The current project aims to study the sound-healing practices in Portugal and Spain from a multidisciplinary perspective. The expression “sound-healing” refers to the treatment of various health problems (e.g., anxiety, chronic pain, stress-related illnesses, sleep-related problems, emotional pain, depression, post-operative recovery), with sounds produced through different musical instruments (e.g., tuning forks, voice, gongs, Tibetan bowls). The phenomenon of “sound-healing” has witnessed a constant growth in Europe in the last decade, mainly through the emergence of a wide range of non-institutional actors grouped into sound-healing “Centers” or “Academies.”

Nowadays, these practices are spreading out in the Iberian Peninsula, certainly on the ground of the economic, social, and health crisis that affects its communities. An increasing number of people decide to put their health and wellbeing in the hands of sound “healers” who propose to take a “432Hz Meditation Sound Bath” or to “raise the serotonin release by listening to 528Hz vibrations and 10Hz isochronic tones”. Why do people choose sound for treating their health problems? Can we find any scientific foundation of these therapies, or their potential benefits are exclusively due to contextual factors and placebo effects? No extensive study has been so far realized to answer these questions. The core of this project is to develop an extensive ethnomusicological analysis of the “sound-healing” world in the Iberian Peninsula. Through participant observation, interviews, and audiovisual recordings, I will address questions such as: Who are the “sound healers,” what is their life trajectory, why did they choose this career? Who are the “sound patients,” what kind of physical or psychological benefits they expect from sound treatments? How does a sound healing session unfold? Which emotions, feelings, sensations do practitioners seek and eventually experience in sound healing sessions? Which kinds of “new spiritualities” characterize these communities?

Keywords: Ethnomusicology, Acoustics , Heath, Well-being, Emotions