Music plays a crucial role in psychedelic therapy. Listening to a well-planned playlist can serve as a therapeutic tool, leading the patient comfortably though emotional experiences. Clinical studies indicate that appreciation of music during a trip is a high predictor of sustained therapeutic effects.

In the 1970s, Helen Bonny and Walter Pahnke developed a template for how music is selected in psychedelic sessions. These guidelines continue to inform modern clinical playlists. Music playlists for psychedelic-assisted sessions arranged so that the sequence of musical passages synergizes with the progression of psychedelic effects. Important considerations include timing and composition length, intensity, including periods of silence or ambience, and maintaining a comfortable sense of “ebb-and-flow” to encourage the buildup and release of tension. Other important musical qualities are repetition, texture, the content of any lyrics that may be present, and nostalgic, cultural, or personal associations.

Although intense and percussive music is employed in some practices such as Holotropic Breathwork and at music festivals, some psychedelic participants may find rhythmic and driving music overwhelming. Therefore, it is important to consider personal preferences and sensory tolerance levels.

Ensure that all music is compelling, comfortable, and ends with resolution. In informal settings, users often make playlists of their favorite media, with reassuring themes such calming ambient tracks, songs with familiar associations, music from childhood, movie and videogame soundtracks, or dance music.

When using YouTube, it is recommended that patients use AdBlock Plus or similar plugins to avoid startling interruptions from advertisers.

Clinical therapy playlists

Several therapy playlists have been prepared and circulated by various institutions. These are listed below:

Imperial College of London: Psilocybin for Depression Playlist

Listen on Mixcloud and Spotify

Liner notes and track listing

John Hopkins Psilocybin Research Playlist

Listen on Spotify

Article on the playlist at Inverse

MAPS Music for MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy

Listen on YouTube (adblocker recommended): set A and set B

Track listing at MAPS

A Playlist for Psilocybin

Listen on Spotify

This playlist was arranged by researcher Kelan Thomas. Read an article on the playlist here

The Psychedelic Experience

A 1966 audiobook narrated by Timothy Leary, based on the classic psychedelic Buddhism-inspired manual The Psychedelic Experience, co-authored by Leary, Ram Dass, and Ralph Metzner

Listen on YouTube (adblocker recommended)

Traditional & ceremonial music

Aside from clinical selections, many traditional and ceremonial songs are available online as well.

Mushroom Ceremony of the Mazatec Indians of Mexico[

Listen on YouTube

1956 recording of a Mazatec psilocybin ritual with María Sabina, like the one Gordon Wasser took part in when he conducted the first research on psychedelic mushrooms in modern Western society

Liner notes at Smithsonian Folkways

Traditional Ayahuasca Songs (Icaros)

Listen on YouTube

Recordings of traditional icaros (chants and music) for ayahuasca ceremonies. Arranged by YouTube user David Hedlund.

Traditional Iboga Music

Listen on YouTube

High-tempo music for stimulating experiences, such as that produced by Iboga. Arranged by YouTube user David Hedlund informed by the article “The Psychonaut’s Guide to Music For Ceremony and Meditation”, by Aubrey Marcus.

Music for Peyote

Listen on YouTube

A playlist of traditional Native American songs intended to be used to guide peyote ceremonies. Arranged by YouTube user Kobe Bigsorrelhose.

Additional recommendations

These recommendations are given as contemporary suggestions based on community favorites.

Relaxing Instrumental Music

Listen on YouTube

Pop Culture Remixes

Listen on YouTube

Collection of music arrange from remixes of popular TV shows, movies, documentaries, and cartoons

Meditative Mind: Positive Vibes Only

Listen on YouTube

This channel is dedicated to longform music that is very well suited to visionary and meditative journeys

Works cited

Mendel K., Roseman, L., Kahan, K., Santos-Ribeiro, A., Orban, C., Lorenz, R., Barrett, F., et al. “LSD modulates music-induced imagery via changes in parahippocampal connectivity.” European Neuropsychopharmacology 26, no. 7 (2016): 1099-1109.

Barrett, F. S., Preller, K., Herdener, M., Janata, P., and Vollenweider, F.X. “Serotonin 2A receptor signaling underlies LSD-induced alteration of the neural response to dynamic changes in music.” Cerebral Cortex (2017): 1-12.

Kaelen, M., Giribaldi, B., Raine, J., Evans, L., Timmermann, C., Rodriguez, N., Carhart-

Harris, R. (2018 ). “The hidden therapist: Evidence for a central role of music in psychedelic therapy”: Correction. Psychopharmacology, 235(5), 1623. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00213-018-4886-8

Bonny, H. (2002). Music consciousness: The evolution of guided imagery and music. Dallas, TX: Barcelona Books.

Baldwin, M. (2018, December 7). A playlist for Psilocybin by Kelan Thomas. Chacruna. Retrieved from https://chacruna.net/a-p...-kelan-thomas/#fn-9557-1

Kaelen, Mendel. (2017). Music playlist: Psilocybin for depression (version 1.3). Imperial College of London. Retrieved from https://mendelkaelen.com...n%20Playlist%20v1.3.pdf.

Hess, P. (2017, December 4). This Is a Scientifically Determined Playlist for Tripping. Inverse. Retrieved from https://www.inverse.com/...hroom-playlist-research.

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This article is a part of https://www.psychedelic.training, a freely-licensed collection of materials covering psychedelic harm reduction and complementary therapies. If you have any suggestions or corrections to the above, please reply and start a conversation, or enquire in our chat: https://discord.gg/V7QcvFR. This article is a Free Cultural Work available for reproduction and adaptation under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Thanks for sharing this list

I recently tried taking mushrooms and exploring the soundscapes of the golden record.

Thanks for sharing this.

I have a psilocybin playlist that is dear to my heart... Axis: Bold as Love.