Relaxation Music - How To Choose

How do you choose the best relaxation music for you? Experiment. Try several types of music and several specific compositions that seem to be relaxing. Always try them in similar circumstances though, in order to have a fair test.

However, this is not completely a matter of personal taste and preference. Some principles have been identified about what types of music are more likely to relax us. This has been studied by science, though not thoroughly, but we can also be guided by other's experiences.

People have often reported, for example, that baroque music causes them to relax. Baroque music at 60 beats per minute has been shown to cause your brain to produce more alpha brainwaves. Why is this important? More on that in a moment, but first here are some specific compositions you might find very relaxing.

A. Corelli - Concerto No. 7 in D Minor

J.S. Bach - Concerto in G Minor for Flute and Strings

J.S. Bach - Prelude From Cello Suite

A. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons

G.F. Handel - Concerto number 1 in F

Telemann - Double Fantasia in G Major for Harpsichord

Johann Sebastian Bach which are commonly recommended:

Often it's just certain passages or movements of these - most commonly those referred to as "largo" - that are most effective.

Of course there really is a personal element here as well. Different people find everything from light jazz to eastern sitar music to be good relaxation music. Even generic easy listening music with sounds of nature mixed in works well for many. However, for a more scientific approach to relaxing, budget a bit more and try true meditation CDs using "binaural beats."

Relaxation Using Brainwave Entrainment

Certain types of music - like the classical pieces listed above - work better than others because of what they do to our brainwave patterns. Our brains primarily produce "beta" brainwaves at 14 - 30 hertz, or cycles per second, when we are conscious and active. From 8 - 14 hertz, "alpha" waves are produced when we are more relaxed. The range from 4 - 8 hertz are considered "theta" brainwaves, and come with a deeper meditative or drowsy state. Delta waves (below 5 hertz) are produced during deep sleep.

Meditation, especially when regular, stimulates these states of consciousness. You can get into the relaxing alpha state quickly with practice, for example. The good news, if you don't want to practice your meditation too much, is that you can also get into an "alpha state" quickly with music which is embedded with certain beats and sounds, usually called "binaural beats." Proven decades ago, this is the basis for the newest brainwave entrainment technologies. When you listen with headphones these audio products take you down into a relaxing brainwave pattern with no effort on your part.

So you may want to spend a little more money and get true brainwave entrainment. The CDs or MP3s that use this technology generally have pleasant music for a background (or the sounds of waves or rain or birds). For the best of this kind of relaxation music you'll find my recommendations below.