The Whole Music Experience

peaceful photo by Patricia Herlevi With the holidays upon us and the year winding down, most people deal with stress overload. Add to that dealing with holiday crowds in shopping malls, traffic on the highways, and calamities that occur around the planet which I think has to do with all this stress rippling out. So unwind and relax to music. I'm going to get you started with suggestions from diverse music genres: Classical I suggest staying away from the wild Romantic Era composers with the exception of Tchaikovsky and listen to his ballets and sacred music (Rachmaninoff also has sacred recordings). For the most part, stick with chamber music such as string quartets, slower Mozart, Debussy , Ravel , Satie, Grie g , Sibelius, Aaron Copeland, and solo harp or cello recordings. Classical holiday music will either bring peace or strife depending on the person so use discernment and listen in to your feelings. Also try Renaissance polyphony such as Anonymous 4 or Stile Ant...

found on Wikipedia When I first started researching the healing power of music I thought that only certain genres radiated healing vibrations. I thought this even though evidence came in the form of new age music that left me feeling cold, and rock or pop music that lifted my spirits or raised my energy level so that I could accomplish a task. Yet, there was another ingredient that came along that intrigued me--intent. It's similar to the person who acts like a saint out in the community but hasn't dealt with their shadows. They wear the right labels, do the right deeds, and hand out hugs like candy to children. But you some times have to wonder about the real intent behind their deeds--is it to collect more kudos, earn recognition with some community honor or award, or are they giving from their heart? Let's think about how this relates to music because musical genres really are arbitrary--and I tell you this after interviewing hundreds of musical artists and revie...

In 2005, I came up with the concept of Power Songs because as a journalist, I noticed the effects of certain music on my daily activities and moods. Then shortly after that, I came up with the concept of keeping a  music diary based on the food elimination diet and food allergy journal. So I'm surprised to find a book published in 2012 that combines brain science with music playlists. Your Playlist Can Change Your Life by Galina Mindlin, Don Durousseau and Joseph Cardillo (Source Books, 2012) , offers an easy and flowing read that revolves around using everyday music to boosts moods, relax the mind, organize the mind, create more dopamine in the brain, and so on. The authors also include exercises which are basically how-to sections on how to change your brain and neurological patterns without side effects (though some of the songs on their playlist have text messaging I wouldn't want floating around in my brain's pathways). While I do understand that including lis...

 Toning into the Realm of Weightlessness  Purposeful and intentional sound/music just took on a new meaning for me. Lyz Cooper (researcher/musician/teacher/sound therapist), combines psychoacoustics and music therapy to create sound therapy-with the difference coming from designing intentional sound recordings for the purpose of relaxation, changing brain patterns, and healing the mind-body-spirit. Cooper teaches at the British Academy of Sound Therapy, has penned two books exploring the healing power of sound, has produced sound therapy recordings, and she collaborated with Radox Spa and the ambient music band Marconi Union on the popular relaxation piece, Weightless (see video at the bottom of post). She is also a regular contributor to the Musical Healers group on Linked In (an intimate 600 member group that discussing the frontier of music vibration). Whole Music Experience: Who were your mentors and or inspiration for doing sound healing work? Lyz Cooper...

Mural at Boulevard Park, Bellingham, Washington Perhaps I take for granted my multimedia approach to artistic projects.  Art involves all the senses, even the 6th sense to such a degree that it seems foolish not to play music in the foreground or background when in the throes of making art. For instance, some writers prefer silence or the birds in trees or wind flowing through an open window while other writers play their favorite music to get them into the flow.  So let's look at the musical benefits for writers, both fiction and non-fiction. As we know music creates flow and works different parts of our brain with some music bridging the gap between the left and right hemispheres. For writers who are also musicians, taking a music break.  Playing an instrument or singing enhances our creative problem-solving abilities while engaging us deeper into the flow.  Certain types of music also uplift us, put us in a good mood, and help us to rel...

A lesson I've learned over the years researching music revolves around intention verses consciousness.  Of course, a musician or music listener could align consciousness with intention, but usually I witness one or the other.  For instance, promoters of sporting events tend to blast loud rock music to invigorate athletes and rouse the attendees.  However, loud rock music also can cause hearing loss, weaken the immune system (when the body goes into fight or flight) and interrupt the body's natural rhythms.  So in this case, we have intention minus consciousness. On the other hand, we could have consciousness in the form of music produced for specific purposes such as a sleep aid, a digestion aid or to boost energy, but the person listening to the music doesn't pay attention to the original intention of the music.  So if someone listens to a recording for relaxation while driving a car, he or she might find themselves losing alertness and in a worst case scen...

If you’re reading this blog then you’re not the average music listener.  I imagine that you prefer that music bolster some area of your life or bring healing to you on some level.  Or perhaps, you enjoy listening to music with substance composed by musicians with the intent of bringing beauty, power, and grace to the world.  As each of us grows our consciousness we need music to support us and musicians as well.  This begins with our music diets. A few years ago, I gave up eating gluten then eventually I also eliminated cow dairy from my diet.  I’m already a vegetarian so people around me asked the question, “Well, what will you eat now?”  I noticed a similar scenario when I stopped listening to pop and rock music.  People asked, “Well, then what will you listen to now?”  They asked this question because they prefer a life of limited options and ones that are spoon fed to them by the media and large corporations.  Little thoug...

Some music listeners prefer movie soundtracks for escape and healing purposes.  "The Sound of Music" gets the most mentions.  I have heard and read that the "Do re mi" song clears blocked chakras.  You can learn more about this in the late Ted Andrews' book, "Sacred Sounds". While Julia Cameron promotes morning pages (journaling therapy), I promote the concept of the music diary (keeping track of music's effects on your mind and body).  One of the tools that derives from the music diary is a set of power songs.  By tracking different music styles and songs on your mind, body, emotions, and neurological system, you discover at least 5 must-have songs that help you with insomnia, uplifting hour moods, energy-building, or for catharis (unblocking emotions). I give you an example of 5 of my power songs and their uses.  You might include these songs in your music tool kit or choose your own based on your musical observations.  I also mention t...

photo by Patricia Herlevi I woke up this morning with thoughts about how I've used music at various times in my life.  While I mainly focus on the healing aspects of music in the guise of sound healing and music therapy on this blog, consider that we heal ourselves by bonding to others, by feeling excepted by a peer group (as in the case with rock and pop music), as a form of identity, as courting ritual, and educational purposes.  We also still use music for ritualistic purposes. If your soul purpose is to heal your mind, soul and body with music then sound healing and music therapy will work best.  If you are working on raising your vibration then sound healing and listening to higher vibrational music such as Mozart, Bach, Brazilian samba, etc will help you reach this goal.  But if you're trying to bond with your teenage son or daughter, then pop, rock, and hip-hop might be the best approach, unless your teenager listens to jazz, classical, and traditional...

Photo by Patricia Herlevi So often with sound healing or the concept of healing with music, an assumption that healing music must relax us rears its head.  Healing comes in many guises and each of us needs different types of healing.  We might need to boost our immune system, or boost our energy/vitality, we might need music to help us focus better or to relax from a stressful day. This brings up one of my favorite concepts and that is purposeful music.  As we grow more conscious of how music affects our soul-mind-body, we build a music tool kit with multiple purposes.  Often I suffer from headaches and so I choose relaxing music, even drones without melody or audio sound scapes.  Some times I could use a good sound healing session with crystal bowls and tuning forks and other times I need to dance to West African drums, Brazilian samba, or need to get my body moving to something hot and Latin. The purposeful music concept visited me twice within the ...