Music is a vital part of life: We run with it, we sing it in the shower and we centre social events around it. On a basic level, it makes us feel good (or matches our mood when we're down).
So it's only natural that professionals are also exploring its therapeutic value.
Trained music therapists at the Victoria Conservatory of Music design treatment plans to match individual challenges - it could mean teaching a toddler with Down Syndrome how to walk using a musical step pad or connecting with the deep, embedded memory of a person suffering Alzheimer's Disease.
But studies also show that participating in recreational groups like choirs has therapeutic benefits, too.
Today, we introduce you to two different ways people in our community have found benefits in music: a composer who released a CD despite significant physical challenges and a group of mentalhealth patients who find solace in drumming.
