Mat Creedon - Music Is Medicine

Can you hear the last note before I play it?In this short episode of Music Is Medicine, I sit at the piano, play up a major scale and stop one note early. See if you can hear or hum the missing note during the pause. Then we’ll try it in a different key and listen for the same feeling of coming home.I think of music as a conversation. Sometimes a melody asks a question and answers it straight away. Sometimes it asks another question and makes you wait. I’ll play both versions so you can hear how a small detour changes the feeling of the very same ending.Along the way, I’ll show you what I call 7 going to 1 on The Easy Key and give you a simple exercise to try next time you sit down at your instrument.Join the free Mat Creedon School of Music community for more practical music skills.Subscribe to the Music Is Medicine newsletter.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mat-creedon-music-is-medicine--6295295/support.Music Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon — a musician, sound practitioner, and multi-instrumentalist from Melbourne, Australia. In each episode, Mat explores the deeper relationship between music, emotion, and the human nervous system. Through reflections on songwriting, sound meditation, creativity, and deep listening, the podcast looks at how music can help us process experience, release emotion, and reconnect with ourselves. Drawing from years of musical practice, sound work, and teaching, these conversations invite listeners to explore a simple but powerful idea: Music is not only something we listen to. Sometimes, music is medicine.

It started with a music teaching idea. A few “small changes” later, I was making apps and investigating bird behaviour. As you do.In this episode of Music Is Medicine, I share the adventure of building the Mat Creedon Music Playground with ChatGPT, which I call Echo—from falling piano notes and guitar fretboards to rhythm exercises and Nature’s Pulse.There are lessons in creativity, the experience of being a beginner again, and a surprising amount of time spent deciding where a tiny circle should sit.I also share how an American Alchemy conversation between Jesse Michels and biologist Rupert Sheldrake inspired Nature’s Pulse: a project for recording animal behaviour and exploring possible relationships with earthquakes and other natural events through careful observations.Come along for a lighthearted conversation about music, curiosity, listening and knowing when to stop tinkering. I’m still working on that last part.🎙️ American Alchemy with Jesse Michels, featuring Rupert Sheldrake:https://youtu.be/uvRzhb2Pef4Animal behaviour and earthquakes: 1:29:28The Physics of Angels: 2:02:31🎶 Explore the apps in the Mat Creedon Music Playground:https://mat-creedon-music-playground.matcreedon.chatgpt.site/🎓 Join the free Mat Creedon School of Music community:https://www.skool.com/mat-creedon-school-of-music-4248/about📬 Subscribe to the Music Is Medicine newsletter:https://matcreedon.substack.com/🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube:https://youtu.be/pL8SjfNuQI0🌐 Music, lessons, sound baths and the Easy Key:https://www.matcreedon.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mat-creedon-music-is-medicine--6295295/support.Music Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon — a musician, sound practitioner, and multi-instrumentalist from Melbourne, Australia. In each episode, Mat explores the deeper relationship between music, emotion, and the human nervous system. Through reflections on songwriting, sound meditation, creativity, and deep listening, the podcast looks at how music can help us process experience, release emotion, and reconnect with ourselves. Drawing from years of musical practice, sound work, and teaching, these conversations invite listeners to explore a simple but powerful idea: Music is not only something we listen to. Sometimes, music is medicine.

Someone left a comment asking me to turn the Easy Key into an app. That got me thinking… and Easy Key Flow was born.In this episode of Music Is Medicine, I share how a simple Für Elise lesson became a new way to help people begin playing piano through numbers, colours and falling notes.Along the way, I realised that my carefully prepared instructions were becoming overwhelming—even for me. That prompted a rethink: how could I show people what to play while giving them less to juggle?We explore musical numbers and letter names, practising one hand at a time, optional fingering guidance, and why learning just five familiar notes can be a worthwhile place to start.Easy Key Flow is still developing, and your feedback will help shape what comes next. Have a play, tell me where you get stuck, and suggest a song you’d love to learn.🎹 Try Easy Key Flow — free:https://easy-key-flow-mat.matcreedon.chatgpt.site/🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube:https://youtu.be/A5B-B46exMU🎵 Join the free Mat Creedon School of Music community:https://www.skool.com/mat-creedon-school-of-music-4248/about🔑 Discover the Easy Key:https://www.matcreedon.com/easy-key💌 Subscribe to the Music Is Medicine newsletter:https://matcreedon.substack.com/🌐 Website:https://www.matcreedon.com/🔗 All my links:https://linktr.ee/matcreedonMusic Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon, musician and music teacher from Melbourne, Australia, exploring music, creativity, listening and our relationship with making music.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mat-creedon-music-is-medicine--6295295/support.Music Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon — a musician, sound practitioner, and multi-instrumentalist from Melbourne, Australia. In each episode, Mat explores the deeper relationship between music, emotion, and the human nervous system. Through reflections on songwriting, sound meditation, creativity, and deep listening, the podcast looks at how music can help us process experience, release emotion, and reconnect with ourselves. Drawing from years of musical practice, sound work, and teaching, these conversations invite listeners to explore a simple but powerful idea: Music is not only something we listen to. Sometimes, music is medicine.

You might know the note names, but how do they all fit together?In this episode of Music Is Medicine, I explore the questions sparked by my recent Easy Key video. What do the numbers 1–7 represent? How do you know which number a melody starts on? And can understanding theory help you play with more feeling?With demonstrations at the piano, we explore scale degrees, changing key, ear training and the relationships behind chords. I also explain how numbers, note names, and tones and semitones work together to give us different information.Whether you’re beginning, returning to an instrument or looking for a clearer understanding of music, bring your curiosity and follow along.🎥 Watch the episode on YouTube:https://youtu.be/1gWmE-JVX-U🎹 Explore practical lessons in the Mat Creedon School of Music:https://www.skool.com/mat-creedon-school-of-music-4248/about📩 Subscribe to my newsletter:https://matcreedon.substack.com/🌐 Explore music, lessons and sound practices:https://www.matcreedon.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mat-creedon-music-is-medicine--6295295/support.Music Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon — a musician, sound practitioner, and multi-instrumentalist from Melbourne, Australia. In each episode, Mat explores the deeper relationship between music, emotion, and the human nervous system. Through reflections on songwriting, sound meditation, creativity, and deep listening, the podcast looks at how music can help us process experience, release emotion, and reconnect with ourselves. Drawing from years of musical practice, sound work, and teaching, these conversations invite listeners to explore a simple but powerful idea: Music is not only something we listen to. Sometimes, music is medicine.

What is a sound bath, and what happens during one? If you’ve ever thought, “I’m no good at meditation,” this episode is for you.Join Mat Creedon on the Music Is Medicine podcast for a welcoming introduction to singing bowls, gongs, chimes and the experience of resting with sound.Drawing on more than 35 years of meditation practice and a lifetime of making music, Mat shares his personal experience, explores the emerging research and explains what beginners can expect.Discover how to prepare for a session, what to do when your thoughts won’t stop, and how to explore sound baths in the comfort of your own home.You don’t need musical knowledge, a particular belief system or a perfectly quiet mind. Just curiosity and somewhere comfortable to rest.Watch on YouTube:https://youtu.be/LlrUWZKqkdUExplore the Afterbath sound bath recordings:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi5UXAEasOfA4cL8bk4Q9G8FJ0wQg8IBYEnquire about individual or group sound baths, online or in person:https://www.matcreedon.com/contact-meJoin the Mat Creedon School of Music:https://www.skool.com/mat-creedon-school-of-music-4248/aboutExplore the DIY Easy Key:https://matcreedon.gumroad.com/l/piano-slide-ruleJoin my newsletter through the signup box on my website:https://www.matcreedon.comSound baths are a complementary relaxation practice and don’t replace sleep, medical care or mental-health treatment. When listening to sound bath recordings, choose a safe place to rest and never listen while driving or operating machinery.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mat-creedon-music-is-medicine--6295295/support.Music Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon — a musician, sound practitioner, and multi-instrumentalist from Melbourne, Australia. In each episode, Mat explores the deeper relationship between music, emotion, and the human nervous system. Through reflections on songwriting, sound meditation, creativity, and deep listening, the podcast looks at how music can help us process experience, release emotion, and reconnect with ourselves. Drawing from years of musical practice, sound work, and teaching, these conversations invite listeners to explore a simple but powerful idea: Music is not only something we listen to. Sometimes, music is medicine.

For as long as I can remember, I have been searching for something through music.It began when I heard The Beatles as a child and experienced an emotional response so powerful that I decided I wanted to become an artist myself. That decision led to decades of practising guitar, studying music theory, writing songs, learning instruments, producing records and building a life as a professional musician.But no matter how much I learnt or accomplished, complete satisfaction always seemed to remain somewhere in the distance.In Episode 13 of the Music Is Medicine podcast, I explore ambition, identity, creativity and the realization that the musical experience I had spent my life searching for was much closer than I thought.Music theory is a map, but it is not the country.Sometimes we need to put down the map, pick up the instrument and experience the sound, movement and vibration already beneath our fingers.Perhaps what you are looking for has been here the entire time.In one breath.In one vibration.In one note.If you would like to explore music, creativity and awareness more deeply, you are warmly invited to join the Mat Creedon School of Music:https://www.skool.com/mat-creedon-school-of-music-4248/aboutBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mat-creedon-music-is-medicine--6295295/support.Music Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon — a musician, sound practitioner, and multi-instrumentalist from Melbourne, Australia. In each episode, Mat explores the deeper relationship between music, emotion, and the human nervous system. Through reflections on songwriting, sound meditation, creativity, and deep listening, the podcast looks at how music can help us process experience, release emotion, and reconnect with ourselves. Drawing from years of musical practice, sound work, and teaching, these conversations invite listeners to explore a simple but powerful idea: Music is not only something we listen to. Sometimes, music is medicine.

Episode 12: Music Through the Senses | Music Is MedicineDescriptionWhat if music could be experienced through more than just your ears?In Episode 12 of Music Is Medicine, we explore a different way of understanding music, through colour, texture, taste, smell, imagery, emotion and physical sensation.After many years of teaching, I've realised that traditional music theory doesn't connect with everybody in the same way. Some people understand notation immediately. Others connect more naturally through numbers, patterns, listening, movement, colour or feeling.That doesn't mean music theory isn't useful.Music theory is the map. Music is the country.In this episode, we explore what happens when we experience music first and give it a theoretical name afterwards.What colour is a note?What does a chord feel like?Can a bass sound feel enormous while a high note feels tiny?Can an instrument have a wooden, metallic, smooth or rough texture?Can music create an entire inner landscape?We also explore the connection between music, intuition and spirituality, and those moments when the thinking mind becomes quiet and we simply experience sound.If you've ever felt disconnected from traditional music theory, perhaps you don't need to give up on understanding music.Perhaps you simply need another doorway.There isn't only one way into music.Find yours.🎶 Music Is MedicineJoin the Mat Creedon School of Music:https://www.skool.com/mat-creedon-school-of-music-4248/aboutBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mat-creedon-music-is-medicine--6295295/support.Music Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon — a musician, sound practitioner, and multi-instrumentalist from Melbourne, Australia. In each episode, Mat explores the deeper relationship between music, emotion, and the human nervous system. Through reflections on songwriting, sound meditation, creativity, and deep listening, the podcast looks at how music can help us process experience, release emotion, and reconnect with ourselves. Drawing from years of musical practice, sound work, and teaching, these conversations invite listeners to explore a simple but powerful idea: Music is not only something we listen to. Sometimes, music is medicine.

What if the instrument you play could also become a form of meditation?In Episode 11 of Music Is Medicine, Mat Creedon explores the deep connection between musical practice, meditation and creative flow.Mat began playing guitar at thirteen and learned Transcendental Meditation at eighteen. Over the years, he began to notice that practising an instrument and sitting in meditation were doing something remarkably similar.Both could quiet the mind.Both could relax the nervous system.Both could bring him back into the present moment.A difficult musical phrase could become a kind of mantra. As the body relaxed, the phrase stopped feeling like a judgement of his ability and became nothing more than a collection of notes waiting to be understood.Mat also explores the mystery of songwriting and those rare moments when a song seems to arrive fully formed. Perhaps the muse cannot be forced into appearing. Perhaps we need to create the right conditions, become quiet and remain available.Drawing from his experiences with meditation, teaching, songwriting, altered states of consciousness and spiritual awakening, Mat shares how music can become a doorway into greater awareness.The episode concludes with a simple one note meditation that almost anyone can try, even without musical experience.Play one long note.Listen as it begins, changes and fades into silence.Then begin again.Whether you are a songwriter searching for inspiration, a musician struggling with tension, or simply someone feeling overwhelmed by life, this episode offers a quieter way forward.Explore Mat’s Sound Bath meditations and experiences here:https://www.matcreedon.com/sound-bathBecause music is medicine.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mat-creedon-music-is-medicine--6295295/support.Music Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon — a musician, sound practitioner, and multi-instrumentalist from Melbourne, Australia. In each episode, Mat explores the deeper relationship between music, emotion, and the human nervous system. Through reflections on songwriting, sound meditation, creativity, and deep listening, the podcast looks at how music can help us process experience, release emotion, and reconnect with ourselves. Drawing from years of musical practice, sound work, and teaching, these conversations invite listeners to explore a simple but powerful idea: Music is not only something we listen to. Sometimes, music is medicine.

My interest in brain health and music began during childhood. My older brother has lived with schizophrenia for as long as I can remember, so mental health was always present in our family.When I discovered the guitar at thirteen, music became a kind of therapy that was cool enough to keep a teenager interested. Those long hours of practice gave me somewhere to place my attention, express what I could not put into words and calm my nervous system.At eighteen, I learned Transcendental Meditation. Many years later, the teachings of Eckhart Tolle helped the power of presence truly land for me. Music and meditation began working together, opening the door to a depth of peace I had never imagined was possible.In Episode 10 of the Music Is Medicine podcast, I share this deeply personal story and explore how music can support attention, emotional balance, nervous system regulation and brain health.This is my personal experience, not medical advice. Music and meditation are not replacements for professional mental health care, but they can become valuable parts of a balanced and supportive life.Sometimes brain health begins with something very simple.A breath.A beat.A single note.And the willingness to listen.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mat-creedon-music-is-medicine--6295295/support.Music Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon — a musician, sound practitioner, and multi-instrumentalist from Melbourne, Australia. In each episode, Mat explores the deeper relationship between music, emotion, and the human nervous system. Through reflections on songwriting, sound meditation, creativity, and deep listening, the podcast looks at how music can help us process experience, release emotion, and reconnect with ourselves. Drawing from years of musical practice, sound work, and teaching, these conversations invite listeners to explore a simple but powerful idea: Music is not only something we listen to. Sometimes, music is medicine.

Why do some notes feel settled and peaceful, while others create happiness, sadness, tension or a powerful need to return home?In Episode 9 of the Music Is Medicine podcast, Mat Creedon explores three maps that can transform how we understand music:• The alphabetical map gives every note a name.• The tone-and-semitone map reveals the patterns behind scales.• The number map reveals the function and emotional meaning of each note.Using colours, shapes, friendships and a little humour, Mat explains how musicians use scale degrees to navigate music, train their ears and improvise with greater confidence.Rather than choosing notes randomly and hoping for the best, we can learn to recognise their individual flavours and understand how they relate to the tonal centre.Music theory doesn’t have to remove the magic from music. It can help us understand the language being spoken.Music is a living language.Your instrument is your voice.And music is medicine.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mat-creedon-music-is-medicine--6295295/support.Music Is Medicine is a podcast by Mat Creedon — a musician, sound practitioner, and multi-instrumentalist from Melbourne, Australia. In each episode, Mat explores the deeper relationship between music, emotion, and the human nervous system. Through reflections on songwriting, sound meditation, creativity, and deep listening, the podcast looks at how music can help us process experience, release emotion, and reconnect with ourselves. Drawing from years of musical practice, sound work, and teaching, these conversations invite listeners to explore a simple but powerful idea: Music is not only something we listen to. Sometimes, music is medicine.