Music For Stress Management

There are so many kinds of music - country western, classical, eastern, rap, pop, hip hop, rock and roll, soul...what kind of music are you listening to, and how is it affecting your level of stress?

Music moves us - listening to a sad song can make us feel melancholy, soft jazz piano can calm and soothe us, and rock can make us feel strong, excited, even free. Music has been proven to speed healing, is used in malls to put us in the mood to buy, in churches for inspiration and much more. So can you use music to influence your mood and lower your stress in your daily life? Absolutely.

First, consider your general mood. Are you normally stressed, happy, positive, sad, angry, fearful, even shy? Are there consistent times in your life that you would like to change your mood - maybe the drive home from work, or getting up in the morning, or maybe you stress at night, laying in bed, tossing and turning?

For me...it's that low energy time around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. I've usually been working since six in the morning or so, and I need a little pick up. For me, it could be a little Van Halen or White Snake, or maybe a little Santana. Other people may prefer some upbeat jazz, or pop music. It doesn't really matter, as long as it makes you feel good.

How does music influence our mood like this?

There are many ways music influences our mood. Music is energy - vibrations that have a certain frequency. As we listen to the music, our brainwaves may adjust to match the vibrations of the music. This is why music can be very effective for meditation and hypnosis, it can actually "entrain" the brain to enter a deeper, or more relaxed, aware state.

Your memories may also be part of the influence of music. Many times, the brain stores emotion alongside memories - if a song makes you blue, you might remember a time when you were really sad, and that song came on the radio, virtually anchoring itself to that sad feeling. Your brain would create a direct link between the song and the emotion, so every time you hear the song, that emotion is accessed as well.

Words can also have a large effect on us...there may be words in the music that really resonate with you, like in some inspirational songs. You may relate to the story of a song because of a similar experience. These things can strike a chord (pun intended) with you and alter your mood.

Many people listen to music in the background while they work, drive or do other things. They are not focused on the music, but their inner mind does take it in. If you listen to music with negative or harsh words or themes, you might want to consider that many times when listening to music, people have a tendency to enter into an altered state of awareness. The conscious mind is distracted with work, but the subconscious, or inner mind, is recording and storing it. This can actually cause you to feel more stress. If you listen to a lot of negative music or other media, consider that it can have a negative effect on your beliefs, thoughts, feelings and actions. Of course, listening to positive music can have a positive effect on your beliefs, thoughts feelings and actions.

You can use music as a tool to help you achieve the feelings that you want. If you want to have a more relaxed environment at work, play music that calms you and helps you to focus. There is music that is specifically designed to help you meditate, coaxing your brainwaves into a specific pattern. You can play upbeat music when cleaning the house or exercising. If you're feeling down you can listen to inspirational music.

Music can have a big influence on your mood, increasing your ability to relax, making you feel good, increasing your focus and much more. When you choose music for yourself and the people around you, consider how you want to feel, then choose music that can help produce that feeling.

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Study, Stress and Music

Is background music beneficial or harmful during study? Given that about 75% of students listen to music whilst they do their homework, we ought to find out.

It is natural to enjoy learning. We are born curious and eager to gain new knowledge to make sense of the world we live in and gain an increased understanding of our self. This new and successful learning results in self-growth and self-esteem.

Human beings seek self-esteem and happiness more than anything else (Aristotle)

The model of a happy, self-motivated learner can be disrupted by stress and negative emotions. The little emotions are the captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it. (Vincent Van Gogh)

Stress occurs when there is a perception that a given challenge is greater than our skills. Stress can be good or bad, depending on how we deal with it. Good stress causes a narrowing of attention, bad stress causes a focus on negative outcomes. Bad stress can interfere with brain circuitry making learning more difficult. Physiological changes resulting from stress include increases in pulse rate, blood pressure and body temperature. Severe stress can cause headaches, tears and ulcers. In summary, stress can negatively affect learning. When I ask students if they have been stressed recently a majority of hands rise.

Music is an art form which deals with the representation of emotion through the medium of sound. It can have a physical effect on us because it is closely linked with emotion, perhaps even more so than the abstract nature of words. The number one reason people listen to music is to moderate their emotional state. In a very real sense, music connects us with our inner selves.

Numerous studies leave us in no doubt that music can affect our mood state and stress levels. In fact, a great deal of present research involves the use of music in medical situations to assist recovery rates and induce a desired physiology (usually a lowering) of heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. The use of music as an element in medical intervention is an example of creative connection between subject areas. I explore this topic more in my staff PD units on trans-disciplinary learning and creativity.

Great innovation and new ideas emerge from trans-disciplinary connections (Kozumi)

Does music help or interfere with studying? Firstly, it depends what the task is. The more difficult the cognitive challenge, the more likely background music will disrupt the learning process. For less challenging learning tasks, music can greatly assist in providing external stimulation and a positive learning arousal state. Secondly, it depends on the characteristics of the music which we will come to in a moment; and thirdly, it depends on personality type. Extroverts enjoy and often require more external stimulation than introverts, and are likely to handle background noise better than introverts.

What are the music characteristics that aid or disrupt study?

Tempo

The recommended tempo for background music is in the range 70 -110 beats per minute, slightly faster than the heartbeat at rest. Music at fast tempi exerts a greater cognitive load (demands more attention) because our brain is processing more musical events per second. Fast music also raises the heartbeat, which is why gymnasiums use certain types of music with their fitness programs. Very slow music lowers the heartbeat, creating a state that might be too relaxed for study purposes.

Volume

Music which is very loud or forceful exerts a greater cognitive load which makes concentration more difficult. Music which is too soft can also be irritating if we find we are straining to listen. Music with sudden dynamic (volume level) changes is also unsuitable. Volume level is an individual preference, but needs to be moderately low and consistent.

Tonality

For this topic, tonality refers to whether music is in a major or minor key. Music written in a major key generally has a happy character, whilst minor, sad. One does not need to be familiar with this music jargon as even very young children are adept at picking the tonality of music. For example, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is in a major key, whilst a funeral march would be in a minor key. Choosing music written in a major key and at an appropriate tempo is best for study purposes, although many people find that slightly quicker minor key music also works. This is because of relationships between musical characteristics - particularly between tempo and tonality, creating different arousal thresholds.

Lyrics

Many young people have a listening repertoire of only songs; that is, music with words. Lyrics are the most distracting aspect of background musical listening, because they compete with the same brain regions that process language. More particularly, studies have found that the most distracting background music per se is fast and familiar vocal music known by, chosen and liked by the listener.

So it's not about genre of music, be it classical, jazz, pop or rock, but the inherent musical characteristics which affect our mood and learning readiness. These characteristics include tempo (the speed of the beat), volume, tonality (major or minor) and whether or not the music is instrumental or has words. There are indeed more pertinent musical characteristics including texture, melodic range and rhythmic complexity, but this beyond the scope of a typical student presentation. There is still much we don't know about the effects of music listening on behaviour, and fMRI scanning is contributing much to our understanding.

If background music is to assist the learning process, we need to help students understand that if they do choose to play background music during homework, the primary aim remains to engage in a sustained period of learning. If music can help maintain a healthy learning- arousal state then well and good. But it's not about entertainment, and not all music is appropriate.

The largest body of music with

• moderate tempo

• consistent volume

• emotionally cool

• major tonality

• instrumental

is music from the baroque and classical periods.

Suitable baroque music includes compositions by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and Pachelbel, and suitable classical music includes selections from Haydn, Mozart and Boccherini. I have compiled a 10-hour mp3 playlist for schools and individuals. Each piece was personally examined and selected based on the above criteria. Contact me if you would like this sent to you.

Those who like studying with background music have found some of the following benefits:

• It shuts out distractions

• I get immersed in my own world and become more productive

• It puts me in a positive frame of mind and a better mood

• It gives me a general feeling of well being

• It calms me before a large task and I stay focused for longer

• It makes time go by fast

• It helps me work quicker

• It's good for repetitive homework tasks

• It helps my creativity

• It makes studying more enjoyable

In summary, the use of background music for study is a personal thing. What is suitable for one will not necessarily be for another. For the record, this author finds it very difficult to concentrate on reading or writing with music on.

© 2010 Michael Griffin M.Ed Studies; B.Ed (Music); A.Mus.A (Pianoforte)
http://www.musiceducationworld.com
griffin@musiceducationworld.com

Full discussion: Background Music in the Learning Environment: Borrowing from Other Disciplines. Download from http://www.musiceducationworld.com/?q=schoolenvironments (50 pages)

Michael Griffin has presented to students and staff in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, Austria, England, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Ethiopia. Unique, educational and entertaining, time duration flexible; suggested between 60-120 minutes. Presentation includes a number of examples played on the piano.

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