This Week in Music to Work to - September 18th, 2014

Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition

I loved reading this study - it reminded me of my own undergraduate work as a Psych major when I was looking at how sound affected physical performance.  What the paper is suggesting is that the low level processing systems of the brain get occupied by the ambient noise, forcing the brain to use a higher level of processing when attending to additional tasks.  This results in greater creativity - which is something we've been gambling our live on!

You can read about my original study here:

Dangerous Decibels

We occasionally see articles about loud music and the damage it can do to teen's ears.  What we didn't know is that there is a movement called Dangerous Decibels which tackles the problem directly.  What we like about this is that it give parents tangible advice on how to help their kids keep their hearing.  If you're the parent of kid who seems to have ear buds surgically implanted in their ear canal - you might want to check this out.

How to Listen to Music at Work Without Sacrificing Productivity 

There's pretty much a consensus nowadays that listening to music at work can help productivity - bosses and managers are getting used to seeing employees wearing ear buds and headphones and are even welcoming the fact.  As the idea matures we see writers spending less time on justification and more on how to make the music really work for you.  This Amex article look s at what types of music can help different working activities - nothing earth shattering here but it's great to see such corporate media channels getting on the music at work bandwagon.

The Super Simple Way to Improve Your Mood

Study out of Missouri that looked at mood regulation - particularly how to make yourself happier using variations of happy sounding and less positive music combined with setting an intention to be happier.  Seems that you need both - happy music and a good intention and you can improve your mood.  Awesome!

Library, Magic House Team Up to Help Ferguson Kids Cope with Crisis

It's amazing to me how fast music therapy is gaining ground in society.  There's nothing new about putting on activities and distractions for kids in tough environments, such as the hell everybody went through inFergusonearlier this year - but the fact that a music therapist is part of those activities and a very popular one to boot - is an indication of just how far we've come.

Music as medicine has huge potential, study suggests

This was the study published last year from Daniel Levitin and Mona Lisa Chanda that reviewed 400 scientific papers on how music affects the human being.  It's pretty clear that there are significant benefits across the board and the idea of music as medicine (a medicine with no side effects,) is something we can all get behind.  A nice summary and worth the read.

#musictoworkto #creativity #medicine #mood #ambient

Written while listening to: Trust

Image Credit: Creativity by Sean MacEntee on Flickr 

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Long Form Instrumental Music - Say what?

So I’m taking a course at Berklee College of Music on Digital marketing and it’s been the best decision I’ve made since I got married.  Of the many aspects on the course, the one we are looking at right now is: “Who is the market for music2work2?”

Unlike my fellow students who are marketing everything from start out rock bands to singer songwriters, club DJs and established music celebrities, music2work2 is less concerned with who you are and who you hang out with and more concerned with what you do.

We know that having noise in the background helps improve performance and we’re familiar with the Mozart Effect; it seems that the idea of music as a study aid is becoming more prevalent, this article in Teen ink that puts forward the idea that music helps with homework and we agree entirely.

So – where do you go to get this kind of music, and what is it called?  For my own purposes I classify it as:  Long form, instrumental music.  Long form because when you longer have the need for words, you free the music from the 3 ½ minute “song” structure that has been so dominant over the last 70 years.

Of course if you go and Google “Long Form Instrumental Music” it doesn’t exactly come up with a playlist.  You see, when I start looking at the current categorizations of this kind of music – they don’t exactly make me think of stuff that I would play when I want to work or study: New Age, Spiritual, Holistic, Jazz, Classical, Ambient, Chillout, Trance, Dub etc.  I’m listening to a piece called Language of Silence by Deuter right now – it was written to be used by Reiki healers but it’s great as a writing accompaniment.

Most metal heads wouldn’t be seen dead listening to a New Age meditation, but that same metal head on a deadline might suddenly find the same tones exactly what they need to finish. One of the opportunities that I see for music2work2 is to introduce people to a whole range of music that they might not have thought they would like - the challenge here is not the music but the nomenclature.

Myst by Phillip Jons

Since music2work2 is based on the premise that music is good for you – it is beneficial to our lives, I am always interested to hear the music of artists who believe the same. Phillip Jons, a MySpace friend, refers to his work as “music for healing.”

There is one of his songs in particular that I really like, “Myst.” “Myst” is a piano driven piece of slow to moderate tempo. It is calming and relaxing. For me, the beautiful melody elicits images of a gentle rain; rain that falls softly to the earth bringing renewal and new life - - or possibly healing to the one listening to the lovely music.

If you are looking for music to relax to, or music with which to help restore and revitalize your energy, I recommend giving “Myst” a listen.