The most frequently felt musical emotions are happiness, calm, nostalgia, love, sadness, interest, hope, excitement, and longing (Criswell, 2014, p. 116). Criswell (2014) also acknowledges that emotions can increase our heart rate, activate certain brain regions, make us cry, laugh, or trash furniture, make us prone to remember specific memories, and change our perception of the world – however momentarily (p. 114).
According to Orloff (2017), empaths are highly sensitive, finely tuned instruments when it comes to emotions; they feel everything, sometimes to an extreme. As an empath, I do not have the same filters as others to block out stimulation. Music is a prime example of a stimulus that can provide positive and stressful energies that impact my nervous system, causing goosebumps, tears, shivers, the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end, and even arousal. Because of my physiological reaction to music, I chose pieces based on their ability to evoke positive emotions such as calm, happiness and love. I avoided songs that produced anger, irritation, or aggression. Not knowing who may hear the Voyager Golden Record, I wanted the songs to provide a sense of calmness to indicate that, as a species, we are friendly and not people to fear. I also wanted to show a diversity of sounds via different instruments and voices. As humans, our music varies by culture and region. Providing a diverse range of musical songs (sounds), I hoped that one or two would connect with whoever was listening to the record.
The ten songs I chose were:
- Senegal, percussion
- Australia, Morning Star and Devil Bird
- Japan, Tsuru No Sugomori (Crane’s Nest)
- Bach, Gavotte en rondeaux
- Louis Armstrong, Melancholy Blues
- Navajo Indians, Night Chant
- China, Flowing Streams
- Azerbaijan S.S.R., Bagpipes
- David Munrow, The Fairie Round
- Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier
References:
Criswell, J. (2014). Music and the mind: Essays in honour of John Sloboda. Sage Publications.
Orloff, J. (2017). The empath’s survival guide: Life strategies for sensitive people. Sounds True, Inc.