Music and Psilocybin: Why the Soundtrack Matters During a Psychedelic Retreat

By Niels van der Valk

There are moments during a psychedelic experience when music becomes much more than something playing in the background. A melody can evoke an unexpected emotion, a change in rhythm can shift the atmosphere, and a piece of music without any words can sometimes feel as though it is accompanying something deeply personal.

I have observed something similar during breathwork. As people move further into their experience, music can become an important part of the journey itself.

At Elevated Mind Retreats, we don't see music as something we simply add to make the environment more pleasant. We see it as part of the setting. And just as we carefully consider the physical environment, preparation, facilitation and structure of a retreat, we give attention to its sound.

Why Does Music Matter During a Psilocybin Experience?

Music has accompanied rituals, ceremonies and contemplative practices across cultures for centuries. Today, it is also a central feature of many modern psychedelic research settings.

One particularly interesting study published in Psychopharmacology in 2018 explored how 19 participants receiving psilocybin in a clinical study for treatment-resistant depression experienced the music played during their sessions.

The researchers found that music could be experienced as supportive, emotionally meaningful and reassuring. But it could also feel unwelcome, intrusive or poorly matched to someone's emotional state.

The study was small, and its findings cannot simply be applied to every psychedelic retreat. Nevertheless, it illustrates something important: music is not a neutral element of the experience.

It may influence how someone experiences emotions, memories and the changing atmosphere of a journey.

That is why choosing music deserves more consideration than simply putting together a playlist of relaxing songs.

When Music Becomes More Than Background Sound

In everyday life, we often listen to music while doing something else. We drive, cook, exercise or work while music plays alongside us. During a guided psychedelic experience, however, the relationship can become very different.

Participants may be lying down with their eyes closed, directing much of their attention inward. Conversation becomes less important, familiar external distractions are reduced, and music can become one of the most prominent external influences.

Music can offer continuity as the experience changes and accompany emotional moments without requiring words or explanations. This doesn't mean it controls the experience or that everyone responds in the same way. It simply means that sound deserves the same care and consideration as other aspects of the retreat environment.

Why Different Stages of a Journey Need Different Music

A psychedelic experience is not static. It develops over several hours, with changes in intensity, attention, emotion and perception. The music accompanying it can follow a similar arc.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen explored this in their 2022 paper describing the Copenhagen Music Program, a carefully curated musical sequence designed around the changing intensity of a psilocybin session. Rather than choosing individual tracks in isolation, they considered the relationship between pieces, including rhythm, intensity, musical transitions and the overall progression of the experience.

This is an important distinction. A soundtrack for a psychedelic journey is not necessarily a collection of someone's favourite songs. It is a considered sequence in which different musical qualities may serve different moments:

• Gentle: Creating space to settle and turn inward.

• Expansive: Accompanying changes in intensity and perception.

• Emotional: Allowing room for different feelings to emerge.

• Grounding: Supporting the gradual return to the surroundings.

These are not rigid stages that everyone follows. Each experience is individual, and even a carefully prepared soundtrack needs to leave room for that.

Can Music Influence Emotions During a Psychedelic Experience?

Music can evoke strong emotions even without psychedelics.

A familiar song may bring back a memory. A particular instrument may feel comforting. A melody may move us without our knowing exactly why.

During a psychedelic experience, these responses can become particularly significant.

Research suggests that music may interact with emotional experience and personal meaning during psychedelic sessions. However, the evidence does not establish that a particular piece of music will reliably produce a specific emotion or outcome.

And this is where personal differences become important.

The same piece of music may feel beautiful to one participant and unsettling to another.

A voice might be reassuring to someone while distracting somebody else.

Even a favourite song can evoke an unexpected response.

For me, this is one of the reasons music should never be used to force a particular emotional direction.

Its role is to accompany and support, not to determine what someone should experience.

Live Music, Instruments and the Human Element

Recorded music is not the only form of sound that can become part of a retreat. Live instruments introduce a different quality, with sound created in the space itself, allowing those present to experience its resonance and immediacy. There is something very human about that.

But live music is not automatically better than recorded music. The same principle applies to both: does the sound fit the moment, and does it support the people experiencing it? Sometimes a carefully chosen recording is appropriate, while at other times a simple live musical element may feel more fitting.

What matters is not how impressive the music is, but how thoughtfully it is used.

Silence Has a Role Too

When discussing the importance of music, it is easy to overlook silence. Yet moments of quiet can be just as meaningful. Without them, sound can become constant stimulation, while the contrast between music and silence can change how someone experiences the atmosphere around them.

Silence can offer space for reflection and awareness, but it can also feel uncomfortable or confronting. There is no universal rule that silence is always beneficial, just as more music is not necessarily better.

For me, the broader principle is that a facilitator should not feel compelled to fill every moment. Sometimes adding something is helpful, while at other times allowing space is more appropriate.

How We Use Music at Elevated Mind Retreats

At Elevated Mind Retreats, music is woven into many parts of our three-day programme. And the intention behind it changes depending on what we are doing.

From the carefully curated soundtrack of the psilocybin ceremony to the playful music accompanying an ice bath, each musical choice has a purpose. This reflects our broader approach to why every part of our retreat has a purpose.

The Psilocybin Ceremony: A Carefully Curated Musical Journey

Our ceremony playlists are not assembled in an afternoon. We spend months selecting music, listening to how pieces work together and refining the overall flow. We have different playlists for different retreat formats and develop new versions once or twice a year.

Our standard ceremony playlist follows a carefully considered progression, moving through different musical qualities as the journey unfolds, including passages that create space for emotional experiences. Much of the music is instrumental, giving participants room for their own thoughts, feelings and associations without lyrics directing attention towards a particular story or message.

We also deliberately include selected pieces with lyrics. Sometimes a voice or a particular passage can add something meaningful to the musical journey. The intention is never to prescribe what someone should feel, but to create an environment that accompanies the changing nature of the experience.

At our Women's Retreats, the approach can be more responsive. The facilitation team often curates the music during the retreat itself, taking into account the particular group and what feels appropriate for them. After all, there is no single soundtrack that works equally well for everyone.

Inner Child Meditation: Music That Follows the Emotional Journey

Music also plays an important role in our inner child work. The playlist for our inner child meditation has a very specific build-up, accompanying the different stages of the guided experience rather than simply playing in the background.

What happens afterwards matters just as much. Following the inner child breathwork, we deliberately change the atmosphere, bringing lighter music into the room, often including familiar guilty pleasures. After a period of deep reflection and emotional work, the room can fill with smiles, movement and laughter.

This transition is intentional. We don't believe that meaningful inner work always needs to end in silence or seriousness. Sometimes reconnecting with lightness and playfulness is an important part of the experience too.

The Ice Bath: From Reflection to Energy and Play

The contrast becomes even more apparent during our optional ice bath. After explaining the exercise, we change the music completely, bringing in more energetic tracks, including Eurodance, to shift the atmosphere towards something playful and active.

The music continues outside as participants come out of the ice bath and warm up through movement, including the horse stance. It's a very different musical experience from the ceremony or meditation, but no less deliberate.

The purpose here isn't deep introspection. It's energy, movement, encouragement and shared enjoyment.

Music as Part of Integration

After our retreats, we share the music from the ceremony and other parts of the programme with participants, allowing them to revisit particular pieces in their own time. A familiar track may bring back a memory of the retreat or provide an opportunity to reflect on something that emerged during the experience.

Of course, listening to the music again is not the same as returning to the psychedelic experience itself. But it can offer a familiar point of connection as participants consider what the retreat meant to them and how they want to bring those insights into everyday life.

For us, this is another example of how the retreat extends beyond the days spent together. The music doesn't necessarily end when the ceremony does. It can become part of the integration process that follows.

The Soundtrack Is Part of the Setting

Music during a psychedelic retreat is much more than a soundtrack to the ceremony. It can accompany deep introspection, create space for emotion, bring energy into a room, invite laughter and help people reconnect with meaningful moments afterwards.

Research suggests that music can play an important role in psychedelic experiences, while also reminding us that responses are individual and there is no perfect playlist for everyone. From carefully curated ceremony music to Eurodance after an ice bath, the musical styles may be completely different, but the underlying intention remains the same.

We don't choose music simply because it sounds good. We choose it because of what that moment calls for.

Music is just one part of the carefully structured experience at our 3-Day Psilocybin Retreat, where preparation, breathwork, ceremony and integration come together.

About the author

Niels van der Valk is the founder of Elevated Mind Retreats. After recovering from burnout through his own guided psilocybin retreat, he dedicated his work to helping others create meaningful and lasting change through professionally guided retreats, breathwork, and integration support.

📖 Read his personal story: The Retreat