One for the musicians... or maybe the psychologists here!

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Geektastic

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#248863 13-Apr-2019 09:06

I was thinking randomly the other day about musical tastes and how they change over your life (or at least mine have).

Then I happened to read a Wikipedia entry when I wanted to know what "Butter jazz" was. I read some of the other definitions in there, including one of a genre I play a lot as background when I am working in the office: Smooth Jazz.

My wife sometimes unkindly calls it Lift Music, but it does boast some fairly talented musicians (Peter White, Dave Koz, Paul Hardcastle, Brian Culbertson and the splendidly named Euge Groove to name a small handful) so I think that is unfair. However I noted in the definition that it commonly has a bpm in the 90-105 range.

I'm certainly no musician (at all - couldn't carry a tune in a bucket) but I wondered whether the bpm is why I like the style and whether that bpm rate somehow syncs with my brain to relax it? That is to say, is there a more 'technical reason' why the style appeals to me rather than just because I like it?

Anyone know?

Rikkitic

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#2216326 13-Apr-2019 09:50

There is a more technical reason for everything that happens in your brain.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

Batman

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#2216375 13-Apr-2019 10:46

you are opening a big can of worms.

you are suggesting some metaphysical manifestation of resonant frequency?

if you believe quantum mechanics, the quarks and electrons in your body are waves (as well as particles) and waves will have a frequency (and amplitude) contained in a probability cloud (of which the expansiveness is infinite - ie in theory you and theresa may could well share the same electron[s] for example)

well perhaps the frequencies of the jazz is affecting your neuronal quarks

LOL

Batman

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#2216383 13-Apr-2019 10:53

well at least it works on plants [sorry about 5 min into it, couldn't find another vid that directly mentions that plant study]

eracode

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#2216417 13-Apr-2019 12:03

I’m guessing Kenny G fits right into your genre?

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Fred99

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#2216746 14-Apr-2019 08:03

Geektastic:

I wondered whether the bpm is why I like the style and whether that bpm rate somehow syncs with my brain to relax it? That is to say, is there a more 'technical reason' why the style appeals to me rather than just because I like it?

Possibly or even probably:

https://www.mfiles.co.uk/what-is-music.htm

If bpm in music correlates to mood (relaxing, active etc) and the bpm range also perfectly correlates to human heartbeat rates when relaxed, physically active etc, then it's probably not coincidence. (Occam's razor)

What's more tricky would be to claim that music of any particular genre and bpm would have a measurable impact on your physical state, ie - that your heart rate may increase or decrease to match the tempo of the music you're listening to (probably not, unless it puts you to sleep, makes you tap your feet, or get up and dance). Your "mood" is self-reported, if you say that some type of music makes you feel a certain way, then nobody can dispute that.

OTOH commercial radio stations had it worked out long ago that there was a (commercial) advantage in increasing playback RPM of vinyl records, despite that originally also increasing pitch (that can be corrected these days). More people listened to their station, so they got more $$$ from advertisers. The musician/producer of the record might have technical objection to such bastardisation of their work, but airplay helps sell records, money talks.

Geektastic

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#2216765 14-Apr-2019 09:04

eracode: I’m guessing Kenny G fits right into your genre?

Yes although I find him more saccharine than say Paul Hardcastle.

MadEngineer

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#2216769 14-Apr-2019 09:11

See also: new age (new age music), biofeedback

Crazy stuff. I remember when I was a wee lad getting out every electronic projects book from the library and came across a new age electronics book which was ahh, interesting to say the least. There was a crazy project that monitored maybe either your heart rate or simply your skin resistance and flashed some led lights in your eyes at some magic frequency depending on how you were feeling. You’d then learn to self-regulate.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

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