisville, KY, Dr. Wayne Villaneuva, who was totally open to my bringing tapes and a Walkman into the OR. I had headphones attached to the Walkman and Dr. Villaneuva taped it to the operating table near my head. I spent the night before the surgery creating 3 cassette tapes with the kind of music I thought/felt would be best for the pre-surgery, surgery, and post-op periods and had a friend with me who changed the tapes at the appropriate times.

At my first post-surgery visit, the neuro-surgeon said that he believed that my music had greatly contributed to one of the most successful surgeries and recoveries that he had ever done. Of course we were all very thrilled to hear this, and, as a therapist and speaker on the healing power of music i wanted to find a way to desseminate this information to all potential surgery patients.

Jump to 2005, I attended a conference in Cancun, Mexico created for professional speakers. It was called “Cancun University” and offered 4 learning tracks to improve our businesses. One of the tracks was called “Product Innovation” and the other was called “Internet Marketing.” The very first day of the product innovation class I had the idea to create preloaded headphones for surgery patients. And within months I had filed for the provisional patent and had created a website with a monthly ezine as well as a blog. For a long time I blogged every single day!

It’s been a wonderful journey and I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to help 100’s of patients, children-elderly, to get through scary and painful surgeries and other procedures and tests, using our 5 playlists and either our headphones or theirs with our app downloaded onto it.

If you’re interested in getting the pre-loaded headphones, go here.

If you’re a hospital or clinic interested in the headphones or MP3 players, go here.

If you’re interested in our app with a choice of 5 therapeutic, hour-long playlists, go here.

The app is our least expensive option. Less than $10 per playlist.

Whatever your choice is, you don’t have to go through surgery in a state of fear and anxiety. Listening to anyone of these 5 playlists will ease the process and increase your chances of a positive result. Let me know if I can help in any way!

By DrAlice|August 21, 2025|MusicMedicine and innovation|1 Comment

Soothing music through headphones is SO good for joint replacements!

Joint replacements are happening around the world, all day, every day! The Baby Boomers are seriously in need of new joints! So far I have worked with many, many patients having knee and hip replacements and a few having ankle and shoulder replacements!

One of the things that differentiates joint replacement surgery from other surgeries is that most patients are not under general anesthesia. I am not an MD but, having worked with many MDs and medical specialists of all kinds, I know that in joint replacement surgery, the patient is sedated so that they don’t really feel anything but they can still communicate with the surgeon.

Lower body surgeries are more apt to have a regional anesthesia or block but it is up to the patient and surgeon.

In either case, anxiety will inevitably be present and beginning the therapeutic playlist in pre-surgery is highly recommended. If the patient is have a regional anesthetic and sedation, the surgeon can actually talk to the patient during the procedure and ask them to “wiggle their toes (for example)” Even when the music is playing the patient can hear the doctor addressing them. And the doctor can always briefly lift the earpiece of headphone.

In the case of general anesthesia, again, starting the music pre-surgery is highly recommended because the waiting period right before surgery is always full of anxiety. Even during the surgery the patient benefits from the music through. While the patient is not consciously listening to the music, their body is still responding positively to the slow, steady pulse of our music, through the process of rhythmic entrainment.

And many patients have told me that waking up to the same beautiful music they were listening to when they drifted off is extremely comforting and orienting to them. Makes sense.

SO, if your hospital to surgery center is ready to tap into the power of therapeutic music for their patients, here is the link to go to! Our 5 therapeutic playlists can be preloaded on either cordless headphones or MP3 players which come with earbuds.

Whichever one you choose, you can be assured that your patients will have a much better experience with their procedure and will sing the praises of your facility!

By DrAlice|August 9, 2025|Music and Joint Replacements|0 Comments

Dr. Veena Graff and Dr. Stephanie Cheng: Music and Surgery

Dr. Veena Graff is a highly respected anesthesiologist who believes in the many benefits of music during surgery. The majority of surgeons and anesthesiologist are aware of the benefits of patient-selected, rhythmic entrainment music during the perioperative period, but not everyone knows how to best provide this music for the patient.

Having brilliant young physicians, like these two women, is critically important to spreading this awareness to all surgeons and anesthesiologists. Today, there are so many wonderful podcasts on every topic imaginable. Here is a link to all of the podcasts I’ve been on recently to talk about the importance and benefits of music with surgery! http://www,surgicalserenitysolutions.com/podcasts

Dr. Veena Graff relates a story about a study she conducted. The doctors realized that music of the research suggests listening to music for 15-25 minutes prior to the surgery. She said that because that would be a luxury, expecially in a surgery center, they compared how fast the music lowered anxiety compared to how fast midazolam lowered anxiety. To their surprise, they found that it was actually about the same amount of time!! And many doctors and patients have found that music has the very same effect as a dose of Valium or Xanax, with none of the risks of addiction that benzodiazepines carry!

patient listens to soothing jazz while waiting for cataract surgery Our protocol involves giving the patient their preloaded headphones or MP3 player, in the genre of their choice, as soon as they enter the pre-op area. As they are getting their gown on and perhaps an IV, they are listening to our Surgical Serenity music and their vital signs are calming and moving toward homeostasis.

Many patients are in the pre-op area for more than 30 minutes because of unexpected snafus with doctors, other patients, or equipment. Rather than keeping the patient chemically comfortable, they lean back, close their eyes, and listen to our beautiful therapeutic music.

If your hospitals is ready to get on the cutting edge of medicine by adding Music Medicine to the precedure, just go to www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/MP3players to get started! We are always here to answer your questions and help you get the best items for your patients.

The MP3 players can be co-branded for your hospital and given to the patient after surgery for their continued recovery at home.

So many options!!

By DrAlice|July 6, 2025|Anesthesiologists talk about Music with Surgery|0 Comments

I just returned last evening from the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and WOW, what an amazing experience of a lifetime that was!

Describing what I heard in words is difficult but I’ll do my best to share some of my impressions.

First of all, the competitors were all between 19-30 years old. Of course that has its pros and cons. This year, the six finalists were all male. That’s not usually the case, but that’s what happened this year. Originally there were 36 semi-finalists who had been chosen from over 90 pianists who had submitted videos of themselves for entry into the competition. The 36 semi-finlists came to Ft. Worth, Texas last December to play in person for the panel of 8 judges. There, they were reduced to 12 competitors.

Choosing the Six Finalists

On May 23rd, the 12 finalists arrived in Ft. Worth to play lengthy solo recitals, including a new piece that had been commissioned for The Cliburn (as it is known) and by June 1st, they had chosen the six finalists. I arrived on June 5 and on the evening of the 7th the winner was announced: Aristo Sham, age 29, from Hong Kong. His education for the past 10 years was in the United States and he studied at Harvard, New England Conservatory, and The Julliard School.

In the finals, each pianist played two concertos in contrasting styles, with the Ft. Worth Symphony under Marin Alsop. I heard Aristo Sham perform the Brahms 2nd piano concerto on Friday evening and it was gorgeous. This has been one of my favorite concertos since I was 15 years old and got a recording of Van Cliburn playing it with the Chicago Symphony under Fritz Reiner.

Entertainment vs. Entrainment

I was a piano performance major in college and received Bachelors and Masters degrees in performance under Lee Luvisi. I also studied in Italy with Mme. Ilonka Deckers. Going to an international piano competition like this is something I never though I’d be able to do. There was a time when I thought I wanted to be a contestant in this sort of competition but those days of opportunity flew by pretty quickly. But being in the audience was absolutely thrilling!

Music like this is totally engrossing and a joy to listen to.

As you know, I sell specially curated music to reduce anxiety and pain perception during surgical procedures and other anxiety-provoking medical/dental procedures. However, music of the type I heard at The Cliburn, while wonderful, would not have the desired effect. Instead, the appropriate music will stablize the vital signs and reduce anxiety.

Whether you’re a medical professional wanting to help your patients have a better experience or you’re undergoing surgery yourself, I think you should check out our …

By DrAlice|June 10, 2025|Entrainment|0 Comments

Two surgeons preparing for surgery

Everyday I hear from surgeons, anesthesiologists and other O.R. personnel who have read the latest research about the benefits of soothing, therapeutic music for surgical patients and others. It’s an ancient concept, delivered by 21st century technology.

Unfortunately, many O.R.s are taking the easy, un-scientific way out and just streaming Spotify or Apple Family Sharing to the room.

Why is this the wrong approach?

Spotify and Apple Family Sharing are not therapeutic music

Scientifically: One of the primary components of therapeutic music for surgery is that it must engage rhythmic entrainment to pair the patient’s vital signs with the music. We have a proprietary method for doing this. Choosing something just because patient or surgeon “likes” it is not likely to incorporate rhythmic entrainment.

Musically: My research has shown, and my research reflects, that music that does not engage the intellect or emotions is best. We don’t want the patient to being thinking and anlayzing and probably reminiscing. Instead, we want the patient to relax.

We’ve done it for you, after years of research

Good news! We’ve already created this music for you!

Surgical Serenity Solutions offers five, hour-long playlists in five different genres so that patients can easily find one that has the style of music they prefer.

TECHNOLOGY: As you see in the photo to the left, we have 3 distinct methods for delivering our music. The pre-loaded headphones were the original method and allowed lightweight, cordless headphones to deliver the music to the patient, starting in pre-op and continuing through recovery room.

The pre-loaded MP3 players were next because we found that hospitals had limited storage space and headphones took up more space. Also, the MP3 playlists could be co- branded with the hospitals and and given to the patient to take home when patient is discharged from hospital! This has been a big hit, as you can see if you zoom in on photograph of MP3 player.

And finally, our music is available in streaming format so that the hospital can license our music for multiple areas of the hospital, surgery, labor and delivery, chemo, pain management and more! OR patients can download from the App stores any one of the playlists for only $9.99 and take their phone into surgery (which 99.9% of surgeons allow) and then use their own earbuds or headphones.

If YOUR hospital or clinic is ready to step into the cutting-edge use of music with their surgical patients, the time is NOW!

By DrAlice|May 19, 2025|How to start using patient-centered music in surgery|0 Comments

Using music during surgery

I’ve always loved to perform and honestly, I’m not sure why. I really believe that we are born with certain abilities and personality traits. They can all be developed or left alone. In my case, both of my parents chose to develop the performer ability and extrovert personality that they recognized.

According to my parents, I was very small as a child but had a big personality, a big smile, and lots of curls! I loved to sing for people and I loved sweets so they would literally stand me on the checkout counter at the grocery store and I would sing my heart out for candy, suckers, gum and probably a few pennies!

Jump to 50+ years later, and now I love to speak about the healing power of music and Surgical Serenity Solutions to audiences of all sizes. I love to demonstrate on the piano as I go along, if possible.

I was just interviewed recently for a podcast that focused on MusicMedicine and the creation of Surgical Serenity Solutions. Talking about this MusicMedicine innovation and how it can help so many people in surgery, especially, is such a huge thrill for me. For many years I was a college music professor and a private piano teacher. I performed in chamber music groups and did some solo work but I was not a speaker and never even thought about being a speaker.

However, my father was a United Methodist minister and I definitely heard him preach multiple times per week. I loved hearing his calm, confident, persuasive voice, but never dreamed that I might be able to do the same thing, delivering talks on Music Medicine and the healing power of music.

My entry into speaking about music healing

Dr. Cash delivering a lecture at International Music Medicine conference All of this changed when I was hired by the University of Louisville School of Medicine to do research into Music Medicine and the healing power of music. Within months I began getting invitations to speak to local medical and lay organizations and almost from the beginning, I LOVED it! (Yes, at first I was nervous because I thought I had to memorize a speech, but later I found out that I could speak from an outline and that literally changed everything!) I guess I’m a storyteller and when I think back to my earliest memories and experiences with music–from my father singing to me as a baby, being in the church nursery and singing songs, to hearing a piano for the first time and finally beginning lessons at age 8–the stories begin to flow!

Joining the National Speakers Association and learning to craft a key-note, organize and incorporate stories properly made a huge diffeerence. I highly recommend this organization if you have completed Toastmasters!

Speaking on Podcasts

NOW, in the era of podcasts I have been getting invitations from all kinds of interesting people to talk about how music helps in surgery and in other areas of the hospital. When I am interviewed by a podcaster I realize that I really don’t even need any notes because all of this information is stored in my brain. There is almost nothing I’d rather do than talk about the healing power of music and I’ve now done it around the world, including western Europe, South Korea, Hawaii, and Canada!

Everywhere I go people are eager to ask great questions and relate their own stories! I have heard fascinating audience stories from Maui, about how an elderly grandma with Alzheimers would only get up if her son would say “Mama, let’s do some Hula!” to people in Boston who could go to sleep when listening to specific Early American lullabies that they were sure they had listened to before they were born!

How it works

Most of the podcasters either send me a list of questions that they want me to answer or they ask me to send them a list of questions that I think would be interesting to their audience. I love their questions and eagerly answer them and then expand on them. All but one of these podcasts has been video and audio but one of them was audio only. I prefer having video too because I believe I get lots of information from people when I’m watching them talk, like body language and facial expressions. Maybe that’s because I am also now a psychotherapist and I do this every day.

How to book Dr. Alice for a podcast

Photo by Vladislav Anchuk on Unsplash

If you’re interested in hearing my next podcast interview, it will be at the end of August and should be VERY interesting and somewhat different from the others I’ve done so far. It will be with Julie Ryan who is a well-known holistic healer, intuitive physician and self-proclaimed smorgasboard psychic. She also holds couple of US patents on surgical devices like I do. I’m really looking forward to this one! To learn more about her visit her website at www.askjulieryan.com. I know you’ll enjoy it!

To view all of my recent podcasts, go to www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/podcasts

If you don’t already know about my preloaded headphones and preloaded MP3 for surgery, go to www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/headphones or www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/MP3players.

The music has been specially curated by a clinical musicologist to have the maximum beneficial effects on the patients vital signs (heart-rate and breathing rate.) When that happens, the patients anxiety level and perception of pain decrease. In other words patients awaken feeling calmer, and oriented to their surroundings and often require less medication.

We also have the same 5 playlists of music that you can stream from our app. To hear samples, go to www,surgicalserenitysolutions.com/calm

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and experiences! Leave a comment below or send me an email at DrAlice@SurgicalSerenitySolutions.com.

By DrAlice|May 4, 2025|music medicine podcast|0 Comments

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