In this article, how the stress reducing effect of music is achieved through the Mind-Body connection is discussed.
Imagine a famous singer is giving a speech for an hour and then gives a concert for an hour. The effect produced on you is different. The speech could be very interesting,but the soothing effect of that music is different. The mind is relaxed,and you forget the worries and get a tranquil, soothing experience. Why we do not get that effect by the speech ? The effect produced by the sound of music in the ear,and then in the brain, is different from that produced by the speech. How?
This question has caught the attention of great thinkers of the past, in different parts of the world,at different times.
The origin of the theory of music, and the place where it started is unknown, at least to me.The earliest mention of a stringed instrument,Harp,is found in the history of Mesopotamia,about 3000 BC. In Egypt similar stringed instruments were in use about that time. Obviously these ancient civilizations had the knowledge of the rudiments of music. Pythagoras, who lived in the sixth century BC. by listening to the Hammer beats of an iron- smith, discovered that the sound of the hammers when heard in succession,produced pleasing sounds if they weighed 12,9,8, and 6 pounds respectively.From that he derived the idea of an octave,the fifth,the fourth,and the whole tone i.e. 2:1 (12 :6), 3:2 (12:8) , 4:3(12:9) .Note that the numbers given in the brackets are the weights of the hammers and their ratios.The musical scale invented by him, which goes by his name,was discovered in 550 BC.A note, the fundamental note say,C, of a frequency f , has at its double the frequency 2f ,above it C*, it's Octave. The ratio of C*:C is 2:1.Like this other notes were discovered by him.
The basic idea is, when notes separated by certain intervals of pitch (frequency) alone when sounded in succession sound pleasing,otherwise they sound unpleasant to the human ear. The pleasing notes are the musical notes The tesspeech is not conveyed through the musical notes,hence does not produce the pleasing effect of the music.
In India, Bharatha, (500 BC) ,famous for the dance system he discovered and goes by his name today,in his famous book classifies the musical notes used in his time. In India, during vedic period,1000 BC,Sama veda chanting involved notes separated by pleasing intervals only. So Sama veda chanting sounds musical and pleasing. From it evolved other intervals in due course of time.
In Indian music, the fundamental frequency interval,which is the minimum interval between two notes sounded in succession,enable the most trained ear to distinguish them as two separate notes,that is to resolve them as two different notes,is called, the " Sruthi". It is a minute interval of pitch.When two notes sounded in succession sound pleasing only if they are separated by certain number of sruthis. These musical notes were identified,within an Octave, and given names, By grouping these musical notes in groups in ascending and descending pitches, Ragas are formed. Songs were composed using these Ragas. When rendered well they produce a pleasing effect in the Gross body( in the Brain),and by the body-Mind connection,produces a calming effect in the mind. This in turn reduces if not removes the stress in the Mind.
This is the out line of the explanation how Music can be used for stress reduction.
The theoretical musicology behind the simple explanation given here, is too complicated and mathematical, and hence not discussed here.
Imagine a famous singer is giving a speech for an hour and then gives a concert for an hour. The effect produced on you is different. The speech could be very interesting,but the soothing effect of that music is different. The mind is relaxed,and you forget the worries and get a tranquil, soothing experience. Why we do not get that effect by the speech ? The effect produced by the sound of music in the ear,and then in the brain, is different from that produced by the speech. How?
This question has caught the attention of great thinkers of the past, in different parts of the world,at different times.
The origin of the theory of music, and the place where it started is unknown, at least to me.The earliest mention of a stringed instrument,Harp,is found in the history of Mesopotamia,about 3000 BC. In Egypt similar stringed instruments were in use about that time. Obviously these ancient civilizations had the knowledge of the rudiments of music. Pythagoras, who lived in the sixth century BC. by listening to the Hammer beats of an iron- smith, discovered that the sound of the hammers when heard in succession,produced pleasing sounds if they weighed 12,9,8, and 6 pounds respectively.From that he derived the idea of an octave,the fifth,the fourth,and the whole tone i.e. 2:1 (12 :6), 3:2 (12:8) , 4:3(12:9) .Note that the numbers given in the brackets are the weights of the hammers and their ratios.The musical scale invented by him, which goes by his name,was discovered in 550 BC.A note, the fundamental note say,C, of a frequency f , has at its double the frequency 2f ,above it C*, it's Octave. The ratio of C*:C is 2:1.Like this other notes were discovered by him.
The basic idea is, when notes separated by certain intervals of pitch (frequency) alone when sounded in succession sound pleasing,otherwise they sound unpleasant to the human ear. The pleasing notes are the musical notes The tesspeech is not conveyed through the musical notes,hence does not produce the pleasing effect of the music.
In India, Bharatha, (500 BC) ,famous for the dance system he discovered and goes by his name today,in his famous book classifies the musical notes used in his time. In India, during vedic period,1000 BC,Sama veda chanting involved notes separated by pleasing intervals only. So Sama veda chanting sounds musical and pleasing. From it evolved other intervals in due course of time.
In Indian music, the fundamental frequency interval,which is the minimum interval between two notes sounded in succession,enable the most trained ear to distinguish them as two separate notes,that is to resolve them as two different notes,is called, the " Sruthi". It is a minute interval of pitch.When two notes sounded in succession sound pleasing only if they are separated by certain number of sruthis. These musical notes were identified,within an Octave, and given names, By grouping these musical notes in groups in ascending and descending pitches, Ragas are formed. Songs were composed using these Ragas. When rendered well they produce a pleasing effect in the Gross body( in the Brain),and by the body-Mind connection,produces a calming effect in the mind. This in turn reduces if not removes the stress in the Mind.
This is the out line of the explanation how Music can be used for stress reduction.
The theoretical musicology behind the simple explanation given here, is too complicated and mathematical, and hence not discussed here.
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