Essay: Swinging those Moods

-
Lifting Off (Employing Music to Relieve Melancholy)

I've felt my share of melancholy.  And I'm thankful for the gift of sadness because without experiencing it, I wouldn't have experimented with music to uplift my mood. And of course, I understand that the music that uplifts my mood, might not uplift someone else's.  Clinical depression and other mental illnesses are out of my domain so please read this essay with that in mind.

When I'm in a cranky or depressed mood, I back away from life for a short period to find my center.  I practice yoga and meditation during these times, and I catch my breath.  I've found that specific types of music uplift my moods and transform my thoughts from negative to positive.  I have a small stack of Brazilian bossa nova and Mozart CDs for this purpose.  But Bob Marley's greatest hits or Exodus work just as well in getting me back on track.

I don't suffer from seasonal affective disorder, however, living in the northern US where the fall and early winter days fall on the dark and gloomy side, I feel sleepy and lethargic on some days. I take 2,000+ mg of vitamin D3, get plenty of rest, eat a healthy diet, go for walks (when it's still light outside), and I listen to tropical music.  But on days when tropical music feels like a jolt to my system, I start with Scandinavian, American blues, jazz, and introspective music. Then I work my way to samba and bossa nova, then to Cuban son and other Latin music.

If you look at the "on rotation" posts on this blog, you'll find lists of songs specifically for setting and changing moods. The practice begins with tracking your physical and emotional responses to music.  Keep a journal.  And when a certain mood hits you, try out different types of music.  When you find what transmutes depression into peace of mind, stick with it. Create a music medicine chest so you have these recordings handy when you need them most.

There are times when you can ride out a mood and listen to it.  Emotions teach us about ourselves and point us in the right direction. If we feel low energy after hanging out with a person or group, then pay attention. If your energy flags halfway through the day, pay attention, and see a doctor for health concerns (get your thyroid hormone levels checked).  Music augments whatever healing practice or modality you already have in your life.  Never substitute music for medicine or other healing modalities without medical expert advice, unless you're a trained healer.

Music acts on many levels.  When we enjoy an activity such as listening to a specific type of music, we feel uplifted.  But even beyond that, some types of music empower us, slow us down, or give us a boost.  We shouldn't take the intangible powers of music for granted. Depending on its vibration, music either heals or harms us.  So keep this in mind as your journey deeper into music consciousness.

List of Melancholic Music:
(You might start where your emotions are at)

Tango
Fado
Cape Verdean music (some)
American blues
African blues
Torch songs (from Broadway musicals and jazz)
Bolero
Flamenco
Romantic Era classical
French Impressionist
Erik Satie
Celtic ballads

Uplifting Music:

Brazilian samba and bossa nova
Cuban son and salsa
Cumbia
Bluegrass (swing)
Hot Jazz or gypsy swing
New Orleans jazz
Celtic reels and jigs
Quebecois music
Marching bands
Tex-Mex
Pow-wow songs
Putumayo  compilations
Polkas
Mozart (some)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to Peyote Songs & The Native American Church

-
Image
Father Peyote: Songs of the Native American Church Introduction to the Peyote Church Ceremony This is an archival article written in 2003.  It's not updated.  For more recent recordings, go to Canyon Records website, http://www.canyonrecords.com When some people speak of Native American ceremonies, the peyote ceremony or the ingestion of the hallucinogen peyote (contains mescaline) usually surfaces. However, there is too much false information being passed around in the non-native community surrounding peyote meetings. The first thing people need to know about the Native American connection to peyote is that the plant is sacred medicine ingested as a sacrament during healing ceremonies of the Native American Church. The second thing, people need to know is that the Native American Church is not a set structure like the Christian Church. The peyote meeting could take place in a Navajo hogan or a teepee. And finally, since the peyote meeting does in part derive from Nat
Read more

The Practice--Treasure Hunt from the book Whole Music

-
Image
Excerpt from Whole Music The Practice: Musical Treasure Hunt Similar to treasure hunts from our childhood, I’m going to send you on a music treasure hunt in which the pleasures are many.  Pretend that you are a song catcher visiting other cultures where you collect new sounds. While I mentioned sound healers earlier, another important player with music preservation are ethnomusicologists who combine cultural anthropology with music preservation.  Two famous song catchers are the late Alan Lomax, and the world beat drummer Mickey Hart.  I recommend learning more about these song catchers through books, and documentaries. 1) Step One-- Head over to YouTube, and look up the following music traditions: ·          Aboriginal Didgeridoo ·          Finnish Runo-Songs (Traditional singer) ·          Gregorian chants ·          Griot Music of Mali (Acoustic, not pop music) ·          Sanskrit Chants Sung by Hindu Indians in Context (aka Kirtans)
Read more

Talking about Timbre

-
Image
Wikipedia As I mention in my book Whole Music , when I was a child I fell in love with timbre and the voices of the individual instruments we listened to in music class.  Each instrument conjured a specific emotions or feeling in me.  The French horn caused me to feel majestic and the cello invoked melancholy.  My moods would shift with each instrument that I heard and my moods would shift quickly. Today, I listen to more than timbre, but I have an understanding of how tone, frequencies of the tone and timbre (the color of the tone) affect me on all levels.  And I wonder what listening to an entire symphony does with its many voices, themes, keys, musical passages etc... In the concept of "whole music" I prefer not to separate musical components, but in the case of this post, I will present solo instruments for your listening and feeling pleasure. If you keep a music journal (and I hope that you do by now), write down the emotions that come up with each instrument.  R
Read more