idk much about the human brain but it sounds to me that we need stricked rules on what we can and cant say in music.. lots of people died for ludacris and dmx's music making the listener feel tough or even fights on thje music they listen to.

LOL bob marely = stupid?
Wow. Im beside myself with your remark.



I suppose it comes in handy before the big football game, to get everyone psyc'd up. Im sure kevin, no offence, that you have no evidence to back up your last statement.

man.. i know you did not just call bob marley stupid. hes was a inspiration for not just his country but the WORLD, i dont think you can grasp the idea of ONE person inspiring MILLIONS.. do you even know what he sang about? he was not just a singer. but he was a poet and a prophet. he believed in peace when others were in war. he was a prophet because he saw the direction to which the world was headed. so he sang his messages so to speak. his lifestyle was the best example of freedom, and peace.

Ditto. Bob Marley is a great stress reducer... busy day at work, customers screaming all day, get home and throw on some marley... ahhh

And it's great to clean the house to!

Yes nice addition to mine. If Bob marley, who rose from the roughest, toughest ghetto in North America, "Kingston'' Jamaica, as a moolado person, is stupid? Then Einstien was a horrid at math, 2pac sucked at rapping, and Che was a sad excuse for a revolutionist.



Its great to kick back and do utterly anything to. Feel good music.

EDIT: to anyone who thinks he is "stupid"... buy the album "Natural Msytic"... or just download the song "war"... you will hear the quote listed in my profile, by Halie Selasse, quoted and turned into a song by bob marley.

I read that music effects the "ballus" (or something similar to that name), and it is the same thing (located in the brain I do believe)which, is part of the stimulation during sex. That is one of the reasons that music is so effective on the mind.

as a musician Music Drives me in my life

its the Physical representation of Raw emotion in a senseif you wana consider Sound physical

alot of the time i get images in my mind from music. different music creates different images. they're mostly images of places for some reason. some have buliding structures and some do not. does this happen to anyone else?

we are what? 80% water? Theres a Japanese guy who photographed water crstals while the water was exposed to various music and the pictures are really amazing.
If his theories are true then its becaues we are largely made of water that music has such a profound effect on us.

I've notice listening to music improve your ability to make a psi ball everytime. I'm guessing because of vibration. If you looking at quantum string theory, basically saying that these small string that vibrate hard are the start of the universe or whateva. I believe that theory but this is not nuthin new considering monks have been using the sound of there vocal box to vibrate certain chakra to make them rise. Earth also have a vibration echoing through it and us so put it together.

Interesting fact: Watch a silent movie without a piano playing and you'll probably feel no emotion outside of possible humor. Movies today have a lot of background music that you may not even notice yet it effects you deeply. If you watch Lord of the Rings without music it would be a very boring movie...music was a big factor in how you feel while watching it.


And I'm not saying deaf people cant feel emotions. If you're deaf and want to watch a movie...go right ahead....it may be less appealing.



In the brain music just stimulates certain neurons that will shoot through different parts of the brain. People say that Classical Music stimulates both the Left and Right sides of the brain and in turn they both "activate" allowing you to think more deeply. I listen to some Classical Music and I can say it hasn't helped me....


There's music for smarts, memory, joy, depression, blood pressure and everything else you can think of. It can calm, it can anger and it can even make you suicidal.


I don't believe that the human body functions entirely on the brain and its actions but rather the brain and the actions of a "spirit" or "soul". I put them in quotations because you can call it anything you want. No..I dont mean a ghost is controlling you, I mean the human spirit. Without that you couldn't interpret the music for yourself. Just like a book...some people may think that Robert Frost was one hell of a boring guy that liked to talk about snow, trees and sleep. Others may think that Frost is a magnificent poet that talked about the paths of life, the death of incomplete men and the beauty and eternity of humanity.

Certain types of music make me feel euphoric, happy and upliffted inside.

Music sets an atmosphere on a film.


But music certainly stimulates me.

Does this apply to those unfortunate many who happen to be tone deaf?

I listen to fast beat music when I train ..
And I try to run as fast as it.

I was sent this link from a newsletter I subscribed to on how to improve your memory.
I think it's appropriate for the topic.

http://www.optimindzation.com/breakthrough.php - note I've no affiliation with this site and this is a direct link.

I haven't purchased the product but I subscribed to their newsletter also as the topic interests me.

It's said to improve your memory and creative abilities.

Now the page is a sales page but it does a better job of explaining what it's about than I can so
instead of rewriting and making a mess of it have a look at the site and let me know
what you think.

Has anyone here any experience with this type of music before?

Dave

Hi Dave. As you are aware, the site is promoting Brainwave Entrainment. In a brief summary (sorta) lol, brainwave entrainment refers to the brain's electrical response to rhythmic sensory stimulation, such as pulses of sound or light. When the brain is given any stimulus, through the ears, the eyes or any other senses, it emits an electrical charge in response. These electrical responses travel throughout the brain to become what you see and what you hear. When the brain is presented with a rhythmic stimulus, such as a sound or a beat for example, the rhythm is reproduced in the brain in the form of these electrical impulses. If the rhythm becomes consistent enough, it can start to resemble the natural internal rhythms of the brain, called brainwaves. When this happens, the brain responds by synchronizing its own electric cycles to the same rhythm. Research confirms that brainwave patterns correspond to specific states of consciousness. Individuals capable of altering their brainwave patterns can have significant control over other mental and physiological functioning.

Everything in the universe has a natural rhythm. Often this rhythm can be expressed as cycles per second or Hertz (Hz). When two frequencies are placed together, it is natural for them to begin finding a common ground and synchronizing with each other. This is called the "frequency-following response." Entrainment is pretty simple. The scientific principle of entrainment can be utilized to resonate, synchronize or tune your brain to specific frequencies. In your normal, waking state, your brain operates at anywhere from 8 Hz to 24 Hz depending on your level of alertness. If it is exposed to a pulse of about the same frequency, over a short time it will entrain to the frequency of the pulse. Once entrained the frequency-following response will allow the brain to slowly change frequencies as the pulse changes.

The brain actually becomes restructured with new neural connections and networks being created. As the entire brain becomes entrained to a specific frequency all parts resonate to the same brainwave pattern. This leads to a balance between the two hemispheres which in normal people are nearly always out of balance according to vast research. Most people are dominant on either side. This causes a splitting between analytical type functions and creative/intuitive type functions and therefore a massive drop in possible mental performance compared to if the two sides were balanced and working together.

One of the main findings with the EEG experiments on various geniuses and artistic people was that their brains worked as a whole. It was shown conclusively that these outstanding individuals had a far more balanced brain than an ordinary individual. The consequences of this whole brain functioning are higher intelligence, creativity, intuition, focus, motivation, purpose, will power, among many others. The cognitive superiority of whole brain functioning has been proven beyond any doubt.

While the discovery of brainwaves may be recent, brain entrainment has gone on socially for ages by tribal chanting, drum beats, and dancing. Intentionally changing the level of brainwaves through entrainment has a number of benefits. If a person has sleeping disorders, entraining their brain to the Theta stage leads to relaxation. People who have attention deficit disorder can benefit by reaching the Beta stage. A state of mediation can be attained more quickly if the brain is entrained to the Alpha state. The Alpha state is very receptive to learning. When a subject is successfully hypnotized they usually are in the Alpha state. Breaking bad habits and starting new habits in their place will be more successful if the Alpha state is used to promote the new habit.Pleasure inducing neurotransmitters that are released under certain brainwave states, i.e., Endorphins, Serotonin, Dopamine...just to name a few.

Those who have read my postings at UM know how much I believe in this technology, and incorporate it in my practice. I'm not trying to diss this website you posted Dave, but it is a typical money-making (Marketing) website. I would stick with websites that actually test all their products with EEGs to insure quality, and sites who are passionate about this neurotechnology, and are geared towards solving human challenges and increasing human potential rather than profit making. There are several brainwave entrainment forums that discuss some of the best products and sites. You can even find inexpensive software and easily create your own entrainment programs or use ones already preprogrammed.

There are other amazing benefits as well, like experiencing OOBE's. I found this thesis during my studies a couple of years ago. The thesis is written by a guy who was playing a weekend gig as a drummer in a blues band, and had an OOBE. The experience set him into a fit reading about percussion and altered states. It's a fantastic read into his discovery of audio driving and/or brainwave entrainment and its amazing effects of the brain/body.

References:

Tuning in on the twilight zone. Psychology Today, August. Cade, C. M. & Coxhead, N. (1979) "The Awakened Mind: BiofeedBack and the Development of Higher States of Consciousness".

The Physiology of Meditation. Scientific American, Vol 226, No 2, 84-90 Berg, K, Siever, D (1999).
Audio-Visual Entrainment as a Treatment Modality for Seasonal Affective Disorder. Presented at the Society for Neuronal Regulation. Berg, K, Mueller, H., Siebael, D., Siever, D. (1999).

Cerebral and cerebellar potentials. Physiological Review, 38, 357-388. Boersma, F., Gagnon, C. (1992).

The Use of Repetitive Audiovisual Entrainment in the Management of Chronic Pain." Medical Hypnosis Journal, Vol 7, No3: 80-97 Brackopp, G. W. (1984).

The Interaction of Certain Spontaneous and Induce Cortical Potentials. American Journal of Physiology, 135: 301-307 Eppley, K.R., Abrams, A. (1989).

Differential Effects Of Relaxation Techniques on Trait Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol 45, 6: 957-973 Evans, F. J., Gustafson, L. A., O'Connell, D. N., Orne, M. T. & Shor, R. E. (1970).

Verbally-induced behavioral response during sleep." Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 1, 1-26. Fox, P., Raichle, M. (1985).

Stimulus Rate Determines Regional Blood Flow in Striate Cortex. Effects of 18.5 Hz Audiovisual Stimulation On EEG Amplitude at the Vertex.
Annals of Neurology, Vol 17, No 3: 303-305. Fredrick, J., Lubar, J., Rasey, H., Blackburn, J. (1999).

Lots of great info, IS, thanks for sharing that The technology sounds fascinating! I could use some 'whole-brain thinking' myself

Here is another website showing a form of entrainment using frequency, tone and rhythm.

Interesting topic. I find music gives me energy. I have to have it on when housecleaning, dishes etc. I found an article that attempts to explain the connection between music and the brain. Its worth the read if you are interested in the subject.

Scientific America article

Welcome to UM Married_Chick! Great article. I especially like the part about musicians:

I've got a fever, and the only prescription is MORE COWBELL!!!

Here's the gist of a 6-week conversation that I had with a musician via e-mail. It concerns a problem that I was experiencing with certain songs, which were affecting me both mentally and emotionally. I added the links in case anyone wants further info. Sorry about the length.

SQ: Except for the laa-la-laa-la-la's, "Don't Fear The Reaper" was definitely ahead of its time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdXfkkyI1nQ

I downloaded the sheet music and realized for the first time that the intro and verses are played by one guitar. It consists of playing the first 4 notes of 4 chords over and over at 144 beats per minute. At half the speed, this technique is obvious, but at full speed, the overall sound becomes... hypnotic, almost mystical. Another example is "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns 'N' Roses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-AYAv0IoWI

I've been practicing "The Reaper" for two days now, and I'd be pretty good at it, if only I would stop freaking out over the sound that's coming out of my amp. But then again, maybe it's just me. I've also been searching the Internet trying to find an explanation, word, or phrase that describes this phenomenon. I'm beginning to think that it is something that some bands have discovered by accident.

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BH: In the guitar intro for "Don't Fear The Reaper", he's arpeggiating chord tones quickly to get that sound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/arpeggio

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SQ: Thanks, that was the answer that I was looking for. It makes a lot more sense to me now. I figured that there must be an "already-known" scientific, or rather musical, explanation and nomenclature for this method of sound.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

BH: The reason that the intro sounds so hypnotic (mystical) is that he's using a pick and finger technique and the use of the open G string to create a pedal tone or droning sound with it. Then he arpeggiates the chord tones around that droning G, and it comes out in a cyclic pattern that you hear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pedal_point

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/drone_%28music%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/drone_music

If you want to use a mode in a major sense to obtain a mystical sound (Steve Vai uses it constantly) use the Lydian Mode.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lydian_mode

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SQ: Yes, after some additional reading, I believe that I understand it now. It's definitely the "drone effect" that's got my attention. Many love songs are chocked full of arpeggio-style playing, but "The Reaper" was the first song I've encountered that really emphasizes it. "Silent Lucidity" by Queensryche uses it but it seems hardly noticeable, and a banjo wouldn't be a banjo without a drone string. Thanks, I'm looking forward to playing more songs that use it. It's too cool to ignore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThVSNLLr_l4

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BH: I always thought a neat hook that used a drone string/pedal tone in E was, "Mama, I'm Comin' Home" by Ozzy and Zakk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hook_%28music%29

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxIRNBqGMjw

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SQ: Yeah, that one's definitely a good example. I've noticed that drone notes seem to serve many purposes. Other than just being catchy, they act as filler notes between the notes of the main melody, a good way of maintaining a constant rhythm throughout (pedaling?), and the illusion of more than one guitar being played. Even though the tabs may look easy to play, I sometimes find it more difficult than it actually is because of that last one. Maybe I should practice without playing the drone notes, and then add them in later.

I was just listening to Steve Vai. I can hear the drone effect during his double-tapping in the intro and at 4:08 through 4:37.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rl4l5sCUCs

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BH: Yep, its a filler note, and it serves usually as the key center or anchor to the lick or phrase.

We've all seen optical illusions, but have you "heard" auditory illusions? Here's a few that will trick your brain into hearing illusions of sound that are not real. (They will sound much better with headphones, if you have them. Be sure to set your media player to automatically repeat.)


Shepard Tones

The "sonic barber pole" illusion was invented by psychologist Roger Shepard at Bell Labs. The illusion consists of a seemingly endlessly rising or falling set of tones. The trick is done by simultaneously sweeping eight or more pure tones (i.e., sine waves) tuned exactly one octave apart. The human brain has a really hard time figuring out which pure tone is the fundamental, so it "slips" periodically, just like an eye watching a barber pole or looking at an Escher staircase.


To conceal the tones' appearing and disappearing, they fade in at one end of the cycle and fade out at the other.

Shepard Tones


Circularity in Pitch Judgment

One of the most widely used auditory illusions is Shepard's 1964 demonstration of pitch circularity, which has come to be known as the "Shepard Scale" demonstration. The demonstration uses a cyclic set of complex tones, each composed of 10 partials separated by octave intervals. The tones are co-sinusoidally filtered to produce the sound level distribution shown below, and the frequencies of the partials are shifted upward in steps corresponding to a musical semitone (= ~ 6 %).

Shepard Scale

The result is an "ever-ascending" scale, which is a sort of auditory analog to the ever-ascending staircase visual illusion.

Several variations of the original demonstration have been described. Jean-Claude Risset created a continuous version.

Continuous Version


More Audio Samples

Shepard's Ascending Tones
This is a recording of Shepard's paradox synthesized by Jean-Claude Risset. Pairs of chords sound as if they are advancing up the scale, but in fact the starting pair of chords is the same as the finishing pair. If you loop this sample seamlessly then it should be impossible to tell where the sample begins and ends.

Shepard's Ascending Tones


Falling Bells
This is a recording of a paradox where bells sound as if they are falling through space. As they fall their pitch seems to be getting lower, but in fact the pitch gets higher. If you loop this sample you will clearly see the pitch jump back down when the sample repeats. This reveals that the start pitch is obviously much lower than the finishing pitch.

Falling Bells


Quickening Beat
This recording is subtle. A drum beat sounds as if it is quickening in tempo, but the starting tempo is the same as this finishing tempo.

Quickening Beat

SNL

There was a book published recently that deals with this. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet but it's titled "This is Your Brain on Music."
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearc...88522&itm=1
Link to the book.

For me the most emotional song I've ever heard is Telstar by the Tornadoes. A good deal of the feelings that I get fromit come from knowing the history of the sound now, but nevertheless the song did hit me even before I knew Meeks story. There's a heavyness to the chords, a certain weight upon the whole thing. Music is powerful because of the way it resonates within us.

If you want to get philosophical in regards to it it all boils down to vibrations. Vibrating, moving, is life and we ourselves vibrate down to the tinniest atoms. The music vibrates, changes our vibrations. You dig?

Right on! I remember that song. It was the first song, and probably the only song, ever written about a satellite. It was also one of the first songs to usher in the "space age" and the genre of "space age" songs. It was ahead of its time and quite an undertaking for a band of the early 60's.

In a way, the song is kind of sad. A French composer accused Meek of copying the tune from one of his compositions, which Meek never heard, and a lawsuit prevented him from receiving any royalties during his lifetime. About a year after he died, the matter was finally resolved in Meek's favor. For me, the song is Meek's epitaph and anthem of vidication.

The first song that "took me for a ride" was the original studio-version of "Autobahn" by Kraftwerk. I can't count the number of visualization and guided imagery journeys that I've taken while listening to that song.

I adore music, and breathed in every word of ever post made before me. fascinating stuff guys O.O

I like to listen to music while I draw. For some reason, I draw better things while I'm listening to my music.

i think the way music effects us has to do with our personalities and beleifs.
for example if you are really attactched to life and hear a song about suicide you'll probably get angry and turn it off or change the song.
and if you are some person who wishes to die and hear a song about suicide you might feel understanding or happy



its the same way with me

I like listening to instrumental music while reading a book, especially when the mood of the music blends in nicely with the mood of the book. For example, New Age and Soundscapes go well with Fantasy and Sci-fi novels. When I was a teenager, I would listen to "Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent while reading "The Hobbit". When I hear that song now, some 30 years later, I still can't help but think of poor Bilbo Baggins in the forest of Mirkwood.

It always makes me think of Michael Nesmith... as he put it



The quote's longer than that, but I don't think anyone else would be all that interested. It's from his book The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora

Music has to be one of the biggest things in my life, most of the time I just listen to really relaxing music or instrumental. It just really gets the thought proccess going and I'm always playing somekind of movie... a music video if you want to call it, in head. If I had the ability to animate and draw out these movies, I'd have like 20 of em by now.

Listening to music high on marijuana significantly enhances the experience which is derived from listening to music. I just become overwhelmed with emotion and the appreciation for music when high on marijuana, Why is that?

I think it's more specifically the lyrics in any songs. Everything you hear, even if you don't have consciousness of hearing it, enters your brain. This is, by the way, how subliminal messages work. Now I'm not saying that there is subliminal messages in every song, but simply that the meaning of what we hear affects us all. Whether we have consciousness or not.

Music is Art and what does art do? they affect your emotions.
When your brain processes sound, or written oh so romantic poetry about romeo and juliet, or when you are in a fight, when you smell poo or when you taste it (ehm ok lets stop here)...
So when you hear a kickass song it links the input with your current emotional state and experiences. What i know about the brain from research experiments is that if you take a PET-scan of the brain (view metabolic processes using radioactive substances and a scanner) of someone who is reading a book, his Primary Visual Cortex and Visual Association Area send off a signal to the angular gyrus to Wernicke's area to Broca's area and finaly to the motor control for mouth and lips (if you read a word and repeat it out loud). Basically metabolic activity changes when you read. Now this: braille is written text made for blind people. If you give a piece of braille text to a normal man who has not learned to read braille there is no brain activity but when a blind person who can interpret braille reads it then there will also be brain activity on the PET-scan. So first of all you need to be able to interpret what you hear and with music stuff is like reading a poet (the proof for the experience part).
It gives you the great possibility to use your creation on how to interpret the sound (or picture the adventure of frodo when you read the book (no you haven't seen the movie yet!)). Some people are satisfied with stupid electronic beats repeating in a specific order (pump up da bazz!), Others demand talent in music (classical music e.g) where the level of diversity is generally much higher and gives you more creativity.

Emotions is like a hook to grab those people and let them make you rich and famous if you are good enough at it (in the case with popstars enz) and to serve your internal need to be a musician
Whatever you interpret when you listen to britney spears depends on who you are and where you are on YOUR road of life (boy, girl, gramps or kiddo, parenting, genetics, friends, or just social life)
Music is, like everything else, an instrument that works in on your emotions if you like to put it simple. wihtout emotions you cannot define music as we know it.
If we didnt have emotions, music would just be another sound, i think.

Now then. I see music as art. Like all art i love this quote i made up once:
Capture the emotions of one person and you have a friend, capture the emotions of a <large value> of people and you are labeled as a true artist.

Music to me is a moment to forget or diminish the stressfull life i live in and just let myself drift off. Or to a kicker to what i feel at a time.

Everyone has heard about the synchronicity that occurs when watching "The Wizard of Oz" while listening to the "Dark Side Of The Moon" album. Here's a couple of videos from PC games that seem to naturally sync well with others songs. When selecting a song, I only searched for those that were similar in mood and length. The rest was... coincidental.

Myst III: Exile & "Song 2"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT6pxOQPG-8

Thief II: The Metal Age & "Stranglehold"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsnCldhRaow