Use music to stimulate creative brain waves In a darkened room, listen to a mix of Baroque music by e.g. Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Scarlatti, Purcell. Many people have found that they can learn better, retain more of what they read and think more clearly. There’s a long, long history of writers and artists who love to work to the sound of music from the European Baroque and earlier.
There are hundreds of hours of compilations on sites such as YouTube for you to set playing. If you’re familiar with the old favourites such as Bach’s Air, Pachelbel’s Canon, it may be better to avoid them. What you want is for the music to affect you at a subconscious level, rather than listening to tunes you love. Don’t try to make sense of it or ‘follow’ the music or find the tune or melody. Just let the sound and rhythms wash over you, so you absorb their soft energy and pulse of musical notes.
Let the vibration and beat of the music resonate with the brain waves that lead to contemplation, self-illumination, creativity. It appears that the pulse of Baroque music helps the brain to enter certain brain wave states that lead to creative thinking.
And just enjoy!
Listen as much as you like. Don’t worry if you fall asleep - that’s not a bad result! But give yourself time to recover. The usual advice is that a nap during the day should not be longer than about 30 minutes, or else your sleep patterns may be disrupted. What’s important is how you handle the wake up.
When you wake up, try not to rush off and catch up with the day. Give yourself a few minutes to let your mind wander and if it lights on anything interesting, jot them down in your notebook. In this slightly dozy state, your censors - the little critics in your head I mean - the voices that normally inhibit you - your censors are not too awake themselves. Your dozy state is a good situation to let fantasy and imagination take you away!
Remember: don’t rush.
Take your time: the extra time difference is probably only three to five minutes. If you rush off, you lose the benefit of the music.
Image from Tom’s ‘Homescapes' collection.
For further information about Tom Ang, his photography and his books, please visit https://tomang.com