Grieving people often find comfort in music.  Music has the power to touch the soul, and can often sum up what we are feeling better than words.  Memories are helpful in the grieving process, and certain songs are reminders of our loved ones who have passed on.  Music captures images of our loved ones and reminds us of special times.  I still have tears when I hear a song that my brother and I used to play as a duet on the piano, even though he has been gone for many, many years.  Crying is a healthy part of grieving, and there is no timeline for when it is over.
Losing a loved one can make even a “non-religious” person have questions, and ponder the meaning of life and death.  Music is a form of prayer, resonating and awakening your sense of God, Higher Power, Universal Energy, Creator, or whatever label you want to use.  All forms of   music  can bring you into a deep, full, rich and all-pervading sense of passion, love and awe.  Music is an infinite expression of soul.  It’s no secret that the timeless “Amazing Grace” is often heard at a Memorial Service, providing inspiration and healing.

When choosing music for a Memorial Service, select music that will be comforting and uplifting to you, your family and friends.  Part of the music may be sorrowful/deep and part of it uplifting/ joyful.  Also choose some music that will remind you of your loved one, perhaps one of their favorite songs.

Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine.  It brings us near to the infinite.   Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

Please enjoy my harp rendition of  “Amazing Grace.”   You can also listen to samples of my other healing harp music at heavenlyharpist.com.

Often musicians can bring unity to people worldwide with a musical concert to benefit a charitable cause or raise funds to aid victims of a catastrophe—like the concerts organized immediately following the destruction of New York’s Twin Towers on 9-11.  Even if the language isn’t understood, people everywhere can share the emotions, feelings, memories, joy or sadness inspired by the music. As the notes and harmonies reverberate through our bodies, the shared feelings allow us to know that we are not alone but are connected.

Political views in the United States can sometimes be set aside with the presence of music. People from the far left and far right often share their love of certain music, and in their hearts they all want peace. Listening to that music together may sometimes reveal mutual understanding and allow communications to open.

We all seem to be aligned on a higher consciousness level with certain rhythms and melodies. Sound and vibration affect us, and certain music brings up similar emotions in everyone, no matter what language we speak.

Taliban supporters and other extreme Islamic groups feel threatened by music and consider music to be their enemy. Music-related shops, DVD and CD shops have been banned and have been the target of militants’ bombs. And yet, the arts and music have never been suppressed despite such efforts as these. Even in those places, the power and resilience of music, with its potential for healing, lives on.

The song “Let There Be Peace on Earth” has been translated into many languages. Those who are familiar with the song only have to hear the melody to feel that there is hope for peace.

I want to share with you here my harp recording of “Let There Be Peace on Earth,”  please click the link to listen.

You can download this track from my album at Amazon, iTunes, and Rhapsody.  The entire CD, “Healing from the Harp” is available at www.heavenlyharpist.com/healing-music-cd.htm, where you can hear samples of all the music on the CD.

I also made a video recently “Let There Be Peace on Earth”, which I offer for your enjoyment.

1. The brain responds to rhythm, melody and patterns, which increases the brain’s neural pathways.   Whether performing or listening to music, more neural connections in the brain are activated.  This leads to easier learning.
2. Learning a musical instrument has long-term effects on the brain because it enhances the development of reason, memory, logic, visual shapes, and math.  One of Mozart’s favorite hobbies was math, and music is highly structured like math.
3. Music increases your child’s verbal memory.  A study at the University of Heidelberg in Germany showed that the auditory cortex of musicians was 130 percent larger than that of nonmusicians. A benefit of the larger cortex size is the ability to learn verbal skills faster and to remember them easier.
4. Listening to background music improves learning. The steady rhythm, melodic movement, mood and harmony of music makes it easier to take in new concepts and ideas.
5. Music creates a balance in the brain. Learning new material such as math is a very left-brained activity, and music helps the brain to form patterns that enhance concentration.  The music also awakens the creative, artistic right side of the brain for balance.

Give your child the opportunity to participate in music programs, whether at school or privately.  They’ll thank you for it someday!

You can find more information about how music aids learning in my  book, Music, Healing and Harmony. 

Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.  Plato (429-347  B.C)

Music is Organized Vibration

Have you ever had a change of mood – felt completely different when you heard certain music?  You were absorbing the invisible vibrations of sound, and that affected the cells of your body.  Each tiny vibrating atom or combination of sound waves (harmony) will change matter, including the electrical activity of the brain and body.  This is quantum physics.   I use the term Quantum Harmony when referring to the effects of music on our state of being.  Music is really organized vibration.

Your own vibrations (brain waves, heartbeat, breath) eventually get in sync or “entrained” with the wave lengths of the music.  This is why your favorite music makes you relaxed, nostalgic, energized or happy, depending upon what music you choose.  Oriental healers describe this as “getting in balance,” since they say that a sick person is “out of balance.”

Sounds send messages to the brain, and the brain sends messages throughout the body. This can dramatically change the EEG (brain wave patterns), heart rate, hormonal level, and state of consciousness.

The Music of the Spheres Really Exists

Sound exists whether we can hear it or not.  Even the sounds emitted by rotating planets and opening roses can be heard when amplified.  Our universe seems to be held together by sound (organized vibration) in all its various pitches and tones. Science has finally proven that the “music of the spheres” really does exist.

Vibrations from Harp Music are Healing

Since ordered vibration (sound) holds our bodies together, any invasion of this order will have some effect, whether neutral, positive or negative. Sometimes we are annoyed by a sound, but can’t explain why. The reason may be that the vibrations are disoriented or dissonant.  The vibrations from a harp seem to be especially powerful for changing our energy. There have been many cases of disease or pain going into remission from playing or listening to harp music.

Everything in the Universe is in a State of Vibration

Everything in existence — atoms, molecules, cells, human beings, the entire universe and, yes, music — is in a state of continuous vibration.  Everything vibrates at a particular frequency.  Speaking, laughter and even silence produce vibrations.We have the power to manipulate and control energy through the vibrations of music.  You can’t see the sound waves or vibrations traveling through air unless you intentionally measure the speed of the sound waves with a mechanical tuner and calculate that speed in numbers or hertz.  (Hertz is the term used for cycles per second of sound waves.)

We Like Music that Matches our Energy

We are drawn to the type of music that has rhythms, pitches and frequencies similar to our own. Teenagers, much to the dismay of their parents, seem drawn to loud music that is full of energy and disharmony and has a strong beat. Teenagers themselves, with their raging hormones, are full of nervous energy.  Therapists, teachers and parents may be able to calm teenagers by first playing music the teenager prefers, then gradually switching to more peaceful music.  (Notice that I used the words may be able to calm teenagers.)

Choose your Music to Match the Vibration you Want

I invite you to be aware of the music you hear or perform.  What do you need?  When you want to relax, simply listen to relaxing music.  If you need some energy, listen to more lively music.  When you want to study or concentrate, listen to music that has clarity and elegance.  Let me know how you use music to change your mood or energy level.

Relax with Music by Playing an Instrument

I recently went to a coffee shop to take a break from my work. Sitting nearby me was a young man strumming on his guitar with his eyes closed. He looked very relaxed as if he was in another world. Just observing and listening to him put me in a relaxed state.  It reminded me of how often I use music to relax by playing my harp or piano.  We all have times when we want to forget about our daily challenges, and music is a quick way to do that. When your life seems hectic and stressful, you can pick up a musical instrument or sing to calm your mind and body.  Making music releases endorphins in your brain which results in lower levels of stress.  If you don’t already play an instrument, you can get an inexpensive drum, making up rhythmic patterns as you release tension. Beating on a drum either by yourself or in a drumming circle is a wonderful way to relax.   Take some time to make music and forget your daily worries.

Singing Relieves Stress 

Your voice is your natural instrument, and it’s another wonderful way to relax.  Singing can change your mood very quickly, whether you’re a trained singer or just love to sing.  You can sing or hum along with instrumental music.  You can sing all by yourself as you walk around the house or outdoors.  You can sing with a chorus or choir.  The possibilities are endless, and they all help you relax.

Music Helps Stimulate the Immune System

Music and creativity both help us release the part of ourselves that gets enmeshed with our everyday work and the stress of life.  We spend a lot of time trying to get something accomplished or being on a schedule, but music is an end destination, almost meditative. You can be immersed in the moment instead of thinking about what needs to be done today, next week or next year. Music leads to relaxation, which gives the immune system a boost, and this leads to better health.

Six Ways to Use Music for Relaxation

1. If you know how to play an instrument, pick it up and play some of your favorite songs or pieces.

2. Improvise, playing whatever comes to mind.  Try matching the music to your mood with  tempo and color.  Now try changing the tempo of the music to the mood you want.

3. If you’ve always wanted to play an instrument, check out teachers and the cost of the instrument.  It’s never too late to begin.

4. Join a chorus or choir to experience the combined beauty and energy of many voices.

5. Sing or hum along with some recorded music.

6. Immerse yourself in the music and forget about everything else for a while.  Even if it’s only for a short time, you’ll end up more relaxed with renewed energy.

.

Health is Harmony

Good health is our natural state, and results from being in harmony. When in harmony we’re happier, feel more joy and are healthier. Illness is being out of balance or not in harmony. It has long been accepted that music directly influences pulse, blood pressure, the electrical energy of the brain, muscles and our mood, creating inner harmony even though we might not be conscious of how this happened. Research is now providing concrete proof of the healing power of music. New technologies in neuroscience even allow us to see the living brain as people listen to, imagine, perform and compose music, making visible the power of harmony.

Disease is disharmony. Health is harmony. The well-documented placebo effect shows that the mind influences the body. If you believe something strongly, you can actually change your molecules and body chemistry. We are holistic beings and what goes on in the body also affects the brain and mind; the stomach is a good example. The vitamins, chemicals, minerals, food, medicine (whatever you put in your stomach) change the way all the organs of the body are operating, including the brain. Other things that enter the body also affect it, including sound. Eighty percent of bodily stimuli come through our ears, affecting the brain and the rest of the body. When you hear music that you like, the brain changes the emotion you feel into a chemical message composed of tiny matter. The message then goes to every cell in your body, producing all kinds of beneficial changes.

Another definition of health is: being in a condition of wholeness, freedom from defect or separation, being in balance. When we heal something, it means to bring back together or to make whole, to harmonize. What better way to do this than with music?

Boost your Immune System and Fortify Your Body with Music

Listen to your favorite music for at least 30 minutes a day to boost your immune system. Slow or moderate-tempo music is used to lower blood pressure, basal metabolism and respiration rates, and benefit the immune system. Music lowers the stress hormone cortisol by as much as 25 percent. Music increases endorphins in the brain, which makes you feel good and helps to reduce pain. Music also raises levels of immunoglobulin, which fortifies the immune system, speeds healing, reduces infection, and controls heart rate. This helps to reduce the chances of catching a cold or an upper respiratory infection. Music is sometimes used in drug and alcohol detoxification, and as an aid for those with learning disabilities. It has also been helpful with Alzheimer’s patients, as well as the chronically or temporarily ill, the injured and the dying.

Turn dissonance into harmony with music.

The most beautiful and healing music resolves dissonance into harmony. Choose beautiful harmonious music, if that’s your desired state of being. This is also a pattern in life—turn dissonance into harmony.

Why listen to irritating, dissonant, atonal music that will transfer to your energy? Instead, choosing music that’s harmonic and beautiful engenders harmony and good spirits affecting us positively in every way. In both life and music, we need harmony, a balancing of contrasts: yin-yang, feminine-masculine, major-minor, loud-soft, reflective-joyful, pleasure-pain, dissonance-harmony. Ideally, music will strike a balance between the head and the heart (intellect and emotion), as well.

I invite you to participate in an experiment; choose your music for one week according to how you want to feel. Let me know the music you chose and the results!

You can listen to samples of my harp music at www.heavenlyharpist.com/harp-cd. May it bring you much harmony!

Romantic and Relaxing Harp Music Enhances Listeners’ Experience;
Yet Being the Harpist Can Be Exciting!

On a very busy weekend I got a call from someone who said that he and his wife were going to spend the night at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. They had stayed there the night of their wedding 10 years before. To add to the romance of the occasion, he wanted to surprise his wife the next morning with harp music. I was glad to accept such a delightful gig.

Early Saturday morning I loaded my big concert harp in the car and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco. After unloading the harp I left it in the lobby of the Fairmont, drove to a nearby parking garage, and walked back to the hotel. I then wheeled my harp around many hallways and rode up an elevator to reach the couple’s room. The husband came to the door and motioned for me to bring the harp in. His wife was ecstatic.

I serenaded them for an hour as they had breakfast, taking many requests. When it was time for me to go, they asked if I would play I Left My Heart In San Francisco. The wife had tears in her eyes as I played the song, and she insisted that her husband buy one of my CD’s before I left.

Feeling happy I wheeled my harp into the elevator, and three more people entered to go down to the lobby. One of them said, “Oh, are we going to have elevator music?” “Of course,” I responded. So I gave them a relaxing little concert on my harp (elevator music) on our journey down.

After wheeling my harp back around the various hallways I arrived again at the lobby. (I now understand what mice in a maze feel.) I left my harp against a wall in the lobby and walked the 1 ½ blocks to the parking garage, thinking about the morning’s events. After collecting my car and paying the fees, I proceeded to set off for home, still recalling the enchanting encounter with the romantic couple and the fun elevator music, then thinking ahead to the rest of the weekend and my other gigs.

As I approached the Golden Gate Bridge, I said to myself, “The weather is pleasant—about 70 degrees—so the harp will be fine in my car until I leave for the wedding this afternoon.” Then I thought, “Oh. I forgot to put the cover on the harp.” With that, reality struck! “Oh! … I left my harp in San Francisco!”

Fifteen minutes later the harp was safely in my car as I again approached the bridge, crossed, and headed home. In one morning I had experienced romance, nostalgia, panic, humiliation, relief, then humor—all in a very short space of time. The song, I Left My Heart In San Francisco, has taken on a new meaning for me!

To listen to some relaxing elevator music, or find something romantic, go to www.heavenlyharpist.com/harp-cd.htm

Get to Sleep with Music

Do you have trouble going to sleep or staying asleep? When you’ve had too much stress in your life, your brain will often be racing, producing fast, uneven patterns. For the millions of people who struggle with insomnia, music is a godsend.

1. About 30-45 minutes before bedtime, put on some music that you enjoy. Begin with a moderate tempo. Let your brain get “in sync” with the music and go from its active state to moderately paced. Let this music help you to take your focus away from your concerns.

2. Now switch to a favorite slower-paced composition and let it guide your mind and entire metabolism to slow down along with the pace of the music. If you feel ready to concentrate on slower music right away, it will be fine to skip the moderate music and go right for the more relaxed tunes.

3. After experimenting, you will end up with a set of favorites that tend to produce relaxation and work well for you; some of them may even be lullabies. (Even big babies can benefit from the gentle flow of a lullaby when going to sleep sometimes!) Play your favorite pieces regularly at bedtime.

4. Your subconscious will soon begin to associate resting with your bedtime relaxation music and as soon as you hear it you will start to fall asleep very easily. You can use the same music if you wake up in the middle of the night and want to get back to sleep.

Ideally, the two main parts of your nervous system – parasympathetic (governs non-urgent activity that happens while you are at rest, e.g., “rest and digest”) and sympathetic (controls urgent activity, e.g., “fight or flight”) – work side by side to create a balance between relaxation and stress. Insomnia is often the result when the nervous system is out of balance. Even though your intent is to rest and you may be weary, the sympathetic system is on overtime: your body is on alert with muscles tense and blood vessels constricted.

When we listen to music, our minds include that in the equation. Our systems tend naturally to get in synch with the beat and the rhythm. Listening to the even tempo of slow paced music at 60-80 beats per minute helps the nervous system to slow down, too. The sympathetic portion is calmed and the parasympathetic portion enhanced, resulting in relaxation and better sleep.

Let Music Put Your Baby to Sleep

Many new parents experience sleepless nights for the first few months after bringing the baby home. Help is at hand. Music can help soothe a baby to sleep. If you play bedtime music, choose the same tunes each time you put your baby in the crib.

Some Music for Babies, Big and Little…

If you enjoy harp music, you might find my CD, Soothing Lullabies from the Harp, beneficial for bedtime. It is a collection of calming music from around the world, available at www.heavenlyharpist.com/lullaby-cd.htm.

Music helps block your perception of pain signals. You can’t focus on opposing sensations simultaneously, and when you’re in pain music helps to change your focus. Anxiety heightens the pain, and music also helps to reduce anxiety. You get in tune with the vibration, rhythm, harmony and melody of music, which changes your metabolism, helping to engender more positive feelings and sensations.

The Journal of Advanced Nursing published a study showing that listening to music for an hour a day reduced chronic pain by up to 21 percent and depression by up to 25 percent.

How Music Eases Pain

There are several theories to explain the way music eases pain, even though it’s unclear exactly how this happens.

1. Music distracts the attention.

2. Music causes the body to release endorphins (the feel-good hormones).

3. The body gets in sync with the music. For example, breathing, heartbeat and other bodily functions slow down along with slow music, which results in relaxation, which in turn eases the pain. Faster music with an uplifting rhythm helps the body change to a faster pace for exercising or energetic activity.

The next time you’re at the dentist or doctor’s office, ask to have some relaxing music played.  Or bring your own favorite relaxing music. You’ll likely reduce your level of pain, and be able to have less pain medication. If you’re having trouble falling asleep because of pain, put on some slow soothing music. Concentrate on the music and soon your breathing will adjust to the tempo of the music and your pain will lessen or go away. Harp music is ideal for this type of relaxation.

When you don’t seem to have the energy to “get up and go” or exercise because of pain, try  listening to music with a faster beat — something that makes you want to clap your hands or dance. Focusing on that music can make you forget your pain, and you’ll soon feel like moving along with the rhythm of the music.

Music is a Form of Prayer

I like to think of music as a spiritual vitamin—food for the heart and soul. Over the years I have served as a church organist and harpist, playing for many different denominations. I have also studied and taught yoga for most of my adult life. Because of this I have experienced the energy and practice of many spiritual types of worship and meditation, both Western and Eastern.

No matter what the religion or spiritual practice, music has the power to connect us with God, our Creator, Universal Energy, or whatever you prefer to call that which you think of as highest and best. Singing or listening to beautiful music will amplify prayer. Chanting leads to meditation. This heavenly or spiritual place is always available, although it’s easy to get so wrapped up in our daily concerns that we need reminders to return there. Music can be this kind of reminder.

Music is an Important Part of Church or Religious Services

Can you imagine a church service without music? It’s not unusual to choose a place of worship because of the music. The harmony in music will turn to inner harmony, which leads to a spiritual connection for you. At a church service you might hear the Hallelujah Chorus by Handel or the soul-searching Amazing Grace, some modern Christian rock music or Gregorian chants. You may hear beautiful organ, piano, guitar or harp music, or church bells. Any of these can help to restore harmony within yourself and to make you feel part of the total harmony of the universe. I composed a song from these thoughts, The Hymn of the Universe. Here are some of the words:

When I listen, listen, listen with my heart, I hear the Hymn of the Universe.
When I add my note to the universal chord, I’m part of the total harmony.

This song can be found on my harp album, Hymns for Healing.

Create Your Own Spiritual Space

Even when music isn’t formally labeled as religious, it may bring us to a spiritual place within. Listen to a favorite piece of music; something so full of beauty that it instills in you a sense of awe. The music can be classical, popular, religious, folk—whatever appeals to you. Look around and find something beautiful to see as you listen, such as a lovely flower. This way you’re having an experience that is both visual and auditory. Breathe deeply, be aware of the harmonies, rhythm patterns and timbre (color) of the music. Now think of the beautiful flower, try to imagine how it was created. Shift back and forth between the flower and the music. Soon you will be filled with a sense of awe and wonder, feeling uplifted and at one with the universe. You have created your own spiritual vitamin.