Music has been on my mind this week as I decided it was time to add to my “relaxation collection”. You would think it would be easy to do a search and find suitable recordings, and there are certainly many examples of “the most relaxing piano/guitar/jazz… ever” on offer. There are also many collections of so-called spa music, but I have never been a fan – it conjures up images of familiar tunes set on strange instruments against a backdrop of crashing waves or squawking parrots! I once had to endure a session in a spa where the player had stuck on a pan pipe version of Danny Boy, and it took every ounce of concentration for me not to burst out of the room and take a hammer to the machine! Hardly the zen mood I had been aiming for!
Music for relaxation means different things to different people but I try to find pieces which are truly melodic, mellow without being maudlin with a consistent tempo and with smooth transitions between tracks. I tend to prefer instrumentals as lyrics can be too engaging for the mind – the goal is to allow the music to encourage the relaxation process, not distract from it. Anything too intrusive can be an annoyance and disturbing. Classical pieces can be tricky as they often feature a range of volumes and the intrusion of a loud interlude is not the most conducive to remaining centred.
Silence is another option of course, but sadly in our modern world that can be hard to find, as our brains seek out sounds even in a controlled environment. Sometimes some gentle music can blend away the distraction of a ticking-clock, voices in another room or, heaven forbid, a phone left on vibrate or worse.
So what did I find? This time, I chose some guitar music by Mike Howe, who has a new cd out soon, a recording from Hawaii and, surprisingly, a curated selection of music for healing, but although I found this list entertaining, there are no songs about feet currently on my playlist! Any more suggestions gratefully received.
