The purposes of this pilot study were to describe the perceived effectiveness of music therapy for pain control and to identify music preference for postoperative pain and anxiety control in Korean women who had a gynecological surgery.

A convenience sample of 52 women was recruited from a gynecological unit at P University hospital and they were interviewed to assess their perception of music therapy and music preference using a structured study questionnaire.

Fifty-six percent of women reported that music therapy would be effective and 96% perceived it would be effective if combined with analgesics. The best music chosen for relieving postoperative pain and anxiety were Korean old pop and ballad song/music followed by Korean religious music, American pop songs, piano music, Korean classic songs, and Orchestra music.

There was a cultural difference in music preference for the relief of post-operative pain in this sample. Therefore, effects of music for postoperative pain control need to be determined after considering musical preferences of postoperative women in Korea.