No doubt you've watched a child, "shake his bootie" when he hears fast-beat music. Or you've sung a soft lullaby to rock her to sleep. Music moves our brian waves. Research shows us how....
Red and green jagged lines scroll across the computer screen as soft “bubbling creek” music plays in the McDaniel College lab. From the intensity of the spikes, students read the wave of activity in their professor’s right- and left-brain hemispheres.
What are these brain waves and how do they work? According to Dimitri Valouev, Institute of Higher Nervous Activity & Neuro-physiology, Moscow, there are four brain waves, BETA, ALPHA, THETA, DELTA described as follows:
Good BETA & Bad BETA frequencies…Good Beta correspond to states of great clarity....
Bad Beta correspond to "hyperactive", compulsive behaviours.
ALPHA waves -- When we close our eyes & relax inside the electric activity of our brain produces somewhat slower waves. When we are in Alpha, we can visualize scenes on our inner psychic screen, our imagination becomes vivid, we are peaceful & relaxed .
THETA, In deeper states yet, we reach a slower type of activity, a precise signal that we are in highly creative states, able to shuffle down information and reshuffle it into other new directions. In these creative or flow states we can have sudden intuitions giving us seemingly ready-made insights & new solutions to old unresolved problems (the EUREKA state!).
DELTA waves -- Very very slow waves corresponding to unconscious information processing, subconscious scanning of environment to find important information for survival ...We can learn to develop and recognize these different brain waves & access to our higher potential.
So how do these brain wave facts affect us? If we use music to alter our brain waves, we can enhance our creativity or diminish times of stress. Don Campbell’s findings show our heart responds to music. Heart rates speed up or slow down to match the music we hear. The faster the music, the faster the heart beats! Like slower breathing, lower heartbeat creates less stress and helps the body heal itself.
Ellen Weber provides a great list based on Campbell’s Mozart Effect so that you can select kinds of music to match your needs.
Heavy metal and hip-hop excites our nervous system, and sometimes leads us into acting out dynamic behavior and self-expression.
Rock, from Elvis Presley to the Rolling Stones, stirs passion and activity, and so can release daily tensions. Rock can also mask pain and cover up unpleasant noises. It also has the power to create dissonance, stress or physical pain if we are not in the mood for energizing.
Salsa, rhumba, merengue and any form of South American music sets our hearts racing, gets us moving, both relaxing us and awakening us at the same time. Top 40, Country or
Big Band, engages our emotions and comfort us.
Jazz, blues, soul or calypso can uplift and inspire us, releasing deep joy or even deep sadness, conveying wit and affirming our common humanity.
Classical, such as Haydn and Mozart, often improves concentration and memory when played in the background.
Slower Baroque, such as Bach, Handel, Vivaldi or Corelli, can create mentally stimulating environments for creativity and new innovations.
Romantic – such as, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky , Chopin and Liszt, enhances our senses and increases a sense of sympathy and love.
Religious and sacred, such as hymns and gospel moves us to feel grounded in the moment, and leads to deep peace and spiritual awareness. Sacred music often helps us to transcend pain.
Impressionist, such as Debussy, Faure and Ravel, can unlock dreamlike images that put us in touch with our unconscious thoughts and belief systems.
Ambient or New Age, such as Stephen Halpern and Brian Eno has no dominant rhythm, so it elongates the sense of space and time, inducing a state of relaxed alertness.
Gregorian chant creates quiet in our minds and can reduce stress.
Why not begin experimenting and see how different kinds of music can improve you to next levels?
