ROCK ON!
Most of us have all sorts of personal experiences
with music. We find ourselves calmed by it, excited
by it, comforted by it, mystified by it and often
haunted by it. It can lift us out of depression or move
us to tears. I am no different. I need music to start the
day and as company when I drive. I need it when I
go for a swim or a run. I need it, finally, to still my
thoughts when I go to bed.
Since ancient times, sound and music have been
used as a powerful tool for healing, a means of communication,
and a way to lift the human spirit and
access deeper states of consciousness. The traditional
people of Africa, the Aborigines of Australia, the
Balinese and the Native American Indians all used
drums, songs and ritual dances to summon the rain,
the sun, a bountiful harvest, successful hunting and
good health.
Today, in our stressed and busy world, we are once
again turning to music as a means to heal and relax
ourselves. Music is one of the easiest ways to restore
balance. Massage therapists, psychotherapists and
healers can choose from a tremendous variety of
music that will bring their clients into a state of ease
and help the healing process. Hospitals have found
that music played during operations and in the
recovery rooms help create a better environment for
healing. Music lovers the world over are discovering
a wide selection of music recordings, some with subliminal
suggestions, which are an aid to meditation,
sleeping, stress relief, learning and even recovery
from alcoholism.
Music can also
be used effectively
for stress
management.
The key to the
best healing
experience is to
open up and listen,
not just with
your physical ears, but to feel the
vibration of the music with your whole body
and spirit. Good and quality sounds can be found in
most genre of music. Find a tune that has pleasant
associations for you or that stirs up cheerful memories.
If you want to try new sounds, then go for -
instrumental music as it tends to be more stress
relieving than music with lyrics because it doesn't
require you to think.
Research has discovered that music with the tempo
of healthy resting heartbeat will synchronise your
own breathing and heart beat, thereby slowing down
your racing body rhythms. If you are feeling anxious
and stressed out, choose music that is slow and has
regular pulse or beat to calm your racing thoughts.
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 Not being a classical fan, I see nothing wrong in
rock or hip hop if that's what you're into as long as
it's not so loud that it takes over your brain waves.
Forcing yourself to love music you dislike will just
irritate you and make things worse!
However, that's just me. I know people who find it
difficult to study in complete silence - who actually
like the buzz of noise in a coffee shop or have the
TV on low in the background. Izza Ibrahim, a second
year chemical engineering student, says she listens
to music to concentrate and block out other
noises in her house. "When I have my music on,
people leave me alone and don't bother me," she
says. "I think people should listen to whatever helps
them relax and retain information."
Izza says she listens to all kinds of music but tries to
keep to music she's familiar with when studying as
she doesn't want to be focusing on the words of
songs she has never heard before. "I hate silence and
I hate noise," she said. "So, when I need to focus on
my studies, I listen to instrumental music as it is less
likely to be a distraction." In Izza's case she finds it
hard to pay multiple attention to two sources.
Instrumental music works for her as it functions as a
background music, whereas music with words may
split her focus.
Pauline Yap, a Form Six student, says she has found
that it helps to listen to sounds of nature when she's
studying. She plays an hour-long CD of a thunderstorm
and it blocks out distractions around her.
Some people find they sometimes work well with
music, and sometimes don't, depending on their
mood. The best way to find what works for you is to
try both, with and without music, and assess which
session you feel you got most out of. Then you have
your answer.
All types of music affect us physically, psychologically,
emotionally and spiritually. Find a tune to
make your work even more effective, to dance to, to
relax with or to take you to deeper states of consciousness
on your own healing journey.
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