Music for Relaxation

Recently ran across a link to this article:
https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/neuroscience-says-listening-to-this-one-song-reduces-anxiety-by-up-to-65-percent.html
It's supposed to list some of the best relaxing music according to a scientific study.

Would be curious what others think of these tunes. Do you find them relaxing? They didn't seem to do much for me. What are your favorite songs for relaxing?

I think I came across this some time ago and I agree with you, it seemed to be more about someone's personal taste and everyone's is a bit different. I'm listening again to the song and while it's OK, I'm not resonating to it.

I have a huge collection of music, much of it relaxing to me. I tend to favor light cheerful melodious harmonic music in many genres. I'm not big on base, distorted sounds, autotune, screaming.

OK, I've had enough of that recording, it's not soothing to me.

melodiccolor wrote:I have a huge collection of music, much of it relaxing to me.  I tend to favor light cheerful melodious harmonic music in many genres.  I'm not big on base, distorted sounds, autotune, screaming.

Any favorites you recommend?

Was thinking maybe those tunes in the article weren't particularly suited to some demgraphics such as possibly HSPs. I do like Enya, but that's not one of my favorite songs from her. I seem to like soundscapes for relaxation especially if they have bird and/or water sounds. One of my favorite soundscape albums is H20 a Solitudes Ambient Experience.

I'm starting to find it's fun to try to put playlists together on Spotify that could be shared with others. It might be a fun thing to try on this forum, sharing favorite playlists related to improving moods. I'm also finding some of the songs I like aren't available on Spotify. I personally prefer the sound a real CD or record to something streamed over the Internet (in a lossy format). The sound quality seems better. So, if I like a song and can find it, I'll buy it rather than listen to it on Spotify. Spotify is nice for hearing new songs before you decide if you want to add them to your collection though.

The NatickFOSS Linux group mentioned at their last meeting about an AI project to finish Beethoven's unfinished 10th symphony. Thought the project sounded interesting. More info and a sample of the work are available at these links:
https://theconversation.com/how-a-team-of-musicologists-and-computer-scientists-completed-beethovens-unfinished-10th-symphony-168160
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RESb0QVkLcM

lm8 wrote:

melodiccolor wrote:I have a huge collection of music, much of it relaxing to me.  I tend to favor light cheerful melodious harmonic music in many genres.  I'm not big on base, distorted sounds, autotune, screaming.

Any favorites you recommend?

Was thinking maybe those tunes in the article weren't particularly suited to some demgraphics such as possibly HSPs.  I do like Enya, but that's not one of my favorite songs from her.  I seem to like soundscapes for relaxation especially if they have bird and/or water sounds.  One of my favorite soundscape albums is H20 a Solitudes Ambient Experience.  

I'm starting to find it's fun to try to put playlists together on Spotify that could be shared with others.  It might be a fun thing to try on this forum, sharing favorite playlists related to improving moods.  I'm also finding some of the songs I like aren't available on Spotify.  I personally prefer the sound a real CD or record to something streamed over the Internet (in a lossy format).  The sound quality seems better.  So, if I like a song and can find it, I'll buy it rather than listen to it on Spotify.  Spotify is nice for hearing new songs before you decide if you want to add them to your collection though.

I have such eclectic tastes so I don't expect them to match others.  That said, lately I've been enjoying a lot of folk, like Anderson Gram, Kate Wolf, Fraser and Haas (Celtic instrumental), and the recently discovered Raveis Kole, some smooth Jazz such as Mindi Abair, and Keiko Matsui, Jesse Cook and more.  I like gentle melodic music with interesting lyrics, good musicality.  I am not fond of elevator type music, bland remakes of originals, 2nd rate covers.

(Sorry, I didn't see this post until today.)

lm8 wrote:Recently ran across a link to this article:
https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/neuroscience-says-listening-to-this-one-song-reduces-anxiety-by-up-to-65-percent.html
It's supposed to list some of the best relaxing music according to a scientific study.  

Would be curious what others think of these tunes.  Do you find them relaxing?  They didn't seem to do much for me.  What are your favorite songs for relaxing?

Yes, I liked most of these selections and do find them to be relaxing and meditative. My musical tastes cover a wide spectrum from jazz, blues, folk, country, rock, ethnic, world music, ethereal, meditative, nature, experimental. Anything non-abrasive is good.

I've been following Music from the Hearts of Space for decades for relaxing on Sunday nights on a local radio station.

Selections available on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hearts+of+space

The HOS website has over a thousand archived and current one hour shows, each with a theme:
https://v4.hos.com/home

"Where words fail, music speaks." -- Hans Christian Andersen

Grasshopper wrote:

lm8 wrote:Recently ran across a link to this article:
https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/neuroscience-says-listening-to-this-one-song-reduces-anxiety-by-up-to-65-percent.html
It's supposed to list some of the best relaxing music according to a scientific study.  

Would be curious what others think of these tunes.  Do you find them relaxing?  They didn't seem to do much for me.  What are your favorite songs for relaxing?

Yes, I liked most of these selections and do find them to be relaxing and meditative. My musical tastes cover a wide spectrum from jazz, blues, folk, country, rock, ethnic, world music, ethereal, meditative, nature, experimental. Anything non-abrasive is good.

I've been following Music from the Hearts of Space for decades for relaxing on Sunday nights on a local radio station.

Selections available on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hearts+of+space

The HOS website has over a thousand archived and current one hour shows, each with a theme:
https://v4.hos.com/home

"Where words fail, music speaks." -- Hans Christian Andersen

I think you shared that with me once, but it's been some time. I'll have to explore the archive more.

I just ran across these articles about music and why we need it:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sense-and-sensitivity/201901/why-sensitive-people-need-music

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/202110/5-reasons-why-we-listen-music

Grasshopper wrote:I just ran across these articles about music and why we need it:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sense-and-sensitivity/201901/why-sensitive-people-need-music

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/202110/5-reasons-why-we-listen-music

Those look like nice basic overviews. I don't think they go deep enough. For example it is not just humans who relate to music or even music within species. It seems to affect many species and entire families of animals, such as birds, felines, canine and primates, dolphin and whales to name a few. Why is that? Does it serve the same basic functions in all these species?

Saying HSP take music in more deeply does not need an article saying so; it's fairly obvious.

Yes, animals and nature make music too. I remember some records I had years ago of bird and whale songs, and crickets in the countryside. And wind hitting giant tuning forks.
There is an art sculpture at Marina Green in San Francisco called the Wave Organ with pipes in the bay that pick up the sounds of the waves that make eerie music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_Organ

It's more than that; I've observed birds, cats and dogs participating in music made by humans; they clearly enjoy the music of other species, not just their own! It's fascinating and speaks to something really basic that so many have this trait in common.

Song and dance are the rhythms of life and the universe as so many poets have gloriously written about.

melodiccolor wrote:It's more than that;  I've observed birds, cats and dogs participating in music made by humans;  they clearly enjoy the music of other species, not just their own!

I don't think my dog cared much about music. Only times he seemed to notice it were when a song had thunder in it and he freaked and there was one song with whistling and that got his attention.

They mentioned at a lecture on birding that birds have a very similar hearing range to humans which I thought was interesting. I typically consider most animals sounds as language not an opportunity to make music, but who knows. Their intent could be musical communication in some cases.

Also saw something about using music to help regain communication after a stroke. They said music is less localized in the brain than speech. So, in some cases, it's easier to relearn speaking using music when a part of the brain is damaged and then relearning normal speech than just trying to relearn speach.

lm8 wrote:

melodiccolor wrote:It's more than that;  I've observed birds, cats and dogs participating in music made by humans;  they clearly enjoy the music of other species, not just their own!

I don't think my dog cared much about music.  Only times he seemed to notice it were when a song had thunder in it and he freaked and there was one song with whistling and that got his attention.

They mentioned at a lecture on birding that birds have a very similar hearing range to humans which I thought was interesting.  I typically consider most animals sounds as language not an opportunity to make music, but who knows.  Their intent could be musical communication in some cases.

Also saw something about using music to help regain communication after a stroke.  They said music is less localized in the brain than speech.  So, in some cases, it's easier to relearn speaking using music when a part of the brain is damaged and then relearning normal speech than just trying to relearn speach.

I used to play penny whistle when in nature, even hiking sometimes. Birds would join in and I've noticed if I am listening to music while the windows are open, quite often birds will sing along with it and stop when the music stops. I sing with my cats. Yes it's communication, but isn't all music? I remember singing with a friend's dog when I was a teen and later with my sister in law's dog. Dogs and cats don't always join in vocally but it's really fun when they do. Sometimes they participate in subtler ways but it's clear they love the music. I'm not sure squirrels joined in with my penny whistle or were just objecting to me in their territory, chittering away at me, lol. It likely was the latter. I played while hiking because the area had a heavy rattle snake population and I figured if they heard me coming, we'd avoid surprise encounters. It worked well.

As for your dog, could it be she/he had a hearing problem? Or perhaps, like some humans, your dog just didn't connect emotionally to music.

That makes sense. It's a solid learning technique with a learning disability or head injury to use other techniques to connect verbal language, such as sign language. Music would work very well.

melodiccolor wrote:
As for your dog, could it be she/he had a hearing problem?  Or perhaps, like some humans, your dog just didn't connect emotionally to music.

My dogs had excellent hearing. Better than humans. I've seen some animals that pay attention to things like the TV or the stereo. Mine typically ignored it.

Our cat likes to stare at the TV for lengthy periods sometimes--perhaps it has a hypnotic effect. She otherwise has a very short attention span and has no problem sleeping thru hours with the radio on.

That does make sense about stroke patients responding to music better than words. Music is more instinctual--why mothers sing to babies and babies respond.

Studies were done decades ago how plants flourished with classical music and wilted with heavy rock music.

Maybe it's the kind of music that is played that makes the difference for our pets and nearby wildlife?

melodiccolor wrote:Maybe it's the kind of music that is played that makes the difference for our pets and nearby wildlife?

Not to mention people. Some bars play loud boisterous music which repels me but apparently attracts others.

Out on walks I've occasionally encountered music from homes, passing cars, or boom boxes that are a delight, such as Ravel's Bolero,  Adelle's Someone Like You, or classical pieces. More often passing cars may be blasting rap with max bass.

lm8 wrote:
I'm starting to find it's fun to try to put playlists together on Spotify that could be shared with others.  It might be a fun thing to try on this forum, sharing favorite playlists related to improving moods.  I'm also finding some of the songs I like aren't available on Spotify.  I personally prefer the sound a real CD or record to something streamed over the Internet (in a lossy format).  The sound quality seems better.  So, if I like a song and can find it, I'll buy it rather than listen to it on Spotify.  Spotify is nice for hearing new songs before you decide if you want to add them to your collection though.

I have a huge collection of CDs and LPs (probably close to a thousand). I did live music radio shows in college and started collecting. I don't buy much these days. I find YouTube to be a treasure trove of any kind of music you can think of. You can also create your own playlists and share with others with a personal YouTube channel of your own (all you need is a free Google account). I have one at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH4raJSshijHdwOcmb46ywQ

It's not very well organized at this point as I randomly add anything that I like.

Grasshopper wrote:

melodiccolor wrote:Maybe it's the kind of music that is played that makes the difference for our pets and nearby wildlife?

Not to mention people. Some bars play loud boisterous music which repels me but apparently attracts others.

Out on walks I've occasionally encountered music from homes, passing cars, or boom boxes that are a delight, such as Ravel's Bolero,  Adelle's Someone Like You, or classical pieces. More often passing cars may be blasting rap with max bass.

I'm so with you on what attracts and repels me in music.

HSP take in more information and often have more acute senses than others (but to my surprise that latter varies quite a bit, it just happens more often in HSP than those who are not). Since most species have far better hearing than humans, perhaps they too are attracted to the same kinds of music and overwhelmed with the overly loud slightly off key crap.

They have the Taiko drummers play at events at one of the local museums. It always draws huge crowds. I could never figure out why it was so popular. The beating makes my whole body pound from the vibrations and it feels extremely uncomfortable. I get that with a lot of music that has a strong vibrational base. Never realized other people may not be feeling any pain when they hear these things. It's not even that they might be partially deaf and can't hear the loud sounds. It would be that they could not feel the vibrations. Even deaf people can feel music when there's enough of a vibration.

lm8 wrote:They have the Taiko drummers play at events at one of the local museums.  It always draws huge crowds.  I could never figure out why it was so popular.  The beating makes my whole body pound from the vibrations and it feels extremely uncomfortable.  I get that with a lot of music that has a strong vibrational base.  Never realized other people may not be feeling any pain when they hear these things.  It's not even that they might be partially deaf and can't hear the loud sounds.  It would be that they could not feel the vibrations.  Even deaf people can feel music when there's enough of a vibration.

It's an interesting point. Strong percussion is painful to me if too loud, not just aurally but tactilely as well. Yet I know of many HSP who really enjoy this. We are all quite different in this way. It really surprised my how many HSP do like it.

However I've yet to meet a person who is not HSP who has a problem with it.

I actually like Taiko drumming (if I don't have to be too close, it's better outdoors). There is something tribal and exciting about it that I like that attracts crowds of people. I do choose my venues carefully and always reserve the right to leave if it gets too much for me.
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Strange, I can swear I posted this item to this thread earlier this afternoon but it apparently didn't take. So, take 2:

Singing lemurs and our search for the evolutionary origins of human musicality:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/science/lemurs-rhythm-singing.html

The Golden Gate Bridge has lately become a musical instrument for the wind. Some find the sound beautiful, others very annoying. The engineers are working on a plan to eliminate it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXfGqV7i3yM

Similarly, the Sutro Tower broadcasting antenna (1000 feet in height) in the city makes eerie sounds on a windy day like a giant tuning fork!

Grasshopper wrote:I actually like Taiko drumming (if I don't have to be too close, it's better outdoors). There is something tribal and exciting about it that I like that attracts crowds of people. I do choose my venues carefully and always reserve the right to leave if it gets too much for me.
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Strange, I can swear I posted this item to this thread earlier this afternoon but it apparently didn't take. So, take 2:

Singing lemurs and our search for the evolutionary origins of human musicality:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/science/lemurs-rhythm-singing.html

That article was interesting. There is one assumption stated in it though that I know is not true, that there is no other animal that moves rhythmically to music. There are others, including cats. Those of us who know cats know they like to "follow" by walking in front, often slowly or stopping which trips us up. I solve that by singing a rhythmic lively tune which causes them to trot to the beat perfectly, tails raised high and prevents the problem of being stalled out or tripped by them. This has worked will all my cats both past and present.

I seem to have some memories of seals and parrots bobbing their heads to human music too.

Still it's a worthy pursuit looking for the connections of human music to that of other species and it's evolutionary roles.

I came across this by chance; what lovely relaxing music! I love it!

Wonderful! Thanks for posting

I love to listen to Erik Satie while relaxing or reading:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr4azoVLqL0

Grasshopper wrote:I love to listen to Erik Satie while relaxing or reading:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr4azoVLqL0

Listening now. I just got online a short time ago.

I like what I hear so far; it's very soothing.