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Tune Your Life with Music

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Former KY governor sings “My Old Ky Home”

July 16th, 2010 · Music and the Mind-Body, Music Healing, Music in the News!, Music with Alzheimer's patients

According to Wikipedia, 

“Albert Benjamin “Happy” Chandler, Sr. (July 14, 1898 – June 15, 1991) was the 44th and 49th Governor of Kentucky, a U.S. Senator, the second commissioner of Major League Baseball, from 1945 to 1951 and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His jovial attitude earned him the nickname “Happy,” which stuck for the remainder of his life.[3]

Chandler’s first term as governor is still regarded as one of the most productive of any Kentucky governor.[4] Following on this success, he unsuccessfully tried to unseat Senate Majority Leader and fellow Kentuckian Alben Barkley, but was appointed to the Senate shortly after the election due to the death of the state’s junior senator. He would later resign this position to become Commissioner of Baseball, steering it through the difficult period of integration, which many contend led to his not being offered a second contract for the position. Instead, twenty years after his first term as governor of Kentucky, Chandler returned to the Governor’s Mansion using the slogan “Be Like Your Pappy and Vote For Happy.”[5]

Later in life, Chandler’s commitment to civil rights was questioned as he supported Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond’s bid for President. Having been elected to his first term at the age of 37, Kentucky’s “Boy Governor” was both the last surviving governor of any U.S. state to serve before 1939 and the last living Senator to have served before 1940 by the time of his death in 1991.”

So when I saw a YouTube video of him on a friends FB page, I knew I needed to share it with you!  It’s a touching rendition by a man who must have been well into his 80’s!  I’d love to have your comments!

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More thoughts on acoustic sounds vs. synthesized sounds

July 7th, 2010 · healing instruments, Music Healing, Music Review, Vibrational and Sound Healing

I was just looking at a sales page for one of the most well-known sound healers in the U.S.  I have been a fan of his for a long time but when I clicked to play a sample, i was reminded that all of his music ( or all that I’ve ever heard) is synthesized, i.e., electronically produced.

As I listen to these ethereal sounds I am brought to the crashing awareness that for many people, especially older people or perhaps people with shaky emotional/mental stability, these sounds could very easily be interpreted as “scary” or “other-worldly” in a very negative sense.  Why is that?  I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling that it could be because of the unfamiliarity of these kinds of sounds in that person’s life.

I’ve written many times about familiar music vs. unfamiliar music and the fact is, most people prefer familiar, comforting music that they have positive associations with.  Another aspect, I believe, is that acoustic instruments like a grand piano or tympani, or a violin, have a more “grounding” quality to them that the ethereal sounds of much synthesized “healing” music.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this so please send them my way!

Thanks,  Alice

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Be sure to join my mailing list and get a free ecourse!

July 5th, 2010 · Music Healing

Many people have joined my list over the years, traveled long distances to hear me speak or play and bought a truck-load of my CD’s books, and DVD’s.

But many don’t realize that I change my “ethical bribe” for joining my list every so often!  Right now, I’m giving a free 5-week ecourse on “Music and the Mind-Body Connection.”  It’s geared for someone who doesn’t know a lot about music, but the more you know, the more you’ll get out of this course!

To sign up, just go to www.HealingMusicEnterprises.com!  A box will appear asking you for your email address. After you fill it in, you’ll get an email that contains a link you must click on to complete the process.  You’re free to get off the list at any time!  Enjoy!

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Instruments of Healing Music: The Human Voice

June 30th, 2010 · healing instruments, Music and Relaxation, music and spirituality, Music Healing

Volumes and volumes have been written about the human voice and its capabilities and unending possibilities.  The thought of doing just a blog post on this is a bit daunting, but important nevertheless.

When learning about healing music, I believe that it’s important to recognize that each of us already has everything we need to heal with music because of our voices.  You don’t have to go out and buy a harp or a piano or a fancy drum.  You arrived here equiped with a voice and the voice, in all it’s different ranges and strengths and vowel sounds is more than adequate to create healing sounds and to calm and energize you.

The practice of “toning” with your voice is something that I’ve been teaching to people around the world for over 20 years.  Toning is simply the release of an inhaled breath on a vowel sound of aaaaa-eeeee-ahhhhh-oooooh-or ouuuuu.  When practiced in different positions and in different pitch ranges, high, medium, or low, many physical changes can be induced.  To learn more about toning, click HERE

Then there’s the whole phenomenon of singing familiar songs with other like-minded people that is very empowering and the basis for worship and hymns and anthems.  Spirituality and healing is a fascinating topic and one in which music plays a tremendous role.  To learn more about music and spirituality, go HERE.    I also have a blog on toning and chant, go HERE. as well as a blog on music and spirituality, go HERE.

The opportunities for using the human voice for healing, calming, comforting, empowering, energizing and feeling connected to something greater than yourself are infinite!  I hope you’ll begin exploring the healing powers of your voice today!

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Instruments of Healing Music: Crystal Bowls

June 29th, 2010 · healing instruments, Music Healing

One of the things that I like about finding healing music for people of all kinds, is that the possibilities are almost infinite.  For people who are more interested in the more esoteric kinds of healing, crystal bowls are a popular choice.  The vibrations of the different sized bowls are in extremely powerful in terms of their ability to penetrate the body and allow a person to relax and become centered.

A big part of healing is relaxation.  When a person is stressed out, they tighten their muscles and the stress hormone, cortisol, is released.  When the relaxation response is induced, the body can then begin to heal itself physically, and the mind can begin to get insight into personal problems and find real solutions.

Crystal bowls are rather expensive though and obviously require lots of care.  They come tuned to different pitches with the larger ones making a low, rich tone and the smaller bowls creating higher, more ethereal sounds.

To experience the sounds of crystal bowls, listen to this beautiful excerpt.

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Instruments of Healing Music: Drum Circles

June 29th, 2010 · Affiliate Promos, healing instruments, Music and the Brain, Music and the Mind-Body, Music Healing

How many of you have ever participated in a drum circle?  Today drum circles are very popular and for good reasons!  Drum circle are loads of fun, require no prior musical training, require no musical ability and enable you to connect emotionally and energetically with people that you’ve never met before that day.

I first experienced a drum circle when I was a music medicine researcher at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.  A very talented woman named Phyllis Free came and assisted in a toning group I was conducting there and suggested that we also do some drumming!  Because few people had their own hand drums back in 1992, we found empty trash cans and large buckets which we turned upside down.

A local TV station came and filmed the workshop for the 12 o’clock news because it was so unusual in those days…it was actually news.  In 1993, the “Today Show” came and filmed Phyllis and me doing another toning and drumming workshop for medical students!  You can see a clip of this at www.HealingMusicEnterprises.com/clips.html.

If you’d like to understand more about the power of drum circles I have written an ebook that is chock full of information and sounds clips.  To learn more about that, go to Drumming for Health, Wellness and Fun.

I hope you’ll participate in a drum circle one day!  It’s an amazing experience!

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Instruments of Healing Music: The Flute

June 27th, 2010 · healing instruments, music and spirituality, Music and the Brain, Music Healing

The flute is a beautiful and ancient instrument.  The one to the left is what we call “Pan Pipes” and are referred to often in ancient literature and mythology.   Some scholars believe that the first instruments were the percussion or “struck” instruments and the the flute came next as humans picked up reeds and blew through them, or sometimes created flutes from animal bones.

In ancient times, no one knew why people got sick but the widely held belief was the evil spirits came down and caused illness in people with whom they were displeased.  Humans came up with lots and lots of ways to appease the spirits and music was one of those things!

Many animals were considered to be lucky and so if you created a flute from the bone of one of many prized animals, your chance of healing your illness with music played to please and appease, then you could likely live for at least a few more days!

Tomorrow, we’ll take a luck at percussion instruments of healing.

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Instruments of Healing Music: The Harp

June 25th, 2010 · healing instruments, music and spirituality, Music and the Mind-Body, Music Healing

What’s the very best instrument for playing healing music?  That is a question that I get asked quite frequently.  I wish I could answer that question definitively for you, but of course it’s one of those personal taste matters!

What is beautiful and healing and soothing and comforting for one person, could be absolutely annoying and irritating for another.  I have read that many authorities over the last thousand years or so, believe that the harp is absolutely the most healing instrument of all.

One reason is because the harp is held right next to the players heart and the vibrations of the instrument soften and inspire the heart to loving feelings and right behavior.  Others have said the the plucking action on the strings or the harp creates more vibration than perhaps a flute or a piano, or a clarinet.

Vibration in music is one of the most important healing aspects and rich vibrations seem to speed up the healing process.  If you want to listen to beautiful, soothing harp music, you have literally thousands and thousands of pieces to choose from .  I’ll enclose a video performance here of one of my favorites.

Tomorrow we will look at the flute as an instrument of great healing potential.

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