The Modernization of Oriental Music Therapy: Five-Element Music Therapy Combined with Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

In recent years, music has been regarded as a promising non-pharmacological intervention for a number of physical and mental conditions. Five-elements music therapy—based on the five-element theory—is a unique non-pharmacological therapy of East Asian traditional medicine. It has the potential to effectively provide individualized music therapy to individuals with illness. However, one limitation of this music therapy is that the classification of the five elements and its application is mainly based on subjective judgment. The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has enabled the acoustic analysis of multi-factor sound sources. This can develop five-element music therapy. Here, we discussed the challenges proposed by the future combination of five-element music therapy and AI. Further, we hypothesized that AI may promote its use in the medical field.