F. I. T. Cutting Edge text

Recuperative Music 
Historically, the healing properties of music have been tapped by many civilizations. 
According to the Old Testament, King Saul was cured of his deep depression by the dulcet 
tones of David‟s harp. Similarly, Aristotle believed in the healing power of the flute and 
encouraged his students to participate in daily music making. In a sport and exercise context, 
there has been no empirical investigation into how music can aid recovery from injury, 
competition, or training. Hence, in this brief section, we simply emphasize that the power of 
music as a recuperative agent has been demonstrated in other life domains (e.g., education, 

---

The Role of Music 23 
23 
industry, medicine) with the underlying suggestion that it may be just as relevant within sport 
and exercise (see Le Roux, 2006).
In terms of some practical guidelines from our own experiences as consultants to elite 
athletes, we suggest that recuperative music should have a tempo in the range 60-70 bpm; 
around resting heart rate. In terms of emotional tone, the music should be neutral or relaxing, 
while the instrumentation might be comprised of soothing, “warm” instruments, such as 
strings, oboe, or gentle piano. The inclusion of sounds of nature, such as breaking waves, bird 
song, or a running stream may also be effective for this purpose. Recuperative tracks are 
typically longer than regular music tracks (> 10 min), while rhythmically complex 
arrangements should be avoided. The key is for the music to be absorbing, and hence jarring 
or irksome selections do not work well. For optimal effect, the music should be characterized 
by regular pulsation and repetitive tonal patterns based on a limited number of pitch levels. 
Good examples of recuperative music include the slow-tempo classical works of Vivaldi, 
Handel, and Bach. If you prefer a more contemporary sound, try listening to artists such as 
Enya or Enigma.
Clinical research indicates that relaxation is an essential component of injury 
rehabilitation (Ahern & Lohr, 1997). This is consistent with the gate control theory of pain 
(Melzack & Wall, 1962) which posits that pain is not a direct result of activation of 
nociceptors, but is rather modulated by interaction between different neurons. Accordingly, 
this theory offers an explanation as to how a hypnotist can relax a patient to the point that 
they can undergo painful dental surgery without anesthetic. Along similar lines, music can 
activate neurons that are extraneous to pain reception and serves to inhibit the sensation of 
pain through indirect means.