Introduction

After years of wanting to learn to play, Colonel (retired) Steve Jourdain got his first guitar in 2012, a Father’s Day gift from his spouse. 

“I always said I wanted to play guitar around the campfire in the summer,” he said.

He didn’t realize then what an important part of his healing journey that gift would become.

Music as medicine

He had been struggling with hypervigilance since he returned to Ottawa in 2009 after his military service in Afghanistan.  

The guitar was like medicine.

“I didn’t think of it as coping back then,” he says. “But I quickly realized that playing guitar had a relaxing effect on my mood.” 

A military leader

During his three decades as an infantry officer with the Royal 22e Régiment (the Van Doos), he rose through the ranks – being promoted to Major in 2005.

As a leader, he wanted to be stoic for his troops.

“As a company commander, you try to do everything to minimize the risks on your soldiers when you go on the operation and to plan everything as carefully as you can but there are things that are beyond your control,” he explained.

He says he often thinks about the deaths of two of his soldiers:

Master Corporal Charles-Philippe (Chuck) Michaud and Pte (Cpl) Jonathan Couturier and his battalion’s engineer Squadron Commander,  Major Yannick Pépin in Afghanistan. 

Difficult memories

He was honoured to help carry Pépin’s casket during the solemn military ramp ceremony at Kandahar airport, but those moments took a toll.

“To bring him to his last rest at home, that was pretty emotional, I believe it is one of the highest honour,” he said.

“It will change you forever to be in a theatre of war. You cannot pretend that you are going to come back the same.”

When Jourdain returned from Afghanistan in 2009, it took him about a year to feel like himself again. He was struggling daily with hypervigilance and an inability to concentrate.

He taught himself how to play guitar and composed his first song, titled ‘Je me Souviens’ (I remember) about bands of brothers, desert sand, ramp ceremonies and military memories.  

A turning point

When he returned to Afghanistan in 2016 as a Defence Attaché, his life took a radical turn, both personally and professionally.  

Feeling the weight of what had been a stellar career up to that point, he suffered from adjustment disorder, depression and anxiety. On April 1, 2019, he suffered a heart attack.

Traditional therapy and medication were important for his physical and mental health recovery, but through it all, his guitar became his lifeline.  

When he was struck by panic and stress, strumming simple rhythms settled his nervous system.  

Music let him feel emotions he couldn’t easily speak about like fear, grief, guilt and the unresolved tension of service.

A new beginning

He retired in February 2022 to join the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfares Services.  

The organization’s mission – to improve the military community’s resilience and well-being by designing and delivering wellness programs that contribute to operational readiness, recruitment and retention of the Canadian Armed Forces – really resonated with him.

His second song, ‘A Lullaby to Calm Down Your Demons’ was used to promote the Canadian Armed Forces’ Mental health awareness campaign in 2016 and 2022.  A fellow Veteran told him the song had saved his life and he was listening to it daily.

Knowing how much music was helping him, he imagined it could benefit other Veterans suffering from mental health conditions.

“We have too many soldiers that bring back scars that are invisible, but certainly have an effect on them,” he said.

In the spring of 2024, he was approached by Estelle Ethier, CEO of Montfort Knowledge Institute (ISM) and Dr. Gilles Comeau, the Director of the Music and Health Research Institute, to see if he would be interested in joining a research project on the effect of learning and playing guitar on Veterans’ mental health.  

From their first discussion he felt he had found his life’s purpose. He proposed a 10-week program, Echo for Life, for Veterans to come together in a safe space and learn to play guitar.

Coming out of social isolation

During the first sessions, he began to see the positive impact on the participants. Some of them shared they had been socially isolated and suffering in silence.

“They told me before these classes they were not even coming out of their houses anymore,” he said.

“They were now looking forward to that moment in their week. The most tremendous accomplishment of the project was that it brought Veterans out of their isolation. Veterans knew they could open up, without being judged and they were experiencing the true healing power of music, one note at the time.

“It’s like the music gave them permission,” he says. “Nobody had to be tough. Nobody had to explain themselves.”

Jordain saw how a simple melody could tear down the walls trauma builds around people. It unlocked something therapy often struggles to reach – connection.

He now champions music as a complementary tool for Veterans dealing with operational stress injuries. Music, he says, is accessible, affordable, and human.

He is also grateful to be associated with the True Patriot Love Foundation as a financing partner which allows the project to conduct research. He hopes this will make music therapy more accessible to Veterans and serving military members.

Jourdain has also performed at open mic events organized by Veterans Affairs Canada since their inception in 2023.

These events are open to Veterans, serving members, their families and other guests and are a casual alternative to traditional commemorative ceremonies.

His guitar had once been a private refuge. Now it has become something larger: a tool for healing and community.

“You get there, you feel good, you learn something, you're in that moment. Because when you're concentrating on placing your fingers, well, then you forget about those dark thoughts that you might have had before  – at least for that moment. And hopefully, the feeling of music stays,” he said.

“To experience the benefit and the healing power of making music together. That's amazing.”

With courage, integrity and loyalty, Steve Jourdain is leaving his mark. He is a Canadian Armed Forces Veteran. Discover more stories.

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