InnerHealingMusic.com

Archive for March, 2009

By now most people are well aware of the overwhelming positive healing benefits of music, both in the physical body as well as in the mind. The fundamental elements that make this possible in any given piece of music regardless of most genres are melody, harmony and rhythm. I would like to offer another component to this mix that is without question the most essential ingredient, and that is immersion. I will attempt to briefly discuss each of the musical facets in some detail before closing with immersion.

Melody: The melody is comprised of intervals, (distance between two notes) scales (usually in western music major and minor) and phrasing (breath spots.) In a melody in which we would call “soothing”, at least two of the three melodic aspects should be present. For example we may have phrasing that is sporadic, and still be okay with a major tonality whose intervals are easily sung or repeated.

Harmony: In this element we are usually talking about chords (three or more tonalities usually major or minor that are played together) and the rhythmic changes (how fast each chord changes to the next) of these chords. In a harmonic progression that would “flow” or move as our ear anticipates it should, we would want to have both the chords staying within a tonality,  (most commonly major or minor) and that harmonic tonality moving in an even rhythm usually every two, four or eight beats. However, if we had an even harmonic rhythm and less than desirable tonalities (outside our western music’s major and minor system) that would work, albeit not as well, but work just the same.

Rhythm: The rhythmic aspect of music is what we would call pulse, or that which makes us tap our foot,  dance or go to sleep. This element while quite important to how our body responds, may vary somewhat from steady or even tempo to a slightly uneven tempo, and in fact there are quite a few relaxation pieces that do exactly that.

Immersion: This is our ability to be absorbed in and by the music, not being distracted by anything else, and to listen with each and every fiber of our being. This is what is required and essential to see true physical (blood pressure, heart rate, brain wave) and emotional changes (depression, anxiety) both in our bodies and in our mind. If we are to gain any real positive benefits from listening to music, then we must do just that…..listen. More often than not music is used as ear candy to entice us to spend more money at the shopping mall,  shorten that drive to work, or to get us through our daily workout. While all of these are fine in and of themselves, if music is to be used for it’s highest healing good it must be absorbed consciously, deliberately and yes…….even sacredly. Here’s to your health via through your ears.