Grace Notes: Reflections on the Harp and Healing

by Tami Briggs, Carolyn Berge (Editor), Juliet Bizusky (Editor)

Grace Notes is a book about Tami Briggs’ most profound and deeply spiritual experiences playing the harp at the hospital and hospice bedside. Having facilitated and witnessed hundreds of harp therapy "treatments," Tami’s anecdotal stories detail many dramatic accounts of using harp music as a complementary care modality. An inspirational journey into the world of comfort care, the book poignantly tells of the harp’s healing properties. The stories, selected because of their powerful impact, illustrate music’s role in the healing process. Ms. Briggs weaves her personal experiences and clinical training together • Define harp therapy. • Explain the harp’s unique healing qualities. • Discuss research on the effectiveness of music and its benefits. • Show how music triggers memories and elicits emotional responses. • Suggest musical applications to optimize your well-being. • Describe how the harp can be used to create sacred space, facilitating a healing experience. • Detail how the harp can bring intimacy, depth, and tenderness to the sacred experience of dying. An enclosed CD highlights the music that is referred to throughout Grace Notes.

100 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Charissa Shepard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is basically a defense of using music (and specifically the harp) to treat psychological and physical ailments and pain. The author uses personal experiences and anecdotes to show that her playing has effected people when they needed comfort the most. I found most of the written part of the book superfluous. It's very organized and each section is short but there are many of them. She finds it necessary to describe a different story for what she sees as each section of medicine that can be effected by harp music, which can be informative to someone who knows more about medicine. To me, the question boiled down to whether it was helpful or not. The answer seems to be yes, and more research should be done.
My favorite part of the book was actually the music disc. I experienced the different types of music she referenced as played by her own hands and I have to say, I believe I will be doing yoga with harp music in the background in future.