Music as an Expression of Redemption
Then Moses sang- Then when he saw the miracle, it rose in his heart that he should sing a song.
(6) And it came to pass as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments.
(כג) תְּרַנֵּנָּה שְׂפָתַי כִּי אֲזַמְּרָה לָּךְ וְנַפְשִׁי אֲשֶׁר פָּדִיתָ.
Music as a Form of Healing
(כג) וְהָיָה בִּהְיוֹת רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים אֶל שָׁאוּל וְלָקַח דָּוִד אֶת הַכִּנּוֹר וְנִגֵּן בְּיָדוֹ וְרָוַח לְשָׁאוּל וְטוֹב לוֹ וְסָרָה מֵעָלָיו רוּחַ הָרָעָה.
(23) And it came to pass, when the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand; so Saul found relief, and it was well with him, and the evil spirit departed from him.
Taken from Wikipedia!?: One of the earliest mentions of music therapy was in Al-Farabi's (c. 872 – 950) treatise Meanings of the Intellect, which described the therapeutic effects of music on the soul.
(ב והוא הדין מי שהתרגשה עליו מרה שחורה, ועמד והסירה בשמיעת הניגונים ובמיני הזמר, ובטיול בגינות ובבניינים נאים, ובישיבה עם צורות נאות וכיוצא בדברים שמרחיבים הנפש ומסירים הרהוריו הקודרים ממנה. והמכוון בכל זה, שיבריא גופו, ותכלית בריאות גופו: לקנות חכמה. והוא הדין מי שטרח והתעסק בקנות הממון, תהיה תכליתו בקיבוצו שיוציאו למעלות, ושימצאהו לקיום גופו והמשך מציאותו, עד שיציג וידע את השם יתברך, מה שאפשר לדעתו.
(2 Similarly, one who suffers from melancholia may rid himself of it by listening to singing and all kinds of instrumental music, by strolling through beautiful gardens and splendid buildings, by gazing upon beautiful pictures, and other things that enliven the mind, and dissipate gloomy moods. The purpose of all this is to restore the healthful condition of the body, but the real object in maintaining the body in good health is to acquire wisdom. Likewise, in the pursuit of wealth, the main design in its acquisition should be to expend it for noble purposes, and to employ it for the maintenance of the body and the preservation of life, so that its owner may obtain a knowledge of God, in so far as that is vouchsafed unto man.
Music and Prophecy
Music and the Temple
The Torah as Song
(19) Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach thou it the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel.
שע בן קרחה אומר,כל הלומד תורה ואינו חוזר עליה דומה לאדם שזורע ואינו קוצר,רבי יהושע אומר,כל הלומד תורה ומשכחה דומה לאשה שיולדת וקוברת רבי עקיבא אומר זמר בכל יום זמר בכל יום,
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karcha says," Anyone who learns Torah and forgets it is like a woman who gives birth and buries her child." Rabbi Akiva says, "a song every day, a song every day."
Song /Music of Creation
Know that every shepherd has a unique melody (nigun) according to the grasses and the place where he herds, for every animal has a grass unique to her that she needs to eat. Also a shepherd isn't always in one place, and according to the grasses and the place where he herds, so he has a nigun. For every grass there is a song (shirah) which it speaks, that this is the aspect of Perek Shirah, and from the song of the grasses is made the nigun of the shepherd. And this is the secret of what's written, "And Adah bore Yaval, he was father of all who sit in tents and herd, and the name of his brother [was] Yovel, he was father of all who grab the lyre and the harp." For just when there was in the world [for the first time] a shepherd of cattle, just then there were musical instruments. And so it is with David the king, who "knows music-playing" and therefore was a shepherd...
-Rebbe Nachman of Breslov Likutey Mohoran 63
(סד) ואין ספק בדבר כי גם על תקופת החמה וכוכבים אחרים היתה לאבותינו ידיעה יסודית אשר לחכמת הנגינה ציר לך אמה המחשיבה את הנגונים ומטילה את זמרתם על החשובים באנשיה הם בני לוי העוסקים בנגינה כבמלאכת הקדש בבית הקדוש במועדים המקדשים ואנשים אלה חפשים מעול הפרנסה בהיותם נהנים מן המעשרות ואין להם עסק כי אם בנגינה והאמנות הזאת החשובה מצד עצמה אצל כל בני אדם בכלל נכבדת אז ביחוד בעיני כל בני האמה אצילת היחש וזכת התכונה ובראש העוסקים בה דוד ושמואל מה דעתך אפוא האם היו יודעים את הנגינה ידיעה יסודית אם אין:
(64) And there was no doubt that the orbits of the sun and stars was to our forefathers a basic knowledge to emphasis how music was the pride of a nation which distributed their songs in such a way that they fell to the lot of the aristocracy of the people, viz. the Levites, who made practical use of them in the holy house and in the holy season. For their maintenance they were satisfied with the tithes, as they had no occupation but music. As an art it is highly esteemed among mankind, as long as it is not abused and degraded, and as long as the people preserves its original nobleness and purity. David and Samuel were its great masters. Dost thou think that they understood it well or not?