Moving Beyond the Johns Hopkins Playlist
Are Playlists The Best Approach?
For more than two decades, the music playlists developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University have become some of the most widely used collections in psychedelic-assisted therapy. Originally designed to support clinical research with substances such as psilocybin, these carefully curated playlists have influenced therapists, retreat facilitators, underground guides, and independent explorers around the world.
Their impact has been profound. They demonstrated that music is not merely background entertainment during a psychedelic experience—it is an active component of the therapeutic process. Music can influence emotion, attention, memory, surrender, and the unfolding of the journey itself. Yet as psychedelic therapy matures beyond research settings, an important question deserves attention:
Is a playlist really the best musical tool for guiding an altered state of consciousness?
Increasingly, many practitioners, musicians, and researchers are beginning to explore a different possibility: purpose-composed soundscapes designed specifically for the dynamics of psychedelic consciousness.
The Legacy of the Johns Hopkins Playlist
The Johns Hopkins playlists were never intended to become universal prescriptions. They were developed to serve the needs of controlled clinical trials, where consistency across participants is essential. Standardisation allows researchers to minimise variables, compare outcomes, and establish scientific evidence.
Within that context, playlists make excellent sense. The selections are thoughtful, emotionally rich, and carefully sequenced to accompany the approximate arc of a therapeutic session. Many participants have described the music as deeply moving and supportive. The success of these playlists has helped establish music as one of the most important non-pharmacological elements of psychedelic therapy.
However, what works well for clinical standardisation is not necessarily optimal for every individual journey. Below we explore some of the drawbacks of a playlist approach.
A Playlist Is a Collection of Separate Pieces
One of the defining characteristics of a playlist is that it consists of independent musical works assembled into a sequence. This means each composition was created for its own artistic purpose. It has its own beginning. Its own ending. Its own emotional language and instrumentation.
Even when expertly curated, transitions between tracks inevitably introduce discontinuities. During ordinary listening, these changes may be barely noticeable, but in psychedelic states—where perception becomes highly sensitive—even subtle shifts can feel surprisingly significant.
A sudden change in recording ambience, orchestration, harmonic language, or emotional tone may interrupt an otherwise continuous inner process. Instead of progressing through separate pieces, soundscapes unfold as one continuous musical environment with no obvious boundaries between sections. A good example of this is our Ascent Phase Soundscape “Ceremony.” Rather than constantly shifting focus from one motif to the next, the music evolves organically.
Recognition Can Pull Attention Outward
Many playlist selections include recognisable classical works, sacred music, film scores, or culturally familiar recordings. This is certainly true of the Johns Hopkins Playlist, which includes hugely popular songs like “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong and one of the most-played songs of all time, “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles. While recognition can be meaningful, it can also become distracting. Instead of remaining immersed in the unfolding experience, the listener may begin thinking: “I know this piece.” Or “My grandmother loved this music.”
These associations are not inherently negative, but they can redirect attention away from present-moment experience. Purpose-composed soundscapes minimise recognisable musical references, reducing the likelihood of autobiographical associations competing with the therapeutic process.
The Future Of Music For Psychedelic Therapy
The Johns Hopkins playlists undoubtedly remain a landmark contribution to psychedelic science. They helped establish that music is central—not incidental—to therapeutic outcomes, and their influence on the field is undeniable.
But as psychedelic care continues to evolve, it may be time to move beyond the assumption that a sequence of existing recordings represents the highest standard of musical support.
Purpose-composed soundscapes offer a different vision: continuous rather than segmented, immersive rather than performative, spacious rather than directive, and intentionally crafted around the unique phenomenology of altered states of consciousness.