hi-fi+ Global Network Magazine

It’s a well-documented fact that listening to slow tempo music of any sort can slow heart rates and reduce blood pressure. Brian Eno might not have been consciously thinking of this when he composed his 1979 album Ambient 1: Music for Airports [Polydor], but the result works extremely well; that slow, contemplative music playing quietly in the background does tend to calm us down. Strangely, if it’s played quiet enough to register but not loud enough to focus upon.

Alongside ambient music and music made specifically for meditation, there’s a rich thread of classical music that helps calm us both inside and out. Pachibel’s Canon in D, the Andante second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 12 in A major (K. 414), Bach’s Art of Fugue (BWV 1080). There’s also a lot of jazz, most notably ‘Peace Piece’ by Bill Evans [Everybody Digs Bill Evans, Riverside].

The reverse is also true. Up-beat, powerful and fast music can raise our heartbeat and blood pressure. This can be exhilarating, although it’s often accompanied by extreme volume levels. In fact, the two (rhythm and volume) seem to operate on different physiological functions.

We’ve known this for decades, but recent work in auditory neuroscience and psychology give this medical credence. Music has been demonstrated to reduce stress-biomarkers like cortisol and sympathetic activity (such as blood pressure and heart rate), and classical music has been used in reducing the neuroendocrine stress response in surgical procedures, especially in the fields of obstetrics, cardiovascular care and oncology. It is also used to help lower stress with patients with PTSD, fibromyalgia and even depression.

It must be stressed (no pun intended) that the effects of music on the body are not meant as a replacement to treatment. There’s no sense of “Take two Mozarts and call me in the morning!” here.