The Whole Music Experience

Peter Ali On the Solstice, I felt exhausted, but I wanted to check out the Fairhaven District Art Walk.  So I dragged myself by bus to the event.  When I stepped into Village Books, I heard Peter Ali talking about his introduction to Native American and other traditional flutes. While I was only planning on staying for one or two songs (since I wanted to see as much art as possible), I ended up staying much longer.  I found Peter engaging as he shared stories about his life experiences in relationship to his flute.  One of those stories involved performing for the 14th Dalai Lama and another story revolved around surviving cancer and its brutal chemo treatment. However on that particular evening, I felt drawn to the soothing qualities of Indigenous flutes and Peter's healing stories that went along with his improvised songs. Coming from mixed heritage, Peter could call himself a true world citizen and one with a healing heart.  So let's celebrate another...

For a while, I have wanted to include music therapy and music therapists on Whole Music Experience.   And once again, I have found a 21st Century Musical Healer in my Linked In group Musical Healers, Esther Thane.   Below I’m including her biography found on her website (see link at the end of the post). Esther Thane works as an accredited music therapist with special needs children in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Her specialization for the past 17 years has been in the field of Autism- targeting early intervention. Esther continues to provide weekly music therapy programs for the North Vancouver School District- where she interned 17 years ago!  In addition to ET Music Therapy, Esther is a Music Therapy voice instructor at Capilano University, teaching in the Bachelor of Music Therapy Program.  She frequently presents at conferences and holds workshops for universities, local agencies and abroad.  Esther is past Artistic Direc...

So many times I have read studies about depression lowering immune responses and happiness boosting immunity.  I believe this is true and I believe that the pleasure of listening to delightful music enhances are immunity.  I know when I feel rundown with a cold or other infections, I bring out my favorite classical pieces.  Here is a list of 10 I highly recommend. Try them, and I guarantee you will shorten your recovery time. 1. Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun--Claude Debussy (French) 2. Clarinet Concerto in A major--W.A. Mozart (Austrian) 3. Exsultate Jubilate--Mozart 4. Rhapsody in Blue--George Gershwin (American) 5. The Grand Canyon Suites--Ferde Grofe (American) 6. Appalachian Spring--Aaron Copeland (American) 7. Six Brandenberg Concertos--J. S. Bach (German) 8. Piano Concerto in G major--Maurice Ravel (France) 9. The Fountains of Rome--Ottorino Respighi (Italy) 10. The Swan of Tuonela--Jean Sibelius (Finland) If you need a huge ...

I woke up this morning, with a storm slamming against the windows.  I decided to stay in bed longer and listen to Bach keyboard works.  I slipped Murray Perahia's Bach Partitas 2, 3 & 4 into my portable CD player and listened to Bach's solo piano via headphones.  The ostinato (bass line played with left hand), and the counterpoint so skillfully played by Perahia calmed my nerves. My mind was racing at the time with thoughts tripping over each other. So I focused on the music, and listened intently while absorbing every nuance into my cells. About 15 minutes of listening to this recording, plus an eye pillow over my face, gave me the same affect as a half an hour of sitting meditation. I realize that anyone who has read sound healing and healing music books would have seen Bach's music at the top of a healing music list.  Experts discuss the architecture and the mathematics of Bach's ingenuous compositions, not that I comprehend the intricacies of Bach's...

Vibration Series: PT Three—Tuning in to Your Musical Self The way it works with Whole Music is that I need to experience concepts of music in my life before presenting them on the blog. I also wait for information to either crop up in my subconscious (including nightly dreams), or through synchronicity (I receive an album in the mail, or find the information I need on the internet). The latest information for this 3-part series focuses on tuning into yourself and asking yourself what your musical needs are at any given moment. Lately, I’ve been feeling a lot of anger and powerlessness. I realize I’m not alone in feeling this way, but anger, especially the kind that rumble like a volcano ready to erupt, frightens me. Here I am talking about spiritual concepts to others and going on about world peace, when I feel this darkness inside my body. I have felt bombarded with bad news from every front which has also left me with a feeling of hopelessness. So having felt this way, I deci...

Distinguishing Low from High Vibrations PT 2 So now that you've unblocked your chakras, you'll want to hang out in a higher vibrational environment... I know that I’m in sync with the world when a CD that arrives in the mail matches exactly my energy level and vibration. This happened to me recently when an advance copy of Mamadou Diabate’s “Courage” arrived in the mail (I’ll review this CD in February). And since I was contemplating my essay on vibration (high and low), I thought that the recording came at the perfect time. Not only that, I enjoy griot morality lessons. Not long ago, I thought of vibration in a dualistic way. You have high vibration which equates to love and low vibration which equates to fear. Now, when I talk about low and high vibration, I’m not talking about bass and piccolo. I’m talking more or less about negative and positive energy, but again, I’ve learned that there’s a lot more to it than raising your vibration by showing up in a high vibr...

Wikipedia Not all Beethoven compositions are created equal, ditto for Chopin’s repertoire and fill in the blank with a composer’s name. To say that all of Mozart’s music increases IQ levels is an overstatement and a false assumption. I feel sad for anyone who only listens to Mozart to increase their IQ because then they miss out on the holistic experience of Mozart’s music. And I doubt any of these composers with the exception of Mozart (after he joined his local chapter of the Freemasons), composed with any healing or energetic intentions. Most classical composers during their time, composed for commissions from the church or an elite patron. After music publishing arrived, the composers earned money through publication of their compositions, which in order to earn their keep, had to appeal to music audiences, as well as, amateur and professional musicians. So we need to keep this in mind when working with music for healing purposes. Classical music goes a long way in heali...

Healing with Holiday Music; Practicing Cultural and Spiritual Diversity Depending on your cultural and spiritual perceptions, holiday music can provide healing through nostalgia, relaxation, and joy. However, this includes a few caveats. An overdose of holiday music (heard in shopping malls, banks, and post offices), could lead to overkill and brainworms (a song hook repeating itself incessively).  Nostalgic elements work best with people who have happy memories of the holidays, but those individuals who lost love ones or suffered a tragedy during the holiday season won't find holiday music particularly healing.  They might avoid it entirely. Don't make the mistake of thinking that everyone practices the same religious rituals as you do. Holidays from a variety of religious traditions, including Judaism (Hanukkah), Christianity (Christmas), South African (Kwanza), Islamic, and pagan (Solstice) are practiced by people among us.  Each of these traditions ha...

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 ...

The Wailin’ Jennys Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House Red House Records Anyone who has listened to a recording or attended a concert performed by Winnipeg’s The Wailin’ Jennys, knows that it all ends too quickly. The sweet strains of harmonies that the trio of women vocalists, (Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Heather Masse), have the ability to amaze and thrill. Then add the fiery bluegrass fiddle of Jeremy Penner, and the listening pleasure must be repeated a few times in order to feel completely satiated from this a cappella and accompanied music. Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House (Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania), offers both, a live concert and a recording. And listeners no doubt, will press the repeat button to enjoy an encore performance of these 14 delicious tracks. The recording not only offers a clean and crisp sound, but the musicians create a warm and inviting atmosphere with a little bit of on-stage banter and a beautiful delivery of previously recorded songs and some ...

I have consciously been listening to music for the past few years. Sometimes I listen to music purely for pleasure, but other times I am trying to shift moods, heal a weak immune system, insomnia, physical pain and emotional turmoil. Here are some of the results I have found in my own life testing music on my own mind-body. Lifting Moods: Mozart, Bach, Debussy Also to various Gregorian chant recordings George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and "American in Paris" Anything by Madeleine Peyroux Rolf Lislevand's "Nuove Musiche" Some Beatles music (the folkier acoustic songs) Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" Native American flute West African kora music West African polyphonic drums Taj Mahal & Toumani Diabate Classical Indian music Habib Koite & Bamada Malian music in general Healing Migraines & Nausea: The Wailin' Jenny's, especially the song, "Apocalypse Lullaby" (Firecracker) Renaissan...