How
to create a stress-reducing playlist
In my years as a music therapist, I've heard so many
people describe music as a magical and mysterious force that somehow impacts
our brains, bodies, and emotions. I've heard beautiful stories about the ways
music helps children learn or brings an adult with dementia back into a
coherent state, if only for a moment. "It brings people together,"
"It's universal," and some even say, "It feeds the soul."
At this point, I always smile and reply, "Do you want to know why?"
Music
Affects the Brain
Music is magical, it's true, but it's not all smoke
and mirrors. Behind the mystical healing powers of music are scientific reasons
for why it holds such an influence over our minds. Music is really a
combination of many different elements, such as pitch, tempo, and dynamics. How
fast, slow, or loud the music, the differently it impacts our brains. When
these elements work in combination, we see dramatic changes in physiology and
behavior. The effects of music have been documented by scientists for years,
and despite its mysteries, one thing is certain: listening to music activates
our entire brains, creating the potential for us to use music to improve the
way we think, behave, and feel.
What
is Music Therapy?
This is where music therapy comes in. Music therapists
work with individuals of all ages to help them communicate, process difficult
experiences, and improve motor or cognitive functioning. A music therapy
session is an interactive music-making experience where the client uses musical
instruments (including the voice) in either an exploratory manner or through a
more personalized exercise designed by the therapist to address a specific
issue. According to the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), music
therapy can have profound effects, and has helped many people since it became
an established profession in the 1950s.
Create
Your Own Therapeutic Playlist
When you play music as you're cleaning the house or
listen to an energetic song during your morning workout, you could be using
music therapeutically without even realizing it. However, by thoughtfully
creating a selection of music, you can use a playlist to combat stress, achieve
relaxation, increase motivation, and evoke positive emotions.
To start the process, address your current emotional
state. Is it anxious, restless, or sad? How would you like to feel instead?
With that goal in mind, know that it's important to bring yourself there
gradually through a progression of music that first empathizes with your current
mood and then slowly delivers you to your desired emotional state.
Here are some guidelines for creating your own
therapeutic playlist:
1. Use Familiar Music
Start with your own music collection. Your previous
associations with pieces of music determine the manner in which you will
respond to them. Memories, especially emotional memories, are stimulated by
music and can take us back in time in an instant. You already have labeled
certain music as happy, sad, energizing, disturbing, and so on. Trust yourself
and how you believe songs will make you feel. Once you identify what it is
about music that makes you feel a certain way, you might want to supplement
your current collection by finding new music that contains similar
characteristics (choral voices or emphasized percussion). Place pieces of music
into different categories according to your common moods like, sluggish,
depressed, nervous, tired, anxious, stressed, and so on.
2. Use Music You Enjoy
There is no sense in using that awful music your
mother/child/brother/friend makes you listen to. If you can't stand it, don't
use it. You know what you like and should be able to find enough variety within
your preferred music to match different moods.
3. Find Music That Speaks to You
A friend of mine once said, "Music is the
ultimate form of empathy." As humans, we are constantly striving to be
understood. This could explain why we tend to enjoy music that we find
relatable or music that speaks to us in some way. Songs can validate our
feelings and actually provide comfort when they match our mood. For instance,
listening to sad music actually causes our brains to produce the same
neurochemical that is released when we cry. This chemical, prolactin, helps to
elicit feelings of comfort, meaning that listening to a sad song when we are
feeling down not only provides empathy, it is causing our brains to start to
try to make us feel better! 1
4. Match Your Mood
Think about how you feel right now. How fast are you
moving (inside and out): is your heart racing? Are you feeling sluggish? Are
you feeling heavy? How fast are you breathing? Before trying to change your
mood with music, you will need to match it. This is easier done when you can
consider different musical elements:
Tempo. This one is easy. Pick a piece of music that
matches your heartbeat, your breathing and how fast you feel you are moving.
Volume. Are you feeling loud or soft? If you are
overstimulated and feel like you need to turn everything off, first find the
music that matches your current state. It might be loud and chaotic. Perhaps
you are lacking energy and motivation, and things around you are quiet. Find a
song with soft lyrics and instruments. Keep in mind that soft and slow do not
always go together, and neither do loud and fast.
Harmony and Timbre. Musical instrumentation and
background vocals are often written to blend nicely with a melody to add layers
of sound in a tonal structure. Some music actually uses instruments and tight
harmonies that create a feeling of tension or dissonance. Think about your
perceived level of stress and how tense you might feel. Also think about the
instruments that appeal to you in the moment. The timbre of an instrument
refers to the way it sounds. Do you feel like a distorted electric guitar or a
clean piano? Do the deep, heavy sounds of a cello match your mood or are you
feeling lighter like a flute or a high-pitched voice?
5. Consider Music Without Lyrics
Song lyrics leave a little less up to the imagination
because someone else's story is being told. When lyrics are included in a piece
of music, more of our brains are used to process these lyrics. They might also
stimulate more memories. If you are using music for the purpose of trying to
relax, you want to allow your mind to wander without consciously focusing on
the music. This is more challenging when lyrics are involved. Consider choosing
instrumental music or a song where the lyrics reflect the way you are feeling.
6. Order Your List to Help You Reach an Intended Mood
As noted earlier, consider your goal. Do you want to
feel energetic, happy, relaxed, or optimistic after listening to your playlist?
With your intended mood in mind, think of how you might organize the songs to
bring you from your current emotional state to your desired. For example, if
you started with an up-tempo piece of music that matched your initial state of
high anxiety, find something a little slower for your next song. If you are
trying to move toward a more relaxed state, select a piece of music that is
slightly slower for your third song. The third piece should also have less
instrumentation or vocals. The idea is to decrease the amount of stimulation in
the music so that your playlist can facilitate a gradual transition while
allowing you time to adjust to the music. Select songs that are at least three
minutes long and make sure your playlist contains at least thirty minutes of
music. You want to give your body plenty of time to experience your current
emotion and adjust physiologically with the music.
Trust Your Musical Intuition
If you've ever listened to music and were moved to
tears or motivated to run an extra mile because of it, you already understand
that music can have an extreme impact on emotions. When intended, music can
provide comfort during difficult times and also promote relaxation. You might
be thinking that music is more complicated than you originally thought. It is!
Although there is much to consider when using music therapeutically, humans
have a particular knack for choosing music that soothes and heals them, without
having to think too much about the technical aspects. Trust the way you feel,
and if you think you might need more assistance with this process, consult a
board-certified music therapist.
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