Music for Your Well-being
The stars should have aligned much earlier for me to produce a piece about music and wellbeing:
- First, it’s about music and that is so high up there in my priority list
- Second, it’s about neuroscience, and if you’ve read anything on this site, you’ll know my ongoing obsession with what we are learning from neuroscientists.
Somehow I got lost trying to juggle too many things:
- A review of my favorite music from the last year – it had become an annual tradition to share this list with a circle of music loving friends.
- The cool article I read about reducing anxiety by listening to certain songs:
3. My own search for songs that could bring down stress
4. A quick read through Daniel Levitin’s ‘This is Your Brain on Music’.
5. And, a desire to somehow bring all these things together in one short(ish) unbelievable blog.
So, you may guess what happened, trying to reflect on more than 4 things is very difficult for our rational brain, and this was proof of how hard it is to overcome that limitation. Once I applied this insight, I recognized that a more limited focus would help me produce something. So, there are basically 3 pieces to this blog now – and the search for the killer conclusion will have to wait. Here they are:
- Music to reduce stress
- Insights from Daniel Levitin on what music does to our brains
- A list of songs from my Best of 2016 playlist – ENJOY!
Reducing Stress
The article above shares research that certain songs can reduce your anxiety by up to 65%. Here are some selections from my ‘Mindfulness 2017’ playlist intended to lower stress (I have included some songs from the article):
- Air – Alone in Kyoto
- Duettino “Canzonetta sull’aria (Nozze De Figaro – Mozart)
- Weightless – Marconi Union
- Cranes in the Sky – Solange
- Someone Like You – Adele
- Strawberry Swing – Coldplay
- Simple Things – Zero 7
- Bossa Per Due – Nicola Conte
- Harry Patch (in Memory Of) – Radiohead
- Beach House – Wishes
Highlights from Your Brain on Music
This is a wonderful book that dives into what music does to our brain, and the vital function it plays. I am not doing justice to the depth and range of the book, but here are some things I learned:
- Levitin argues that music is fundamental to our species – the relationship is thousands and thousands of years old.
- Music taps into primitive brain structures involve with motivation, reward and emotion. It is clearly a way to improve our moods.
- Music confuses the traditional left brain – right brain description. It moves functions between the supposed creative and logical sides of the brain.
- Music engages our brain in almost every area that has been identified so far. This can be used against us by movie makers or marketeers to engage us in a way that is not possible without music.
I’d like to join the book club discussion that reads this book.
Last but not least – 2016 my favorite sounds
Another year that did not appear exceptional produced some late breaking works , really worth listening to. Maybe the changing political landscape was a factor. Arbitrarily, I decided to choose 1 song from my preferred artists – tell me if you want more:
- Solange – Rise
- Michael Kiwanuka – Love and Hate
- Margo Price – Hands of Time
- Dylan LeBlanc – Cautionary Tale
- Karl Blau – Fallin’ Rain
- Frank Ocean – Pink and White
- ANOHNI – 4 Degrees
- Darlingside – Birds Say
Great shows from 2016:
- Avett Brothers – I Wish I Was
- Lumineers – Sleep on the floor
- Songhoy Blues – Soubour [if you love blues/Malian music, you need to own this]
Old favorities:
- Radiohead – Daydreaming
- Wilco – Just Say Goodbye
- Sturgill Simpson – All Around You
- Drive by Truckers – What it means
Respected artists who passed in 2016
- David Bowie – Black Star (I know there are Prince, Sharon Jones and Leonard Cohen songs that belong here too)
Favorites from so long ago, I probably wasn’t keeping a list:
- Rene Marie – Blessings
Love to hear your comments and recommendations on my recommendations.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!