Relaxation Music Theory
By William Schaeffer
June 19, 2015
I was recovering from Bronchitis in early 2014. After a week of lying on my floor in front of
a heater, I slowly returned to life. As
I was recuperating, I wanted to listen to some relaxing sounds, but all the
music I could find on the internet was too busy and overly captivating with
lush melodies and subtle rhythms.
I found it distracting and overly stimulating to listen to. Then I had an idea. Why don’t I record
something myself? What I really wanted
was just a collection of background sounds that would “liven” up the sonic
environment without being intrusive. Not
really sound effects, but similar; very sparsely arranged musical tones.
With this concept in mind, I created the first relaxation music
recording that I posted on youtube.
Some of the features of this musical effort:
1. The effort was to create a soundtrack to put on in the background
that was noticeable, but not intrusive or stimulating at all; something slightly
musical to listen to in addition to the sounds already present in the
background environment.
2. There is a noticeable absence of melody or rhythm. This is the most important part. There is nothing for your mind to “lock onto”
and synchronize with. The recognizable repetitive
cycle is stimulating and energizing. This effort is to diminish the “musical
thought energy” so occasional musical events are sparsely arranged to minimize
melodic and rhythmic thought. Let the
active analytical mind relax and go to sleep.
Let the intuitive mind take over and experience the moment.
3. Decreasing tempo and descending sequence of pitch. We cannot help looking for rhythmic cycles
to synchronize our own personal rhythms with.
If the events are slowing down then we will follow them and relax. Descending pitch lines give a feeling of
moving downward toward the ground or couch and relaxing.
4. Large space of silence between events. These spaces let our mind float and drift and
slowly wait for the next event. Much
music is designed to surprise and stimulate and energize with constant
unexpected sound events. The intent
here is the opposite. Just let a simple,
pleasant event occur and then float away and eventually something else will
happen. Meanwhile, you can just relax.
5. Consonant intervals and minimal use of dissonant harmonies. Consonant intervals are soothing in part
because they require much less mental processing to resolve. Dissonant intervals have complicated
harmonies that require much thought to interpret and they jar and tense the
mind.
6. No fast moving melodies or short flourishes of notes; just
occasional sounds that let you relax.
7. Thoughtful clean performance in a thoughtful meditative mindset. I cannot play music this slowly unless I am
fully prepared and inspired to spend the time and thought to make it
happen. It requires a tremendous amount
of concentration and attention, despite the minimal results. If I am in an ordinary mindset, the notes are
played too quickly and impatiently and the intended effect is lost. Each time I record, I am convinced that the recording
is the last one of this type; for this very reason.
I created these recordings for myself and I actually listen to them
quite a bit. Frequently, I prefer to
listen to one of these relaxation songs at the computer instead of popular
music. If you are a musician, you might
try to create a recording like this yourself.
I continue to explore this medium with new ideas. Some are more successful than others, but I
feel like I discovered a new way of thinking about and listening to musical
events, and that is fun (and relaxing).
This type of music could not happen in the previous recorded music
economy, because it would be too expensive and too inconvenient to record and
distribute such comparatively small musical content. This is another advantage of the internet in
our lives today.
Put this music on in the background and go do something else. Write an email, wash the dishes, put a few
things away, clean up your desk, read the a book, or just day dream for a moment.
Try it and see what you think.
Relax. Enjoy.
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