In the previous article I had begun to discuss the spirituality of music from the conception of how it interacts with our mind and body, based on the evolutionary process of human sentience and sensory perception in relationship to the world it finds itself in. While this may sound crude and rather abstract, it is of great importance that the nature of how we relate our internal being with the external world be clearly understood. The western educated mind may find it hard to immediately assimilate this discussion into everyday experience, so the best tool to use would be the incorporation of a scientific lens of observation along with the memory, or conscious observation of the material reality at hand. That is, I will attempt to describe scientific evidence which supports my particular points of view of which it is up to the reader to use their own experience to validate that which is being discussed. 
We have previously stated that particular sounds influence our state of being, as a result of this realisation we have been able to develop different sounds to which we have formed cultures around. Most world cultures have within their core practice a particular style of music which largely influences group behavior and hence has become the core attractor around which most behavior is centered. In the mordern world we have developed various styles of music around which many genres have formed and consequent cultures around those particular genres. The instruments and tempo with which the music is being played is what determines what genre a sound will become, and this is due to the influence which particular sounds have on our state of being, and hence emotions. The primary pick up instrument of sound is our brain through our ears and it is through this centre that we may be able to discern and ascertain a sound to meaning. Our brain which is connected to our body via the nervous system then communicates its state to the rest of our body to produce the corresponding physiological response which is what the results in the state of being based on the sound.
One may be compelled to ask; well if sound is just sound, how does it have an influence on the brain which is full of pictures, words, sounds, emotions, memories, knowledge and so forth? Simply put, everything can be represented as a wave, a wave with a particular character and the character of the wave signal can contain information within it. This is a rather abstract description of what is going on, and the best way to put it into context would be to give an example of what would provide a similar observation to what is happening with the brain and body.
The human brain is so fast in the way it deals with information such that it can be said to operate like a microchip processor, and this processing ability can be characterised much like a computer’s processor for comparative purposes, but does not operate in the same linear manner just in the way it deals with information. The performance of a computers power can be measured in how many calculations it makes per second which is denoted Hertz (Hz), which is really a measurement of frequency. There are medical devices which can be used to determine the frequencies a brain emits, and these can be used as an indicator of its level of operation, which have been termed Alpha, Beta, and Theta brainwave states. These brain states are also a description of the nature of the conscious activity ones body may be in. This makes perfect sense because as the brain operates at a higher and higher frequency all it means is that the amount of information being processed per unit time increases, which can easily be reflected by the pattern of our thoughts. Thinking alone does not determine brain frequency for it is the way it harmonises with the rest of the body as well, which brings about different emotional tones which one may be experiencing. For example:
Beta brainwaves – These are frequencies which operate at a range from 14Hz to 30Hz (approximately). It is known as the highest alert status of the human brain, and can be characterized by a high level of focus and concentration. It is the frequency at which the brain is able to deal with large quantities of information and thinking capacity. Since it is a high state of operation on it can be seen as an animalistic style of operation, also known as the “monkey mind”
Alpha – This ranges from a frequency of about 8Hz to 14Hz, and it is characterised by an alert but relaxed state, which allows one to deal with enough information to keep them in an alert state but not agitated. This is the state which most of our awake activity takes place in the current modern world and if one is to get into a meditation in these states, then they are able to access a deep state which may allow them to process information much more accurately.
Theta – These frequencies range from about 4Hz to 7.5Hz approximately, and is mostly characterised to be a balanced state of operation in which the brain is much more relaxed and in a state of deep contemplation. The most creative and intuitive states can be accessed through this frequency and usually inner imagery can be accessed through these states where one is said to be in an inuitive state of mind. In the state of sleep this is where one begins to fall into full body relaxation as well or where one can be said to be drowsy.
Delta – This is the most relaxed and the deepest part of brain operation. This is where the alert state of the brain does not operate and one could be said to be in deep sleep. At this stage of operation, this is where REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is said to take place, and where one is on a dream state as the body is involved in ultimate relaxation.
Within these brainwaves and consequently different states of consciousness are contained different thoughts, memories and emotions. Particular soundwaves may resonate with different memories caught up in the brain, and thus depending on the resonant brainwave frequency associations between different memories and current emotional states, and hence states of being are brought to the forefront of experience, and that is how listening to a certain song can result in a change of mood, and state of being. Therefore culture and groups which operate around particular genres of music are really operating from place of feeling around which the music makes a potent reminder of.
What of Music Which one has Never Heard Before?
Sound does not only affect the brain through memory and emotion but rather, it influences the entire body and this achieved through a complex communication system between the body and mind. The seat of our emotional understanding can be said to be within the heart, and since the brain is connected to the rest of the body and the heart through the nervous system it is without a doubt that there is a communication which takes place between the brain and the heart. Moments of joy come from when one is enjoying a piece of music, this is what gets all the cells in the body moving and gives vitality to the energy flow around the listener, which is what results in the insatiable desire to move the body, it may be the head at first but should the listener enjoy long enough then what results is that one is compelled to dance. This compels one to inquire into what is the cause of the dance? Is it because one recognises the song, and therefore through memory they find joy? Or is it that, if one pays complete attention to the music, whether they had heard it before or not then a feeling is realised and this feeling is what gets one to move with the music. It could perhaps be that dancing is an attempt of the body to seek to move just like the sound, you love the music, therefore you mimic it. If that argument holds true, then it could be possible to put a relationship between the body, its state of being and the particular signatures of sound, which may be enveloped in the categorisation as genre. It may seem fitting that we choose to hear certain types of music based on the way we feel, or depending on our current state of being, which may be emotions which we have sustained for a considerable duration.
If we are to explore memory, and the way memory operates, then it can be easy to see that memory is a store of something which has happened in the past. It only becomes active when we access it, and give it a sense of continuity through our experience. So in the present world of experience, such as when a piece of music is playing, there is no action of the past as memory, only that recording which is reproducing the piece of music. Therefore the listener is active in the present, perceiving the piece of music and therefore what is taking place may be associated with the memory of that which the listener has heard before and a feeling may arise, which may be born out of the memory associated with the recording or the feeling which the listener is having as a result of listening to the particular piece of recording/music. A subtle difference arises in feeling when the listener has never heard the particular recording or music when a feeling arises as a result, what happens is that there has been a communication between the the state of being of the listener and the music which they are currently listening to. One may wonder how this comes about, and whether it comes about as a result of a memory of a recording with a similar sound or effect or whether there is a match between the state of being of the individual and the music with which they are listening to. The clues to this may lie in the brain frequencies associated with a particular state of being (Alpha, Beta, Theta) and the frequency signature of the sound of the recording, this is a concept which has not been described especially because of the marketing of music, and the distribution based on genre and themes. In order to be able to understand the deeper fundamentals of how music works within our bodies and the effect it has on our emotional tones and fundamentally the nature of the sound we need to have a deeper understanding into the nature of sound and how we can classify music based on its sound character and style of sound arrangements.
Music and listening to it can be thought of as something which has to bring alignment between our brain harmonics and our state of being, observation of this phenomenon can be seen to provide a particular state of joy and if the intensity of the emotion is strong enough, then what may arise would be a state of pure ecstacy or bliss, similar to the states that one reaches when in an intense state of meditation with positive intent. So it can be safe to argue that the nature and state of the individual have an effect on how they will listen to music and hence how their bodies will respond to it.
Four4Beats 