I?ll always remember my dad saying that he loved listening to birdsong early in the morning. The singing centered him in a way that I didn?t understand at the time.

Now I know why he felt so refreshed.

Birdsong is a high frequency sound ? around 5,000 hertz. Any sound between 5,000 and 8,000 hertz has been found to recharge our brain?s batteries.

You know what else is amazing?

5,000 hertz is also the frequency that energizes plants. In fact plants showed a 700 percent increase in efficiency of absorbing nutrients when exposed to high frequency classical music. This frequency actually helps the little pores on the plant’s leaves called stomata to open up.

And who says nature doesn’t have a plan. That?s why you’ll find that in areas that don’t have a lot of birds singing, there’s not a lot of plant growth either.

Lots of birds equals lots of plants. Few birdsongs means not a whole lot of greenery. Now I know why we moved from Los Angeles to Asheville, North Carolina ? we wanted birds and trees in our life.

Have you ever entered a room that has a weird or uncomfortable feeling about it? You might just be getting uncomfortable because of low frequency sound waves.

The lowest of those are called infrasound. They?re produced by machines such as vehicles, household equipment and heating and cooling systems. It?s been known for some time that these low frequency waves can cause symptoms such as nausea, headaches, fatigue, insomnia, vibration of internal organs and a feeling of oppression.

On the other hand, certain high frequency sounds literally energize your mind. Scientists have found that sounds from 5,000 to 8,000 hertz recharge your brain?s batteries.

If your CD collection includes music by Mozart, Baroque Music or even Tibetan Chants, keep listening. In numerous studies, these sounds have been found to charge the cortex of the brain and stimulate health and wellness.

At 120-125 hertz you begin to hear the kick drums and bass guitar common to rock music. These lower frequencies produce the opposite effect – they drain us.

Why is this?

Because they have wave-lengths longer than we are tall, which is why lower frequencies are FELT as well as heard. You can feel this low frequency full-body sensation at dance clubs and rock concerts. Or from listening to most FM radio stations.

Since we are mostly exposed to low frequency sounds in the media, I strongly suggest you balance your brain and body by listening to high frequency classical music at least once a day. It?s easy and effortless ? and great for you.

Here?s to your sound health.

Copyright 2006 Tania French

Composer Tania Gabrielle French has enjoyed performances and radio broadcasts of her music worldwide by Grammy Award winning artists. Her popular newsletter tells all about the secret effect of music on your mind and body. Subscribe now at http://www.artabundance.com ? 2006 Tania Gabrielle French. All Rights Reserved.

Solders march to the beat, athletes exercise with music, and people united in a cause sing. Music, an integral part of human life, is often overlooked as a tool for improving human performance. In this era of ?better, faster, cheaper,? trainers, educators and presenters are looking for new, innovative approaches that help learning interventions succeed. Music is one such approach.

The connection between music and individuals is primitive and deep, providing a level of communication that transcends language. (Music may in fact be the original language.) Music, when systematically applied, calms frayed nerves, helps people focus, encourages receptivity to new ideas, accelerates learning, and improves the performance of individuals. Here are some music application ideas.

Music Helps Learners Focus
Background music during learning discussions and solo reflection activities can be especially helpful. It creates a sense of privacy for small group discussion, making conversations more satisfying and your learners more likely to say what they feel; enters into memory and aids recall; and masks ambient noise from other groups. The steady tones and tempos of Baroque music make it ideal for this purpose. Much of it was in fact composed as background music for kings, emperors, and other dignitaries.

Music Changes Energy Levels
Music can change the dynamic of your learning environment at appropriate moments, encouraging people to move about, relax, calm down, or get excited, depending on the needs of your session. After intense concentration, play faster music in a major key to encourage better moods. After heated discussion, play slow, minor-key music with low-rhythmic activity to calm your learners down. After a depressing, worrisome discussion, play major-key music with high-rhythmic activity and short, quick notes to create a happy mood.

Music Creates a Positive Learning Environment
Providing pleasant emotional content to your learners will establish a link between you, your classroom, and the learners? pleasure. Music reaches deep into the brain?s limbic system, and creates pleasant emotions. Learners who walk into your classroom and immediately feel comfortable because of the music you play will be engaged to learn.

Music is not a replacement for effective content, nor is it the only resource available. Rather, music is one more tool effective trainers should have at their disposal. Music, by its very familiarity, does not draw attention to itself. Instead it works much as coffee comforts the morning, popcorn anticipates the movie, and baking bread remembers home; it awakens the recesses of your learners’ minds and calls the emotion to attention. Trainers, educators and presenters who harness the teaching power of music find that training does indeed have a beat!

Visit Lenn on line at www.offbeattraining.com. Blog with Lenn at http://offbeat-online.blogspot.com.

Lenn Millbower, BM, MA, the Learnertainment? Trainer is an expert in applying show biz techniques to learning. He is the author of the ASTD Info-Line, Music as a Training Tool, focused on the practical application of music to learning; Show Biz Training, the definitive book on the application of entertainment industry techniques to training; Cartoons for Trainers, a popular collection of 75 cartoons for learning; Game Show Themes for Trainers, a best-selling CD of original learning game music; and Training with a Beat: The Teaching Power of Music, the foremost book on the application of music to learning. Lenn is an in-demand speaker, with successful presentations at ASTD 1999-2005 and SHRM 2006; a creative and dynamic instructional designer and facilitator formally with the Disney University and Disney Institute; an accomplished arranger-composer skilled in the psychological application of music to learning; a popular comedian, magician and musician; and the president of Offbeat Training?, infusing entertainment-based techniques into learning to keep ?em awake!

If you think music doesnt affect you, youll be changing your tune after reading this. This is a true story of a recent study from Leicester University in England.

Youre off to the supermarket and decide to stop by some shelves offering French and German wine. You make up your mind to buy a bottle of the French wine.

While checking out, youre asked why you picked the wine. You respond The label looked great, or I liked the price. Then youre asked if you noticed the French accordion music that was playing when you took that bottle off the shelf. You say that you did. Did it affect your choice of wine today? No, of course not, you answer.

Thats funny because on the days that French music is played nearly 80% of shoppers chose the French wine. On the days that German music the Opposite happens.

In other words, this study found that if you bought some wine from their shelves you were 3 or 4 times more likely to choose a wine that matched the music than the wine that didn’t match the music.

Guess what these wine-buyers responded when asked at the checkout if the music influenced their choice. Only 1 out of 44 customers said that the music was the reason they bought the wine. Thats 2%!

The influence of the music was Huge but the customers Didnt Notice or Believe that it was affecting them. It only took a matter of minutes or seconds for music to get into these peoples brains in a powerful way.

Similar experiments have shown that classical music can make people buy more expensive wine.

Heres another study to chew on. Most of us go out to eat at least once a week. Do you know which music makes you spend more when youre at a restaurant?

In this study, a British restaurant played pop music, classical music and no music over the course of 18 evenings. Average spending prices per person were calculated for the following categories:

Appetizers, Main Courses, Desserts, Coffee, Drinks from the Bar, Wine, Overall Beverage Bill, Overall Food Bill, and Total Amount Spent

They also measured the total time people spent in the restaurant. Heres what they found.

There was a Significant difference between evenings when classical music was played and no music or pop music were played. Classical music resulted in higher spending. Across the board in all categories. Other restaurants here and abroad have had similar results.

What does this mean? Its pretty simple. Classical music relaxes and makes you feel good. And feeling good makes you want the best.

Thats why so many successful people listen to high frequency classical music. They know it helps them work better, think better, and get higher levels of energy. They know it wont deplete them, get them distracted and raise their heart rates, like hard-hitting low frequency music does.

The amazing effect that music has on your mind and body is being proven in study after study. Its information that should not be ignored. Especially these days, when were exposed to music anytime we enter a building.

Copyright 2006 Tania French

Composer Tania Gabrielle French has enjoyed performances and radio broadcasts of her music worldwide by Grammy Award winning artists. Her popular newsletter tells all about the secret effect of music on your mind and body. Subscribe now at http://www.artabundance.com 2006 Tania Gabrielle French. All Rights Reserved.

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