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What's Your Musical Mode (Mood)?

6/18/2018

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On May 29th I headed to Whidbey Island for a 10-day personal retreat. My time there included 3 days of advanced training with Chloe Goodchild, founder of The Naked Voice. Each time I practice with her, I dive into an ocean of soul- light and bring up more pearls.

This time, when we sang her 7 Sounds of Love in various keys (or modes), I found myself attracted to the Dorian Mode. It's a scale where joy and sorrow embrace. It starts in a rather dark mood and then rises to a sweet resolution. Much to my surprise, it helped me release old grief that I wasn't even aware was still trapped in me. Singing the tones of that scale shifted me back and forth between despair and joy and moved physical energy as well. Finally I released deep sobs. This healing process continued for several days, as I surfed the waves of emotion. Eventually I felt much lighter. My body was energized and less inflamed. My spirit was calm and serene. What a relief!

This healing process reminds me of Khalil Gibran's wisdom:
Joy and sorrow are inseparable...together they come, and when one sits alone with you...remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.


What are Musical Modes?

Different musical scales or modes have different expressive characteristics, allowing us to experience and convey a variety of emotions. We can also utilize different musical modes to change our mood. We can identify the mode of our speaking voices as well, and gain insight into the feelings behind the words.

The 7 musical modes that I practice and teach are recorded on Chloe's CD--Sound Awareness. Try singing along as a daily meditation and see what happens for you. Which modes are you attracted to? Does your favourite shift from day to day? What soul journeys do the various modes take you on?

The musical modes are named for geographic and ethnic regions of ancient Greece. Some of the Greek modes are: 

IONIAN—C major scale

DORIAN—D, mixed light and dark. Feeling confused, indecisive.  Helps you engage creatively with the unknown. [Greensleeves, Scarborough Fair]

PHRYGIAN—E, dark Kali, our shadow side

LYDIAN—F, has open, bright “Ma”.  [Sound of Music]

MIXOLYDIAN—G, Blues 7th “NI”. Used by Hildegard of Bingham [Norwegian Wood, Beatles]

AEOLIAN—A, Longing, lamenting feeling. [Summer Time]

The writings of Plato and Aristotle include large sections that describe the effect of different musical modes on mood and on character formation. For example, from Aristotle's "Politics",

“The musical modes differ essentially from one another, and those who hear them are differently affected by each. Some of them make men sad and grave, like the so called Mixolydian; others enfeeble the mind, like the relaxed modes; another, again, produces a moderate or settled temper, which appears to be the peculiar effect of the Dorian; and the Phrygian inspires enthusiasm.” The effect of modes on character and mood was called the 'ethos of music.' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_mode) Plato believed that a change in the musical modes of the state would cause a wide-scale social revolution. The Chinese believed this too, and they therefore limited the types of music that were allowed. What do you think? Do musical trends affect society and behaviour?
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Hum your way to health — Part 2

2/20/2018

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What is Your Personal Fundamental Frequency?
 
Humming creates a vibration that resonates throughout the body. After a few minutes of humming, every cell entrains (aligns) with that frequency. Each of us has a certain basic frequency that is a combination of the frequencies of all the organs of our body. It’s your personal Fundamental Frequency. When you hum in tune with your Fundamental Frequency it feels comfortable and natural. It gently creates greater ease and joy. Some say it’s the sound of your soul.
 
To find your Fundamental Frequency, hum when you first wake up in the morning, while you are relaxed, before you start walking and talking. Measure the pitch of that hum (there are apps for that, such as iStrobosoft). Do this for 5 few days in a row. The pitch that comes up most often is your Fundamental Frequency. That’s a good pitch to use for your humming practice. Don’t worry if the pitch varies from time to time. It will change based on your health, time of day, and other factors. So, don’t be too rigid about what note you are using. Just be aware of what is comfortable for you, where you are feeling the tones in your body, and how things shift from day to day. This self-awareness is very valuable. You may want to keep a journal and note your observations. 

Frequency + Intent = Healing
To create healing, we need the right frequencies, and the right intent. What is intent? It’s positive thoughts, beliefs, feelings, visualizations and purposes. These are a vital element of successfully using humming (or any sounds) for healing. Intention greatly amplifies the healing effects that were discussed in Part 1 of this article. Words and thoughts each carry vibrations, and sound amplifies them. Be mindful to consciously choose healing thoughts when humming.
 
Once a woman called me and said someone had given her an energy medicine treatment. Afterwards she had a terrible headache that lasted a week. “What happened?” she asked me. It seems the “healer” had spent the whole time in an agitated state, talking about world crises. He had transferred his despair and “dis-ease” to her. I helped her reverse this condition, with some uplifting, guided meditations.

What's the Scientific Evidence?
You may be familiar with the work of Dr. Masaru Emoto, a Japanese scientist who photographed water with a dark-field microscope.

He wanted to find out what happened to water when it was exposed it to various influences — thoughts, music, prayer, chemical pollution, microwaves, etc. After “treatment” he would freeze the water and observe the effect on the crystals that were formed. Remarkably, water that had negative words spoken to it (“I hate you”) formed very ugly crystals. Water exposed to loving thoughts (“Thank you”) formed beautiful crystals. It didn’t matter what language the words were spoken in. The effect of intention was enough.

Our bodies are 70% water, so imagine the effect we are having when we hum with positive thoughts. We are literally restructuring every cell. View Dr. Emoto’s photos.

Another leading-edge scientist in the field of intention is Dr. Bruce Lipton, who wrote Biology of Belief. He studies the biological effects of belief on the body—what some call the placebo effect. A startling example of how powerful belief can be, is a study in which a group of people who believed they’d had knee surgery, recovered as well as at those who had the actual operation!
 
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that crystal singing bowls, paired with your voice, boost the humming effect tenfold. They support and amplify your every intention. Marcel Vogel, a high-level IBM scientist who studied the properties of crystals, said, “Crystal emits a vibration which extends and amplifies the power of the user’s mind.” 
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    Author

    Nancy A. Watters, MA, is an expert sound therapist, professional singer, psychotherapist and Reiki master. 

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