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Subject: "Repeated listening improves your mind & personality (swipe)" Previous topic | Next topic
lonesome_d
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Wed Dec-28-11 04:19 PM

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"Repeated listening improves your mind & personality (swipe)"


          

Saw this while reading this month's Smithsonian mag and thought it might make a decent post... in part because it goes against so much of what I crave in a music listening experience and what I actually do. I mean, *practicing* listening to a song? FOH.


http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Music-Playlists-to-Soothe-Your-Mind.html

Music Playlists to Soothe Your Mind
Neuropsychiatrist Galina Mindlin suggests that listening to particular songs on your mp3 player can make you a more productive person



In their new book, Your Playlist Can Change Your Life, Galina Mindlin, director of the Brain Music Treatment Center, and co-authors Don DuRousseau and Joseph Cardillo advise that repeated listening to carefully selected songs on an iPod or other device can help train your mind and make you more productive, calmer or more affectionate. Mindlin spoke with Erica R. Hendry.

Who should be doing this?
I think playlists will benefit everybody, especially people who want to relieve their anxiety, sharpen memory, increase concentration, improve their mood or even relieve pain. Also, shift workers can use the playlist after a sleepless night to increase their alertness when they have to drive home, or to calm themselves down. We can actually enhance relationships to switch people from confrontational mode to understanding. For example, after a disagreement with his wife, one gentleman played their wedding song.

It instantly brought him into a more sympathetic mood.

How do you tap into that without formal therapy and figure out what works for you in different scenarios?
It’s very important to choose something you already like and feel excited about. And then you have to play and replay the piece and learn that the piece makes you feel either calmer or more energized. Once you do that and tune into it, you see the effect on your mood and thinking in a matter of days or weeks.

How long does it take to put together a playlist that’s actually effective? Where should people start?
It really depends, and, I’ll add, we see this as fun. The brain usually likes things that are fun and are pleasurable. You can do this in your leisure time and we don’t think it’s that long -- If you know your genre, you know you like electronic or classical music, it doesn’t take that long, you just need to put it together. This is something that doesn’t work instantly, you need to practice it and see what works and adjust accordingly.

The process you describe isn’t really a passive exercise -- you even recommend using visualization, movement, scent with songs on your playlist. What do these elements do to your brain?
It’s important to combine the musical stimuli with imagery because when you do you activate more areas in the brain. When you’re feeling down you can recall a positive, exciting memory and connect that imagery with a strong, positive musical piece to “energize” your brain.

A lot of us fall into the habit of listening to the same songs over and over again. Can a playlist ever becomes less effective over time, or is this good for life, so to speak?
You have to update your playlist constantly, and you can really upgrade your list to stay current -- not using the most modern songs, which you could of course, but really checking in with what state of mind you’re in right now. Because you can get even more stressed out in life, or you can go through a major life event, so you might need a more calming, stronger effect and then have to update your playlist.

Creativity tends to be one of those things we think we’re either born with or not, but in the book you argue it’s something you can enhance or learn with music with a technique called scaffolding.
If you use musical stimuli in brain training you increase the amount of neuroconnections in your brain. The more connections you have the sharper your brain is and the more creative you get.

What about someone who feels anxious?
For relieving anxiety, we recommend you choose a piece of music you really like that will calm you down and soothe you. You pay attention and ingrain that piece in your brain. Now you can use the piece any time you get stressed out.

A lot of us assume faster songs mean happy, slower songs mean calm or sad. Is that always true?
Not always. A fast song with a high beats per minute can calm you down. That’s something we use a lot with people with attention deficit disorder, children and adults. It’s what we recommend to people who are striving for high concentration and focus.

There are a lot of musically challenged people out there
You don’t have to be Rachmaninoff to do a playlist. Everyone’s brain knows what kind of music it likes, if it makes you calmer or more excited or less anxious.

You just replay the piece and practice listening to it. Research confirms that the practice actually makes the change in the brain, not musical talent or ability.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

  

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Topic Outline
Subject Author Message Date ID
Very interesting..
Dec 28th 2011
1
hmmm
Dec 29th 2011
2
I tend to obsess over playlists
Dec 29th 2011
3
i used to do that
Dec 29th 2011
4
      we're very, very different about that aspect
Dec 29th 2011
5
           DJing & constructing playlists are two very different things for me
Dec 29th 2011
6
           Interesting
Dec 29th 2011
9
                When we do shows together we plan it out
Dec 29th 2011
10
           RE: we're very, very different about that aspect
Dec 29th 2011
7
                OUCH
Dec 29th 2011
8
                     RE: OUCH
Dec 29th 2011
11

Original Juice
Member since Oct 03rd 2007
2578 posts
Wed Dec-28-11 06:01 PM

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1. "Very interesting.."
In response to Reply # 0


          

I, like you, probably listen to way too much music, but at the same time, I am a strong believer in "you are what you (eat)."

This article reminds me of when I made the transition into a new career. I was very insecure about my skills and lacked confidence in my overall personality. I made a cool little mixed CD with various songs which basically built up my esteem, reminded me of my life priorities, and just felt good to listen to. This is basically what I would listen to in the ride on the way to work everyday for the first few months. Nowadays, I use the same CD to work out to when I have the chance.

  

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lonesome_d
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Thu Dec-29-11 11:58 AM

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2. "hmmm"
In response to Reply # 1


          

>I, like you, probably listen to way too much music, but at
>the same time, I am a strong believer in "you are what you
>(eat)."
>
>This article reminds me of when I made the transition into a
>new career. I was very insecure about my skills and lacked
>confidence in my overall personality. I made a cool little
>mixed CD with various songs which basically built up my
>esteem, reminded me of my life priorities, and just felt good
>to listen to. This is basically what I would listen to in the
>ride on the way to work everyday for the first few months.
>Nowadays, I use the same CD to work out to when I have the
>chance.

Seems like you're a case study for the article.

I dunno, I'm not an overachiever or anything, so maybe my basically non-competitive mindset is one of the reasons this seems a fairly alien way of listening to me. Like any music fan, I've made mixes and listened to them ad nauseum, for driving, study, partying, getting my mack on, whatever. I'm what I consider an active music listener, meaning I'm constantly analyzing what I enjoy or don't appreciate about a song, even on repeats; maybe that's what's meant about 'practicing' listening though it seems to me that what they're talking about is almost like using a playlist as a mantra, which to me is a very different thing. In that case the music becomes a vehicle to a goal, rather than the goal itself.

Another thing that bugs me is that it doesn't seem to take any note of the effects of or reasons for searching out new music; and in fact if repetition serves a basic function (which is notable considering the dominance of format radio play), whence then the impetus for expanding one's playlist?

I actually got kind of agitated the first time I read the article, then I just got kinda confused. Oh well.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

  

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OldPro
Member since Dec 10th 2002
34401 posts
Thu Dec-29-11 12:38 PM

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3. "I tend to obsess over playlists"
In response to Reply # 0
Thu Dec-29-11 01:14 PM by OldPro

  

          

meaning it can take me hours to put them together... I just have a thing about the flow sounding right. Worst part is after I play it a couple times I go back in to make changes and it starts all over again.
_________________________________
Reunion Radio Podcasts
Bringing Together Five Decades of R&B/Funk/Soul/Dance

http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/

  

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howisya
Member since Nov 09th 2002
39983 posts
Thu Dec-29-11 12:42 PM

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4. "i used to do that"
In response to Reply # 3


  

          

for my (sorry to bring it up again, years later) radio show... and i mean making them impeccable every week. oddly enough, i've not cared since then about making playlists to return to. that's just not how i listen to music. there's something strange about this article, something very pavlovian. i guess it's no surprise because i've never been one of those people who have go-to songs for "when you're mad/sad" or whatever.

  

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lonesome_d
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30443 posts
Thu Dec-29-11 01:05 PM

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5. "we're very, very different about that aspect"
In response to Reply # 4


          

>for my (sorry to bring it up again, years later) radio
>show... and i mean making them impeccable every week.

when I was DJing I did it off the cuff every show. I don't know, I definitely appreciate the artistry in constructing an impeccable playlist, but maybe I'm more lax about what I think follows/flows... more maybe the songs themselves are more important to me than the order they're played in.

I'm sure I have mentioned this before, but I actually did an on-air audition at WXPN around 1995 though, and it was hard to adjust to he pre-set playlist format. (Obviously I didn't get the job.)

I see the same thing in the social listening rooms with you - you're meticulous about playing certain songs for certain people, sometimes even in certain orders, which is completely different from me. I think.

Then again, I might have been different if I'd been doing that stuff when I was, say, in college... at a point in my life where more of my energy was devoted to music.

>oddly
>enough, i've not cared since then about making playlists to
>return to.

The article really focuses on the iPod (or other player! haha) so since neither of us uses an iPod (or other portable device), it opens up the chickn-or-egg question of whether the iPod can drive a listener toward playlists in the sense that hte article is talking about, or whether someone who appreciates playlists in that way more would be more likely to go iPod?

Or maybe it's a bunch of baloney either way, and there's no real correlation.


I suggest above the same theory (of a playlist as mantra) could be applied to format radio, which is basically a playlist broadcast to lots of people. I know you enjoy listening to comm'l. radio in different formats so you may have more thought on that.

>that's just not how i listen to music. there's
>something strange about this article, something very
>pavlovian. i guess it's no surprise because i've never been
>one of those people who have go-to songs for "when you're
>mad/sad" or whatever.



-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

  

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OldPro
Member since Dec 10th 2002
34401 posts
Thu Dec-29-11 01:13 PM

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6. "DJing & constructing playlists are two very different things for me"
In response to Reply # 5
Thu Dec-29-11 01:28 PM by OldPro

  

          

with playlists i'm just dropping files in place and listing to the end and beginning of each and how they fit. When I'm DJing I'm just going with the flow 95% of the time... might be because I'm listening to the songs all the way through so I have a clearer picture of what should come next. How the crowd is responding is a major factor too... no reason to stick to a set list that isn't moving the crowd.
_________________________________
Reunion Radio Podcasts
Bringing Together Five Decades of R&B/Funk/Soul/Dance

http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/

  

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lonesome_d
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Thu Dec-29-11 01:51 PM

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9. "Interesting"
In response to Reply # 6


          

I know very little about modern DJing but I do hear about DJ routines, and practicing a setlist and stuff like that. Good to know the magic can still happen on the fly.

Do you & Silk go into your podcast with a pre-set playlist, or just a theme idea and a bunch of records?

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

  

Printer-friendly copy | Reply | Reply with quote | Top

                    
OldPro
Member since Dec 10th 2002
34401 posts
Thu Dec-29-11 01:56 PM

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10. "When we do shows together we plan it out"
In response to Reply # 9
Thu Dec-29-11 01:58 PM by OldPro

  

          

>Do you & Silk go into your podcast with a pre-set playlist, or
>just a theme idea and a bunch of records?

He does his solo sets that way too. With me it's about half and half... Sometimes I'll do a few mixes before hand and then just work those in with some records I think fit. Sometimes (like my last show) I just start mixing on the fly... if I fuck up or don't like where it's going I just start over. For me planning things out on a podcast can become boring real quick.

As for DJ routines, back in the day any time me and my crew would go into a battle we'd have a routine worked out. You pretty much have to.

_________________________________
Reunion Radio Podcasts
Bringing Together Five Decades of R&B/Funk/Soul/Dance

http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/

  

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howisya
Member since Nov 09th 2002
39983 posts
Thu Dec-29-11 01:16 PM

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7. "RE: we're very, very different about that aspect"
In response to Reply # 5


  

          

>>for my (sorry to bring it up again, years later) radio
>>show... and i mean making them impeccable every week.
>
>when I was DJing I did it off the cuff every show. I don't
>know, I definitely appreciate the artistry in constructing an
>impeccable playlist, but maybe I'm more lax about what I think
>follows/flows... more maybe the songs themselves are more
>important to me than the order they're played in.

you definitely are, unless what i've heard and seen this year somehow isn't a good indicator.

sometimes my playlist came up short, a cd went missing, or i ended up with extra time before or after my normal slot, so i had room to improvise. it was never as good as the planned playlist, but it was fine. i did have a lot of fun the show where i did all vinyl, which was mostly if not fully the station's, so it was completely improvised, and a lot of the music was new to me as i was hearing it.

i respect off the cuff, but my attitude was that i had so much music of varying genres i wanted to play the listener, and i had ideas on how to present it and connect the dots with other music.


>I suggest above the same theory (of a playlist as mantra)
>could be applied to format radio, which is basically a
>playlist broadcast to lots of people. I know you enjoy
>listening to comm'l. radio in different formats so you may
>have more thought on that.

commercial radio is kind of brainwashing, but i don't think the stations are presenting any mantra beyond that.

i always appreciated listening to and doing themed shows.

  

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lonesome_d
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Thu Dec-29-11 01:49 PM

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8. "OUCH"
In response to Reply # 7


          

>>> but maybe I'm more lax about what I
>think
>>follows/flows...

>you definitely are, unless what i've heard and seen this year
>somehow isn't a good indicator.

hahaha, no I think it's a great indicator... Tuesday's session was about as consistent as I've ever gotten.

I did have a series of mixes for a girlfriend in college where I didn't repeat any artists over like 6 or 7 XLII90s, but that's the only time I can think of anything like that. Back when I could still remember what I put on a mix for someone a few months ago.

>sometimes my playlist came up short, a cd went missing, or i
>ended up with extra time before or after my normal slot, so i
>had room to improvise. it was never as good as the planned
>playlist, but it was fine. i did have a lot of fun the show
>where i did all vinyl, which was mostly if not fully the
>station's, so it was completely improvised, and a lot of the
>music was new to me as i was hearing it.

Cool... but dangerous! (I speak from experience, occasionally even having gone so far as to cut off mid-record. Not like anyone was listening, really.)

>i respect off the cuff, but my attitude was that i had so much
>music of varying genres i wanted to play the listener, and i
>had ideas on how to present it and connect the dots with other
>music.

Very cool.

One of the things about our station was that timeslots were broken up by genre. One of the only ways not to be on in the middle of the night (especially that first year) was to do something other than rock. So while I had leeway, my playlist was at least supposed to be composed primarily of folk and blues and related musics. I didn't think of it as handcuffing me then, since that was most of what I was listening to at the time. I dunno.

>commercial radio is kind of brainwashing, but i don't think
>the stations are presenting any mantra beyond that.

Not what they're presenting, but the effect it has on the listener.

>i always appreciated listening to and doing themed shows.

As I've said, I've appreciated listening to your spots!

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

  

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howisya
Member since Nov 09th 2002
39983 posts
Thu Dec-29-11 02:05 PM

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11. "RE: OUCH"
In response to Reply # 8


  

          

>As I've said, I've appreciated listening to your spots!

the spots are only the ones w/ the station call letters, and if you listen to most of them closely, they're trashtalking everyone, it's just hard to notice.

  

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