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Surprisingly Popular Artists With Free Meditation Music (Including Moby!) If there’s one thing that unites a very divided world, that’s music. Think about it, how many friends have you made because of your similar tastes in music? In a concert or music festival, people dance or rock together despite being strangers. Listening to an emotional song, two persons might share the same feelings without being related to each other. More than this, music is a known escape, a soother of the weary soul and many more.
Why is listening to music so rewarding and pleasurable? Your favorite food or even your favorite comedy movie activates the mesocorticolimbic structures of the brain. In the same way, certain areas in this part of the brain is activated by listening to your favorite song or tune. These specific areas of the brain are called the nucleus ambens and the midbrain nuclei. In fact, the latter even includes dopaminergic transmissions, which perhaps account for the pleasure effect of music on humans.
The advantages of listening to meditative music An interesting study done by Mockel and colleagues investigated on the effects of various music with different rhythms on the hormonal and cardiovascular functions of the body. In the experimental study, they made the participants listen to three different types of music. The first one was a waltz by J. Strauss which is regular rhythm music. The second one was a modern classic by H. W. Henze which is an irregular rhythm music. And the third one is a meditative music by R. Shankar which is a non-rhythm music.
Of the three types of music, only the meditative piece by R. Shankar was able to induce changes in levels of stress hormones. The two main hormones that were decreased after listening to the music were cortisol and noradrenaline. This is an important finding because elevated levels of these hormones are indicators of higher stress in a person. While the other two musical pieces were able to induce changes in atrial filling and prolactin levels, only the meditative piece was able to reduce the levels of these stress hormones. In another study, music therapy and mindful meditation therapy were investigated against professional athletes. The professional athletes were grouped into different therapies, the first group received just music therapy while the second group received just mindful meditation therapy. Compared to the control group, both the music therapy group and mindful meditation therapy group performed better physically plus experienced less stress during the experiment. However, it was found that music therapy was able to induce more significant results than mindful meditation therapy. This is in contrast with the findings of another study, which postulated that mindful meditation therapy produced more significant cognitive performance for their participants. Perhaps there’s a difference on the effects of both therapies, depending on the type of activity that the individual would be exposed to, whether it’s physical or cognitive.
Now that we have highlighted the benefits of meditative music Let’s get on with the list proper of these surprisingly popular artists with free meditation music. Many artists nowadays are not just into making money or being famous. You would find that the artists we’re mentioning below are unique. This is in the sense that they have ideologies and philosophies that are in line with meditative practices and
even yogic ideals. And with such principles, they are able to provide for meditative music, that isn’t just free, but fitting for the purpose of meditation or clearing the mind.
1.Richard Melville Hall AKA Moby The Musician: Richard Melville Hall is more popularly known as Moby. He was one of the very first artists to be involved in electronic or techno dance music. In fact, his 1999 techno album named Play sold over 20 million copies worldwide. A stroll amidst his YouTube account can give you an idea of his philosophies in life and more. You see, Moby is more than just a musician… He is an activist, a vegan and an animal rights advocate. And with every song he comes out with, there’s a always a message that one can learn from. The Music: Recently, Moby has come up with the Long Ambients meditation pieces. These are 11 meditative or yoga selections, around 18 minutes to 30 minutes long. The selections are relaxing and calming. As Moby had said, he uses these tracks whenever he feels stressed or panicked. The selections were wonderfully done, no vocals or drums, just chords that truly imbibe the natural talent of this artist. Link: You can visit Moby’s website or stream the music from the YouTube account linked above
2. Girish The Musician: Growing up, Girish had an innate passion for music, specifically drumming. At first, he thought that this passion is a contradiction for his calling which is spirituality. For many years, he lived in an ashram and became used to the life of a monk. Yet his passion for music never left him, he even mastered the ancient art of drumming called the tablas. Fast forward to today, Girish is now one of the most popular artists in
the field of chanting/meditative music. And while he had left his former calling as a monk, he is still able to nurture his spirituality through his music. The Music: Girish is known for his uplifting songs and chanting music. His collaboration with Dona Delory, Hans Christian, Mario Abney and more in the song Diamonds In The Sun is perhaps his most popular chanting music. It’s a feel-good song, perfect for early morning meditation. If you’re into kirtan music, Girish has a number of songs that fit into this category. Recommendations are Jaya Ganesha, Jaya Hanuman, Saraswati and Ganapati. You’ll find all these selections in the link below, along with other songs. Link: You can visit the SoundCloud account of Girish Music to stream his music
3. Trevor Hall The Musician: My first encounter with Trevor Hall was with the movie Shrek The Third where his song was featured in the ending credits. That was five years ago and since then, this artist has moved into his real passion, which is music covered in spirituality. A bit of a background about Trevor Hall, he rose into fame at a young age of 16 years old. But in 2013, at the age of 26 years old, he decided to take a break from music making and travelled to India for a spiritual enlightenment. He had since then been back in the music scene although his music has become far deeper and more suitable for meditative purposes. The Music: His latest album KALA is a collection of the artist’s spiritual experiences and ideals. It is not an instrumental album but for those who are in the midst of healing, the tracks are perfect for specific meditation purposes. For example, the song Forgive is the perfect meditative music for those who are in the midst of family crisis like divorce or separation. Aside from the powerful lyrics, the powerful monologue part at the end of the song can be chanted to provide for that potent healing effect. Link: You can stream Trevor Hall’s music through his YouTube account
4. Deva Premal & Miten The Musician/s: Deva Premal and Miten is a duo, a couple who specializes in musical mantra or chanting music. Of the two, you might be familiar with Miten, once a part of the group known as Gothic Horizon. His name back then was Andy Desmond and after being a part of the group, he ventured into his solo career as a musician. During that time, Miten was at the peak of his career, opening for popular groups, being in the rock scene and being exposed to a number of lifestyles known to musicians then. He moved to India for a spiritual enlightenment and that was when he met his future wife and musical partner, Deva Premal. They now own Prabhu Music, a spiritual music label with selections suitable for meditative purposes. But that’s not all, this duo conduct concerts around the world, even in unusual settings like prisons. The Music: Deva Premal specializes in keyboard and hand percussion music while Miten is an acoustic genius. The Essence is Deva Premal’s most popular, and widely used, meditative album. With selections including the Gayatri Mantra, Om Namo and Shima Shima, this album has garnered praises around the world, even from renowned personalities. Their collaboration album, the Soul in Wonder, is a revelation of the musical talents of both artists and their ability to awaken the minds of the listener. Link: You can check out the YouTube account of Deva Premal and Miten for free musical meditative video streaming
5. Dave Stringer The Musician: From a seemingly unrelated field of video editing, by a stroke of destiny and chance, Dave Stringer became a musician. Just like some of the artists mentioned before, Dave Stringer’s outlook in life changed when he visited India on a spiritual journey. Combining an eclectic mix of Indian kirtan music and Western jazz music, Dave Stringer’s meditative selections are unique and truly inspiring. Dave Stringer, along with
his band, tours the world to spread the word about the wonderful benefits of meditation and yoga. The Music: In 2015, Dave Stringer’s collaboration album named Bhakti Without Borders was nominated for the Grammy’s. It was one of the finalists for the New Age Album category. With tracks like Shri Radhe, Bhaja Govindham and Sita Ram, the album is essentially a kirtan one but with beats made lively by jazz and acoustic offerings. Another highly raved album is that of Elixir, which is also an upbeat musical selection that would make one feel ecstatic and joyous whilst meditating. Link: You can visit the SoundCloud account of Dave Stringer for free streaming of some of his tracks
Stop for a moment and breathe Consider meditating a few minutes everyday and you would see a difference in your attitude in life. If you look at the stories of these popular musicians, they did that and more. They stopped despite the fame and glory of their careers. But what they gained thereafter became so much more. It’s fortunate as well that they are willing to share their music to help others reach their full potential as meditators as well. Stop for a moment, take a few breaths and listen to these selections as you take a new journey into your life. Do you know of any other popular artists that have free meditation music as well? You can share about them in the comments section below! All vectors used in this blog post are from Vecteezy (www.vecteezy.com), credits belong to the creators and uploaders