Music and Hypnosis

What does "hypnosis" actually mean? From a professional point of view I would go along with the definition offered to us when we were in training. Hypnosis is a calm, receptive state of mind which is brought about by physical and mental relaxation. For clinical purposes sometimes it is easier and simpler to conceive of hypnosis as a specific state of mind into which a subject can allow him or herself to be lead.

My own view is that hypnosis is a state of consciousness which renders the subject far more susceptible to suggestion than is the case in a state of full "waking" alertness. What I am offering here is not a definition but a defining characteristic. In a therapeutic context I am happy to accept that hypnosis is a shift in the quality of consciousness brought about by relaxation. But outside the therapy room, in the big wide world, there are many states in which the subject is rendered highly susceptible to suggestion and therefore, at least in my opinion, should be classified as hypnosis or at least hypnoidal. Certain states of intoxication, certain states of heightened emotion, excitement or frenzy, states of ecstasy and, for want of a better term, "spiritual" awareness - all these render the subject almost infinitely more susceptible to suggestion than "normal" rational awareness. Yet studies of suggestibility invariably focus entirely upon the latter state. Isn't that like looking through the wrong end of the telescope?

Lest this description be thought too vague, let me point out that not all shifts of consciousness away from the fully wakened state imply a condition of heightened suggestibility. Profound intoxication, states of near-unconsciousness or states in which the subject is no longer receptive to external stimulus obviously cannot be classed as hypnosis. Suggestibility surely implies a responsiveness to something external. But if we accept that hypnosis is essentially a state of heightened suggestibility then it is maybe not too difficult to accept also that music can induce hypnosis.

Music remains a mystery. That it is no longer widely regarded as such probably says more about the contemporary state of the art than anything else. There are many theories as to how and why music works and none of them are entirely satisfactory. But while we might not know how music works, there can be little doubt that it can exert the most profound influence upon our feelings, mood and even our perceptions.

We all know that music can change the way we feel. We know that music expresses emotions and can evoke those same emotions in us. A happy or a sad piece of music won't necessarily make us feel happy or sad - we have some choice in the matter - but it can if we let it. For many people the expression of feeling is the main function of music. Emotion is not really my concern here however. But I would be very interested to learn whether and to what extent feelings and emotions affect our levels of suggestibility. No studies have been done, as far as I'm aware.