I’ve received a lot of email over the years asking me why the scope of my newsletter is so broad, branching off into areas of nutrition, mass media, mass consciousness and other areas of complementary and integrative medicine. The easy answer is: if everything is vibration (which it is) and music is vibration (which it is), then everything is music.

     I’ve always been a cheerleader for understanding how our human instrument works, and how we can tune it up for greater health and well-being. That quest involves understanding what outside forces and programming influence what we think and how we feel.

     I’ve had a wide-ranging life experience that has allowed me to bring a unique perspective to a lot of these areas. For instance, how many musicians have performed and/or jammed with jazz greats like Paul Horn, Larry Coryell and Al DiMeola, discussed the healing powers of music with Frank Zappa and Van Morrison, and conducted after-hours research with legendary scientific geniuses like Dr. Marcel Vogel and Dr.Andrija Puharich?

     So when I bring a new discovery to your attention, as I did with my recent newsletter introducing Lifewave Energy and Stamina Patches™, I do so because I know that a lot of my readers like to check out the state of the art in health and well-being. And since I’m often in a position to go behind the scenes and speak with the actual inventor, as I had the opportunity to do with David Smith, if you read my newsletters, you often find out about things before the rest of the country does.

     Last year, I wrote a little about the research and development of products (like EnRhythm) that involved the nitric oxide/relaxation connection. I now see ads from a number of other companies. It is clearly a hot topic.

     To read my past newsletters, visit the archives at my website, www.stevenhalpern.com. You’ll find links to their companies as well. You’ll also learn about ways to get them at wholesale discounts (which is something that also always interests me).

 

Taking a Look at the Record

 

I also like to offer my insider’s perspective on various phenomena, be it “American Idol” (as a cheerleader for seeing something positive about music on TV, at least in the beginning) or the choice of music played—and not played—at various benefit concerts. My comments are offered in the same spirit that Dr. Andrew Weil and others offer their perspective.

     I also like to point out the obvious spin that often accompanies certain articles, books or research, so that you won’t be fooled into wasting your money, or set up for disappointment, or both. I was the first commentator to offer a true and balanced perspective on the so-called “Mozart effect.” Years later, after most people even forgot what it was, many established researchers, music therapists and others have proven me right. (And, although you probably didn’t know this, many professors and industry professionals who bought into this lost their jobs and tenure!)

     I also like to acknowledge magazines and TV shows that feature music. Dr. Phil recently aired a program on “The Power of Music.” Sure, it was a limited view, but it was something! I like to look for the positive hook.

     The August issue of the TUNE Reader had a feature article: “Turn up the Quiet: Cut through the noise and hear what really matters.”

     Anything that raises our consciousness about sound, music, health and what’s up on our planet is a good thing. Spirituality and Health magazine also recently published a feature article on healing music. Although many of these articles are written by individuals who are new to the field and have little perspective, it’s still a step in the right direction.

 

Creating Your Own Sound Sanctuary

 

Do you listen to music when you meditate, or to help you get in the mood to meditate? Do you listen when you do yoga?

     Like many people, I use music to help me switch gears and accelerate how fast I get into a deeper meditative state. (Yes, you can tell my Type-A New York background is still alive and well: “I want my relaxation and meditation, and I want it now—I don’t want to wait!”)

     I like instant gratification. So the music I choose for meditation has to transport me to “the zone” quickly. Over the years, Chakra Suite has been a constant companion, as has Crystal Bowl Healing.

     I also have a fine collection of Tibetan singing bowls and a large Japanese temple bowl, the kind rarely seen outside of a temple or ashram. When I’m meditating, I use the bowl as a vibrational assist. I listen for the “furthest away sound,” as Alan Watts instructed us back in the early l970s.

     But I was also aware that the very act of picking up the mallet to strike the bowl took me out of the deep state that the sound of the bowl had put me in.

     My insider’s secret was to record my bowls in a professional recording studio. This way, I could “have my cake and eat it, too,” to mix metaphors.

     It turns out that it’s quite difficult to record these instruments well; it’s easy to record them poorly. I wanted to preserve the deep resonances that I could feel in my first chakra. I definitely wanted to preserve the high harmonic overtones that are present if you have a high quality bowl.

     This was the genesis of my latest recording, Tonal Alchemy. Sometimes I listen as I prepare to meditate. Sometimes I listen during meditation. Sometimes I listen at a very low volume, so the sound seems to come and go ... yet it definitely holds an energetic field that supports my meditations.

     Tonal Alchemy is supposed to be in your local New Age shops and at all Borders stores. Next time you’re there, check it out. And if the store isn’t carrying it, please let me know.

     You an also hear clips on my website, as well as at many others, like Amazon.com.

     Note: Unless you are very skilled and experienced in “self-orchestrating on the spectrum of consciousness,” do not drive while listening to this album.

     By the way, that delicious phrase is courtesy of one of my mentors, colleagues and friends, Dr. Jean Houston. If she is ever doing a workshop or lecture near you, I strongly encourage you to attend.

     Finally, I’ve been receiving more inquiries from individuals wanting to study and learn more about sound and healing, and how I got to where I am now. Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing insights and anecdotes that I think you’ll find helpful. For a start, you may want to cruise the music book shelf at Borders or Barnes and Noble or your favorite independent retailer (though they typically will have less choices). There are a number of new books being published.

     I find most are mixed blessings, however. Much of the material may be accurate, but then they’ll sneak in a chunk that is assuredly not. Often this is done with a hidden agenda. ( I know, because sometimes they have even admitted that to me!)

     But the way I look at it, if you can get some information you can use, then more power to you. take what works, and leave the rest. That’s true of so many CDs, too. Some songs may be great; some are not.

     Prove it to yourself: pick ten CDs from your collection. Industry statistics state that most people listen to most albums only two-five times in their lifetime! A favorite song, obviously more. But there are several good reasons why you don’t listen to those other tracks. (But more about that in a future installment.)

     When I produced my first recording in l975, we didn’t have the luxury or option of programming only certain cuts on our CD player. You had to listen to the entire LP or tape. That was one reason why my albums are designed to offer a continuous, harmonious flow. Although this has not endeared me to many reviewers, my choice has always been to serve my own needs, and the needs of my audience—and your feedback has always been “go for the flow.”

 

Until next time, stay tuned, and in the flow!

Steven Halpern

 

P.S.: Name that Tune, Win a Prize!

 

As many of you know, I employ special microphones and recording techniques to capture the full range of the overtones and harmonics when I play grand piano. Examples would be Ocean Suite or The Sacred Chorde.

     On my liner notes, I often suggest that you “listen to the space between the notes ...”

     Today’s quiz: Name the song on the album by the artist/group and year released (approximate year is OK), that literally changed my life with respect to hearing and appreciating the orchestral possibilities that a piano was capable of. (Hint: the piano was only one of the instruments, but it was definitely featured.)

     The first right answer wins either your choice of any of my albums that feature grand piano, or my latest release, Tonal Alchemy, which also highlights the space between the notes.

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Steven Halpern is currently celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of his first recording, Chakra Suite, and the release of his latest album, Tonal Alchemy. To hear samples or to order, go to www.stevenhalpern.com.

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