Soothing sounds

Much music couldn't be described as conventionally "soothing", but there's no doubt that songs can have a significant impact on the moods and psyche. Pitchfork contributing editor Jayson Greene has written a powerful piece about the way that music is being used to treat trauma - whether of premature babies who cannot have contact with their mothers, or refugees in war-torn countries - by, in the words of music therapist Katie Down, helping to "create a sense of normalcy, joy, expression".

As part of the research for his piece, Greene underwent a series of music therapy sessions himself. It would probably be easy to be cynical and to scoff at the content of these sessions, were it not for the fact that Greene's extraordinary description underlines quite how profound an impact the sessions had on him.