Calm yourself with Music

Music has long been used to heal, soothe and uplift. Lovers use music to set a romantic mood, movie producers use music to add drama and excitement to scenes and mothers croon lullabies to help their children relax and fall asleep. So, it’s no wonder researchers have investigated the healing power of music and found it to be helpful for pain management, stress relief, depression, anxiety and much much more.

A couple of days ago I received a review copy of the CD Relax: A Liquid Mind Experience which is billed as “over an hour of the most deeply relaxing music on the planet”. Those are pretty big boots to fill, so I gave it a whirl. The label warned me to use care when operating vehicles as the CD may cause drowsiness, but being a natural born rule breaker I popped it straight into the car player and set off.

Much to my surprise the music did have a slight soporific effect. That's pretty unusual for me. I'm a very poor candidate for hypnosis or other audio designed to sedate or help me fall asleep. While I often find music calming it's rare for it to have a sedating effect on me, so I give the CD kudos for achieving that.

Liquid Mind is the name used by Chuck Wild for his New Age music creations. The ‘Relax’ CD is one of several CDs aimed at helping people relax and improve their well-being. After a period of panic attacks and agoraphobia Chuck searched for music that would help him achieve feelings of serenity while being melodic and uplifting. When he was unable to find any, a counsellor suggested he compose his own and Liquid Mind was born.

Liquid Mind is a form of New Age music, although Chuck says he draws on influences from nature, such as the sound of the Ocean, as well as from classical composers such as Beethoven and Brahms.
According to Chuck

Liquid Mind albums seem to have an immediate "slowing down" effect on the listener, and may also help some people get to sleep, and relax deeply after a tension-filled day.

I received emails by the hundreds from grateful people using my music to go to sleep, to relax, to calm hyperactive children and adults, to heal from surgery

Chuck's Liquid Mind Music is proving popular. In November 2005, Chuck presented at the American Music Therapy Conference regarding the use of slow music in treating anxiety. Liquid Mind VII: Reflection won the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Meditation/Healing Music album of 2005.

The CD Relax: A Liquid Mind Experience is currently #1 on the Canadian iTunes New Age chart, and #4 on the US iTunes New Age chart. I'm more gobsmacked that there is a New Age iTunes chart, than I am at the success of Chuck's Liquid Music.

Verdict:
I’m on the fence with this one. The music is sedating, so if you’re looking for a way to calm down or a tool to aid in meditation Liquid Music could be for you. However, New Age music isn’t for me. Given the choice I prefer the sound of Tuis in the garden (click here to hear Tuis) or a CD of Mozart or Haydn. While I found the music sedating I also found it vaguely annoying. The music does what it’s supposed to, but if it isn’t to your taste, then like me you’ll probably only want to use it in short bursts. I could never imagine using it as background music as the creator suggests but I could envisage putting on a single track to give me something to focus on while sitting quietly for a few minutes.