I was having one of those days recently, you know, one of those days, when nothing seemed to be going right. I was trying to reach a HANS member and instead got her family's answering machine, which said, "If you are interested in Mary Bundy's music, please go to www.marybundy.com."

I left my message and then looked up the website. As a result, my day smoothed out and brightened significantly.

I had hit a link to listen to a sampling of her piano music. After the first few notes, my head lulled to one side and I felt the corners of my mouth lift into a smile. I took a few minutes, just sitting there, quietly collecting my thoughts, before continuing on with my day. I continued to play Mary's music in the background.

The more I listened, the more relaxed I felt.

One of her fans writes on her website, "[Your music] takes me to a place where there are no words… just joy, peace, love and bliss. When I play it while cooking, I invariably receive comments about how divine the food tastes." (I'll be trying that out in the kitchen soon… if it can improve my cooking, then this music is miraculous!)

"I want my music to be a source of peace, to help people remember the beauty and joy of life," Mary says, "Music is such a treasure, comforting and reminding us we are never alone. Whatever the genre, I play to bring peace and inspiration to others."

Mary's music has been gathering attention not only for its beauty and tenderness in general, but also for its many therapeutic qualities to console and bring relaxation, especially for people going through illness and other difficult periods in their lives.

In 2003, the Canadian Music Therapy Trust Fund-recognizing the therapeutic qualities of Mary's music-took on a large block of her albums and sent them to more than 300 registered music therapists across Canada for their work with patients in palliative care, hospices, geriatrics, children's development programs, nursing homes, hospitals, and many other settings. One therapist wrote to Mary, saying, "I work in palliative care and special care (dementia) settings. Your CDs have been the answer to many of my wishes for consistent beautiful piano music that is appropriate for those who really need peace, calm, and support. I thank you for providing us (as professionals as well as persons) with a powerful tool to use in our work."

According to the Canadian Association for Music Therapy, music therapy is defined as, "The skillful use of music and musical elements by an accredited music therapist to promote, maintain, and restore mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health." Music therapy may be prescribed by any number of professionals including doctors and psychologists, as well as suggested by social workers, teachers, caseworkers, or parents.

It seems music isn't just for dancing like I had thought. In a two-year study of preschoolers published in Neurological Research, researchers explored the link between music and intelligence. What they found was that music training dramatically enhanced children's abstract reasoning skills.

While Mary may not gain large financial rewards for her contribution to the music therapy industry, she is largely rewarded through helping others. "I feel so happy and fulfilled in having realized my purpose in bringing comfort to others," she said during a Health Action magazine interview. A favorite letter of hers was from a specialist who had used her music to soothe a hospitalized, six-year-old girl to sleep. The girl was developmentally delayed, blind and in pain.

When she suffers from insomnia, Mary herself listens to her music. "I put on 'Morning Star' and within the first couple of pieces, I'm gone. That's my medicine," she says.

But Mary's music doesn't just put people to sleep. No, it can wake people up too! Music therapists have used her music with people in a near-vegetative states, as well as some Alzheimer's patients who were not normally responsive to stimuli. Many patients had immediate responses, becoming alert to the music.

Before Mary's music began to help others, she first had to help herself. Her path to helping others heal with music was not always clear to her. At age ten, Mary began playing piano, and within two and a half years she was winning advanced competitions and had passed the Grade X Royal Conservatory of Music piano exam with First Class Honours. In her teenage years, she was well on her way to becoming the next big thing in piano and orchestra when she had a realization-she was losing the joy and her original inspiration for playing piano.

"I was being encouraged to enter competitions and I got sidetracked onto that path. I became very self-absorbed and I just didn't like the person I was becoming, a prima donna. I had this realization in the middle of the night that I didn't want to inflame audiences any longer," she explains. Instead, she wanted, "to touch people's hearts," without fierce competition and hectic schedules.

Today you can hear that gentle quality in every one of her songs. I listen to Mary's CDs quite often now. The beautiful pieces simply get me back on track and are a fabulous tool if I'm having one of those days, or I just need a moment. When I think back to that day I got Mary's family answering machine, I realize that I received a gift-a moment of clarity.

Angela Nat wears many hats at the HANS office and is a new fan of music therapy.

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