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The Healing Vibrations of the Harp

May 15th, 2009 · Ancient beliefs about music, healing instruments, Vibrational and Sound Healing

Healing Vibrations of the Harp

What do you think the most healing instrument is? Many people believe that it is the harp. A frequent reason that is given is that the harp is held next to the heart and that the plucking motion creates unique vibration that stimulates nerves in a way that promotes accelerated healing. It makes sense to me, but how much do YOU really know about the harp?Ask a random person off the street to describe a harp, and they are likely to describe a huge and bulky instrument. All harps are not equal though. They often differ in both size in type. But where, exactly, did this seemingly simple instrument come from?

The harp is an ancient instrument, having been around since as early as 2500 B.C., that continues to be a major force in the modern-day musical world. This instrument has evolved in many ways in the last four millennia. The different harps have come from and evolved from Egypt, Ireland, and many other places and cultures. Harps such as the diatonic, triple-strung, single-action pedal, chromatic cross-string, and the double action pedal have been used.

The kinnor, which is an ancient instrument played by King David as told in the Old Testament, is often confused with the harp. The kinnor is actually a type of lyre. However, the first true harp can be traced back to ancient Egypt.

In Ancient Egypt the earliest evidence of a harp dates back to as early as 2500 B.C. These harps were actually bow shaped or at a very small angle, which forced them to have a small number of strings. Due to the lack of a column for support, these harps were unable to support very much tension. The first column appeared in Medieval Western Europe somewhere between the 8th and 10th centuries. These harps were known as the frame harps. This was also the very first harp to use a soundbox to amplify the sound from the instrument.

European harps differed from Irish harps and they were known as Renaissance harps. They had more strings attached to wooden pegs, and the pillar was thinner and less curved. These were known as diatonic harps.

The triple-strung harps appeared in the late 16th century after an invention of a double-strung harp. A triple-strung harp has three rows of strings and it was easy to play and amplify. The single-action pedal harp was designed in 1720. This harp was a combination of a diatonic harp and a single-strung harp but included new features currently known as pedals. This harp only included five pedals though, while the harps today use seven.

Other harps that were designed off of the earlier inventions exhibited amazing improvements from the diatonic and the double-action pedal. These harps were constructed in the early 1800s.

The harp is a beautiful instrument that many people love to play and listen to as the strings resonate. Although the history of the harp dates back all of the way to 2500 B.C., they are still played today and rank among other fine and quality instruments.

Article Source: http://babyboomerarticles.com

Whether you are a novice or master harpist, you can find all the instruments, supplies and music that you need to succeed at the Sylvia Woods Harp Center (www.harpcenter.com/). Discover the magic of the harp. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer

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The Power of Music to “open your heart!”

May 11th, 2009 · Music and Surgery

Music is powerful and everybody knows it!  Today, though, we’re talking about how music affects the heart.  Enjoy this interesting article!

Posted by dorian9 on May 11, 2009.

(CNN) – If you didn’t catch the white coat and the stethoscope, you might take Dr. Mike Miller for a middle-aged rocker, roaming the halls of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

For years, Miller, a research cardiologist, has been studying the effects of happiness — or things that make people happy — on our hearts. He began his research with laughter, and found watching funny movies and laughing at them could actually open up blood vessels, allowing blood to circulate more freely.

Miller thought, if laughter can do that, why not music? So, he tested the effects of music on the cardiovascular system. “Turns out music may be one of the best de-stressors — either by playing or even listening to music,” said Miller.

The setup was basically the same as with the laughter study: Using high-tech imaging, Miller measured blood vessel size as people listened to music.

The results did not surprise Miller. “The inner lining of the blood vessel relaxed, opened up and produced chemicals that are protective to the heart,” he said.

But when participants listened to music they didn’t particularly enjoy, Miller said, “the vessels actually began to close up.”  That’s exactly what tension — or stress — does.

Long-term stress can wreak havoc on the cardiovascular system. Over time, it can cause blood vessels to stiffen and become rigid, constricting blood flow. As people get older, arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, becomes a problem. Constricted vessels can cause blood pressure to rise and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Stress can also suppress the immune system, contribute to infertility and impotence, speed the aging process and even rewire the brain, leaving people more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

But music can counter the effects of stress. “It gives us an overall feeling of good, well-being — a sense of euphoria in some cases,” Miller said.

A recent study out of Stanford University found elderly patients who were diagnosed with depression gained self-esteem and saw an improvement in their mood when they were visited by a music therapist.

In fact, many hospitals across the country use music therapy to help patients heal. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, uses music as part of its cardiovascular surgery healing program to “promote relaxation and reduce tension, stress and anxiety.” Because music helps these patients relax, it decreases their pain, improves their moods and helps them to sleep better, especially during recovery.

 

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whether you like to listen to bach or beyonce’ or both keep listening because it’s good for your health. the ancients knew about the connection between music and healing. modern scientists are now re-discovering this connection and letting people know that there are healing effects.

click on pythagoras’ image below for a related article:

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Songs that remind us of Mama

May 9th, 2009 · Announcements, Music and Mother's Day

On Mother’s Day Eve, I’m thinking about the songs that we associate with our mothers.  I guess for me, it’s the lullabies and children’s songs that my mother taught me when I was a child.  “Itsy, Bitsy Spider” “Go to Sleepy Little Baby” “Jesus Loves Me” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” are some of my earliest songs.  My parents did a lot of singing with all of us and I particularly remember sing “rounds” in the car as we were driving to Grandma’s house or going on vacation.  We sang “Row, row, row your Boat” and “Are you Sleeping Brother John” over and over as rounds!  It really helped the time pass out on the road. 

Today I have several videos of my mother on YouTube and on one of them she’s playing her harmonica.  In her 84th year, she’s become quite a virtuoso on the harmonica and carries it with her wherever she goes!

What music reminds you of your mother??  If your mother sang to you, gave you music lessons, or gave you a love of music, be sure to thank her for that tomorrow!

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Music Therapy with Breast Cancer Patients

May 8th, 2009 · Music and Cancer

Research on music therapy in people with cancer
There have been studies showing that music therapy can help people who’ve had cancer to feel less anxious, more relaxed, and to feel less pain.

In a very preliminary 2001 British study of music therapy in 29 cancer patients, participants felt a higher sense of well-being and less tension during one session. Researchers measured improvements in immune function and decreases in the amount of the stress hormone cortisol.

A 2001 study of 20 patients awaiting breast biopsy showed that, when some of the patients had a 20-minute music therapy session while in the pre-operative waiting room, their anxiety and respiratory rates were much lower than those of the patients who did not have a music therapy session.

In a small 1991 study in Utah, 15 cancer patients taking pain-relieving medicines were assigned to receive different kinds of music therapy for 6 days to find out if music could help to further reduce their pain. Results showed pain decreases in 47% of the patients.

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Impromptu concert in lobby of Mayo Clinic

May 8th, 2009 · Music and the Golden Years

WEDNESDAY, MAY 06, 2009

Impromptu concert at the Mayo Clinic

This clip is priceless! This lovely couple, married for 62 years, are playing on a beautiful grand piano in the lobby of the Mayo Clinic…a wonderful example of the healing power of music. I’d love to hear your comments!  Click on the blue link to see video!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI-l0tK8Ok0Improm

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“Musical Anesthesia”

May 6th, 2009 · Music and Surgery

What is the advantage of using “musical anesthesia?”

What exactly is “Musical Anesthesia?”  This is my patented procedure for using music during surgery (or other medical procedures) wherein the patient has specially created wireless headphones that deliver specially chosen music during surgery for the express purpose of reducing (sometimes dramatically) the amount of anesthesia required during the procedure.

Why would someone want to reduce the amount of anesthesia they require during surgery? Anesthesia-related complications range from headache to death.  Although people do not die very often from anesthesia, it does happen every year because of previously unknown allergies, anesthesia-related heart attacks, and other unforseen events that result in death.
If you knew that you could supplement the usual anesthesia with music in order to create a safe experience, wouldn’t you want to do that?  I have created a patented a process to deliver that perfect music for surgery through wireless headphones.  If you want to know more about this, please click HERE.  Thank you!

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CNN reports on Swine Flu “music”

May 1st, 2009 · Music and Genetics

This story appeared in 2009, but it appears not to have caught on?  Fascinating idea, though.
By Elizabeth Landau
CNN

Swine flu may be inspiring fear worldwide, but for Stephan Zielinski of San Francisco, California, it inspired a song.

The genes underlying swine flu inspired one amateur musician to compose music based on it.

The virus has the classification H1N1 because it includes two key viral proteins, hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). Zielinski took the genetic sequence of a variant of hemagglutinin and created a computer algorithm to turn it into music.

Zielinski, 41, is not a biochemist or a professional musician — he’s a writer, photographer, computer programmer, and blogger who creates music in his spare time. But he’s fascinated that, even though biologists can map the genome of the virus and predict what the hemagglutinin protein looks like, the human body still cannot distinguish it as the “bad guy” — at least, not until there’s a vaccine.Listen to the song

“Although the map is there and you can even make a song out of it, we can’t explain it to these itty bitty little cells in body,” he said.

Using computer programs he created himself, as well as a commercial product, Zielinski composed his song by assigning instruments and musical notes to various properties of the protein.

Zielinski took the various categories of amino acids, the building blocks of the protein, and assigned each a different instrument — piano, organ, low synthesizer, percussion. The melody was created by assigning notes to specific amino acids. Each beat of the song also corresponds to one of numerous amino acids.

The work was done entirely with a computer and took about six hours Tuesday, he said.

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Music for the “Zika Virus?”

April 30th, 2009 · Music Healing

Can music prevent the “Zika Virus”????

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Of course, the short answer is “no!” but I did get your attention didn’t I?  The serious answer is that music can help your overall state of wellness and many music therapy research has documented that listening to your favorite music for at least 30 minutes a day can actually boost your immune system!  Your immune system plays a large role in whether or not you get a virus and research has shown that listening to or better yet, playing or singing the music you love, can boost your immune system.

So, it’s not too outrageous to think that music might keep you from being as susceptible to flu or a virus of any kind.  If you take normal wellness steps such as:
  1. getting 8 hours of sleep
  2. eating healthy foods such as fruits, nuts, whole grains and lean meats
  3. exercising for 4-5 x’s per week
  4. keeping a mostly postive attitude
you will be much less likely to get the Zika virus or any other type of virus!!
So put those Oldies on your iPod or your CD player or your turntable and let’s get pumping!!

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