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Relaxing Music
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Published: September 27, 2006
Rhythm and euphony have long been recognized as powerful tools capable of altering moods and stirring emotions.
The various effects of music over the mind, and therefore the body, can be traced back thousands of years to Biblical and mythological stories. Ancient Greek poet Homer used specific meters to generate the awful ambience of war.
Fellow Greek Plato, in his renowned work The Republic, suggestsed humans find rhythm to be expressions of a courageous and harmonious life. Millennia later, in the early 20th century, music was administered as medicine by physicians in hospitals to help distract patients from their pain and ease anxiety.
Recent studies have proven that certain musical compositions can lessen pain, strengthen immune systems and enhance mental functions. Today, the belief that music can assuage anxiety and pain is stronger than ever before. Music therapy as a specific discipline and alternative method of healing is evolving. One study covered in Forbes Magazine found that adults who regularly listened to mood music for six weeks reported feeling happier and more energized.
The consensus in all of this research seems to be that the proper music can significantly enhance relaxation. If chosen thoughtfully- often determined through trial and error- certain musical selections can help heighten an individual's sense of peace, balance and tranquility. The trick is finding what feels right.
Research shows the relaxation effect of different types and genres of music varies with people and settings. There is a wide variety within the broad genre of relaxation music, including vocal, classical (Baroque and Romantic Periods tend to be more serene), acoustic strings and winds, cool Jazz, trance, ambient and designer meditation music. There are even relaxation sounds, such as ocean waves or synthesized tone pulses.
Some guidelines one may consider in deciding what type of music is most relaxing are tempo (ideally eighty beats per minute or less; 60 to 72 beats per minute for full relaxation), calm pulse and regularly flowing rhythms, uninterrupted sound and sustained melodies. It is also a good idea to take an inventory of how one is feeling and breathing before and after listening.
Blunt, Leslie. Music Therapy: an art beyond words. London: Routledge, 1994. Intro, 1.
Blair, D. Arts in Society: Music Therapy . New Society, 30 January 1964, 26.
Forbes FYI, 4/98
Thaut, Michael H. and William B. Davis, The Influence of Subject-Selected versus Experimenter-Chosen Music on Affect, Anxiety, and Relaxation, Journal of Music Therapy 30/4 (1993): 210-33.
Miles, Elizabeth. Tune Your Brain: Using Music to Manage Your Mind, Body, and Mood. NY: Berkeley: 1997. 82.
Miles, 77.
The various effects of music over the mind, and therefore the body, can be traced back thousands of years to Biblical and mythological stories. Ancient Greek poet Homer used specific meters to generate the awful ambience of war.
Related Articles
Recent studies have proven that certain musical compositions can lessen pain, strengthen immune systems and enhance mental functions. Today, the belief that music can assuage anxiety and pain is stronger than ever before. Music therapy as a specific discipline and alternative method of healing is evolving. One study covered in Forbes Magazine found that adults who regularly listened to mood music for six weeks reported feeling happier and more energized.
The consensus in all of this research seems to be that the proper music can significantly enhance relaxation. If chosen thoughtfully- often determined through trial and error- certain musical selections can help heighten an individual's sense of peace, balance and tranquility. The trick is finding what feels right.
Research shows the relaxation effect of different types and genres of music varies with people and settings. There is a wide variety within the broad genre of relaxation music, including vocal, classical (Baroque and Romantic Periods tend to be more serene), acoustic strings and winds, cool Jazz, trance, ambient and designer meditation music. There are even relaxation sounds, such as ocean waves or synthesized tone pulses.
Some guidelines one may consider in deciding what type of music is most relaxing are tempo (ideally eighty beats per minute or less; 60 to 72 beats per minute for full relaxation), calm pulse and regularly flowing rhythms, uninterrupted sound and sustained melodies. It is also a good idea to take an inventory of how one is feeling and breathing before and after listening.
Blunt, Leslie. Music Therapy: an art beyond words. London: Routledge, 1994. Intro, 1.
Blair, D. Arts in Society: Music Therapy . New Society, 30 January 1964, 26.
Forbes FYI, 4/98
Thaut, Michael H. and William B. Davis, The Influence of Subject-Selected versus Experimenter-Chosen Music on Affect, Anxiety, and Relaxation, Journal of Music Therapy 30/4 (1993): 210-33.
Miles, Elizabeth. Tune Your Brain: Using Music to Manage Your Mind, Body, and Mood. NY: Berkeley: 1997. 82.
Miles, 77.
