Music to read by

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Jan 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Hedera	25 Jan 2003
Hi, Whenever I use my tarot cards, be it for reading or excercises, I try to put on some music that fits my mood, as well as the cards. It helps me to focus, to create a little 'bubble' around me and my cards. I would love to get some new ideas for music to read by, preferably something other than Celtic-y music (I like it, just don't need any more, unless it's really different and good). Something instrumental perhaps, or with voices that are sounds rather than words? There was a similar thread in the Faery-oracle section and I got a few ideas from that, but i would really like some more. Any suggestions, anyone? I really like all kinds of music, so please don't hesitate to mention anything really weird! :) Hedera.

Demonesse	25 Jan 2003
I personally like silence for me to concentrate, but before the reading I like to listen to soothing, melodic tapes of Buddhist chants or Hindu mantras.

Umbrae	25 Jan 2003
I only put on music when I am singing my readings (a la Singing Telegram). I prefer opera (Imagine singing about the 10 or Swords to “The Marriage of Figaro”). (lol). It is my opinion, that reading is an art…best accomplished in silence. You can focus on the cards, or on ambient atmosphere…it’s about you reading the cards, not music. Play music later. It’s a distraction. Turn off the ‘music’ and the Television.

Melvis	25 Jan 2003
I'm with Umbrae about having no music...but only when I'm reading for someone else who's in the room with me. When I read for an absent querent or for myself, though, I tend to listen to more instrumental music. I need to have something going in the background because I tend to get distracted by ambient noise. Something I do at work (and have started doing when working with my cards at home) is to listen to music with vocals that are in languages that I don't know. Okay, I know...it sounds weird! But hear me out...listening to voices singing is more soothing, in my opinion, than just listening to instruments. But if they're singing words that I know I tend to follow them and get distracted. If I don't understand what they're singing, though, my language-lovin' left-brain can just tune out and let me read the cards! My favorites are the Gipsy Kings and almost any of the Cirque du Soleil soundtracks. BTW, I use headphones at work, otherwise my coworkers make fun of my strange taste in music! :D Peace, Melvis :TSTRE

Umbrae	25 Jan 2003
This makes perfect sense…if you do not know the language, you do not go into ”processing mode”…analyzing (listening) the words. But now your right brain is doing two things at once! Focus… (Gypsy Kings is great driving music).

Melvis	25 Jan 2003
Umbrae said: But now your right brain is doing two things at once! Actually that's one less thing than it usually tries to do... ;) Peace, Melvis :TSTRE

DarkChild	26 Jan 2003
if you can listen to music without geting distracted, i would go with either instromental music or like melvis said about music in another languge... i tried to listen to my music the other day (well really i just forgot to turn it off) and it didn't work, because i get destracted so easily and my music is kinda 'loud' (i listen to mainly underground punk, ska, and sometimes heavyer stuff like koRn or system of a down) i wasn't able to concentrate on what i was doing and got "sucked in" to my music. Umbrae said: But now your right brain is doing two things at once! melvis replyed: Actually that's one less thing than it usually tries to do... wait...im confused, how can your right brain work on more things at once??and how is that one less thing then it usually does??

Hedera	26 Jan 2003
Quote: It is my opinion, that reading is an art…best accomplished in silence. You can focus on the cards, or on ambient atmosphere…it’s about you reading the cards, not music. Play music later. Yes, silence, I remember silence..... Unfortunately, I live in an urban environment, close to Schiphol airport, so silence is not really an option. A while ago, I got up really early on Sunday morning (once around 5 o' clock, once at 4 and once at 3) to go to the little bit of nature we have around here, to see if it would be quiet.... Nope. You could still hear the busy highway. I would prefer to read in silence, but right now, the right music (usually, indeed instrumental or in a language I don't know) helps me to shut off from the rest of the world. It sort of helps to melt the passing airplanes (drowning them out is really not an option) into the background. Buddhist chants sound good, actually - my Nepalese is pretty poor.... :) Hedera.

Hummingbird	26 Jan 2003
It's interesting that some use music. I need quiet. I haven't yet done a psychic fair, and I wonder if all of the chatter would impede my ability.

Teranar	26 Jan 2003
You know, my (VERY) feeble attempts at playing this bamboo flute of mine seems to help... I wonder if a person you're reading playing an instument would help with readings?

Red Emma	26 Jan 2003
Two of my favorite artists are Coyote Oldman, and Dean Evenson. Two of hers I particulary enjoy are "Forest Rain" and "Desert (something.) Her most recent is "Tao of Healing." The only Coyote Oldman I can think of right now is "House made of Dawn." I got the work of both artists from Amazon. Best wishes....

Maan	26 Jan 2003
These day's i use the cd of the film music of lord of the rings most. Its instrumental and i love the music! But i use all kinds of music even with lyrics i can understand. I think that since i life at a dorm every sound i here is great as long as it is a sound i produce ;)

Vita-morte	26 Jan 2003
I do read in silence if I can, but if it isn't quiet anyway I like to listen to (and yes I know this is exactly the opposite of silence) Megadeth, Metallica, or Black Sabbath...or go in the opposite direction and listen to Savage Garden, Raphael or Enya.

scheherazade	26 Jan 2003
Not quite sure if these have been mentioned, but above all, I would recommmend Loreena McKennit and Enya. Their music is unobtrusive, reflective, and deeply beautiful. Loreena McKennit sings for her culture - thus, she tends to be very in tune with the mood and focus needed for reading. Enya's music is less ethnic, more artistic - with many echoes and subtle chords that brings a listener deeper and deeper into her tone.

Melvis	26 Jan 2003
DarkChild said: wait...im confused, how can your right brain work on more things at once??and how is that one less thing then it usually does?? First, I believe Umbrae was referring to the idea that listening to music and reading tarot cards are both 'right-brained' activities, that is, your right-brain is more active when doing these tasks. So, if you're doing both of them your right-brain is working doubly hard, I suppose! And how do I usually do more than two things at once with my right-brain? Unfortunately, I have a bit of a focus problem! I tend to hopscotch from one task to another is what I mean. So...just listening to music and reading the tarot actually is pretty focused for me! ;) Sorry...way too long-winded explanation...something else for me to work on! :D Peace, Melvis :TSTRE

oceanpoetry	27 Jan 2003
My favorite is baroque music because I find it very uplifting. Depending on my mood I may listen to Celtic music, Clannad or Enya. I prefer instrumentals for meditation, it is too easy to get distracted with vocals when trying to concentrate.

Umbrae	27 Jan 2003
Actually, I was not implying that listening to music and… Let me back up. Go to the Library. Go to a friends house. Pick up a copy of this months National Geographic and read the page one article, “Doctor, My Eyes – How we watch TV ads” I quote (and will edit): Research shows our gaze zooms in on moving objects, such as the lips of a speaking person. Our eyes are drawn to sharp edges and contrasting colors…He studied eye movements of people driving cars while talking on cell phones. When test subjects were asked, over their phones to add two-digit numbers, they suddenly scanned less of their environment…” My assertion is that music, is another distraction. Right now, drivers on Cell Phones have surpassed drunken driving as a cause of catastrophic auto collisions. They are distracted. You have music on while reading – you are distracted. A portion of your mind is listening to the speakers, and not the cards, or the voices from within. There is a section in “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert M. Pirsig where he discusses folk that are plugged in, always listening – and their brains just don’t make connections… Reading is more akin to meditation. If you want the sound of a small zen-fountain, fine… I’m attempting to address sloppy thinking, and sloppy living – an urge to strive for focus – that’s it in a nutshell…focus. If we go through our lives, living sloppy – fuzzy thinking – now it’s time to read…so let me put my little ducks in a row…and turn on some music… Now if on the other hand, you are an entertainer, using Tarot as your entertainment medium, them Celtic Harp may be just your gig. (Shameless Plug): http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/articles/process_three.html This is an opinion, pertaining to music and reading. It is not a reflection of any posters. It is not intended as a statement of fact…it is, an opinion.

Sara	27 Jan 2003
I might suggest music by Kitaro, or at least some of it. He seems to go between music with a very powerful rhythm that might nat be appropriate to the mood of a tarot reading (of course, that always depends on what you want the mood to be), and soft, quiet music that might be very good for relaxing by and letting your intuition take over. Some of Mythos and David Arkenstone are good, too, but again it depends on the particular music piece, for me. I have read in some places that music does stimulate the right side of your brain to be more active, so in that sense your brain is doing more than just focus on the reading. I have also read that music tends to preoccupy the left side of the brain, thus while it is actively figuring out the music, the right side of your brain is freed to be more intuitive. Different people say different things. I wish I remembered my source. But it does seem like I read in yet another place that music helps to integrate both right and left halves of the brain because both sides are used in its interperetation. Just my 2 cents. The relationships between music and the brain fascinate me, so I thought I'd shere some of what I've read. Sara

Red Emma	27 Jan 2003
Sara, I like your insights. They show understanding and compassion of human efforts and attempts to overcome shortcomings. If you happen to remember where you read those things, could you drop me a line? I'd like to know more about the concepts. Best wishes, Red Emma

Minos	27 Jan 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Hedera Yes, silence, I remember silence..... Unfortunately, I live in an urban environment, close to Schiphol airport, so silence is not really an option. Coltrane. He's the Thoth deck of jazz. ;-)

tarotbear	27 Jan 2003
I use two CDs I bought in the late 1980s by a Marcey Hamm. According to her own statements, she started creating music for someone to use for meditations and 'fell asleep' at the keyboard. When she woke up, she found she had recorded an hour of music she did not remember playing. They are mostly 'tonal' compostitions. The first is called 'Inward Harmony'; the second 'Anthem to Soul'. I am sure she has created others. Music by Marcey p.o.Box 831210 Richardson, TX 75093 (214) 690-3556 I have no idea if this info is current. *** The idea that the music 'should not have words' is a great one, but since I listen to classical music at every moment, those compositions are familiar to me, too, and cannot use classical music to read cards! - I 'sing along' with them in my head. *** A 'thumbs down' to the CD 'The Sound of Tarot' by Brook Windland, available on eBay. A music therapist, she created this 'musical tarot deck' -22 tracks representing the Majors. Most of the compositions are less than 60 seconds. Nice idea, but worthless, IMHO. Had she devoted 5 minutes to each card - creating a CD of at least an hours' music.....

Demonesse	27 Jan 2003
Kitaro, Loreena Mckenitt and Enya are all excellent; I particularly like Enya's "Watermark" and "Memory of Trees". Another one I like is Enigma.

wavebreaker	27 Jan 2003
Do you know Capercaillie? It's Celtic, but really really good.

DarkChild	27 Jan 2003
thank you both umbrae and melvis, i understand now......it takes me a while to understand a lot of things, my mind is kinda slow......i tend to 'hopscotch' from one thing to another too, im just not as attentive as most people and am not as knowlagable as sara is on these types of thing (great thoughts by the way sara!) i too have a very hard time getting peice and quite at my house between all the noise in my house and our house is next to a small airpark/air port and, there are a lot of dogs that like to bark all day long on our block...so i tend to do things late at night and into the wee hours of the morning and i usually meditate before. i would listen to music maybe like classical piano or an orchastra type thing, but knowing me id get destracted, so i don't attempt it...

Red Emma	27 Jan 2003
I've apologised to Sara, andto the group -- I meant my message this morning asking about her suggestions, to be a PM. Still sleepy I guess when I should have been paying closer attention, Red Emma

napaea	27 Jan 2003
i am always amazed that i can see a thread a zillion times and never really SEE IT! i've passed over this one too many times... anyway, here are some goodies i found at the dollar store, believe it or not, and i love them for Yoga, readings, meditation... they are perfect for me! the series is called "Tranquility Music" and i have: * Thunderstorms (ewwww, this is wonderful!) * Peaceful Waters * Tranquil Spirit * Relaxing Blues all of the pieces are music with nature sounds in the background. they have a website i've never been to: www.tranquilitymusic.us

ihcoyc	27 Jan 2003
I can't listen to anything that doesn't have forward motion --- it literally gives me a headache. For contemplative reading, my favourite background music is Bach. Anything in a minor key --- my favourites are "The Art of Fugue" and "A Musical Offering," but I also like a disk of his oboe concertoes from Naxos. Apart from Bach, my favourite composer is Geminiani. Naxos is great --- Classical CDs, a full repertoire, for under seven dollars. Most of them are from Middle European orchestras you've never heard of, but there are some gems in there, and they're pretty good for the standard nineteenth century repertoire as well. Anything from "Ensemble Unicorn," grab, and ask questions later.

DarkChild	27 Jan 2003
i totally agree with you ihcoyc, and your music collection sounds awsome! if you could tell me where i can find some of these Middle European orchestras CDs, i would greatly appreciate it. either send me a PM or just e-mail me. thanks a bunch! :) until we meet again

ihcoyc	28 Jan 2003
Naxos has its website at: http://www.naxos.com/naxos/naxos_marco_polo.htm Most Borders stores have an entire bin in the record section dedicated to budget classical recordings. Naxos discs are immediately recognisable by their white covers with a small graphic in the middle.

Hedera	28 Jan 2003
So much music, so little time! thank you everybody, for your thoughts and suggestions. A very diverse mix of music. Wonderful! It's going to be very interesting to listen to all the artists you've recommended (some I already know, but didn't think of in this context). I'll keep an eye open for ensemble Unicorn. Arvo Part (with two dots on the a in Part) is good, too, as is Canto Ostinato by Simeon ten Holt (to plug a fellow Dutchie). They're both sort of modern classical, whithout being too 'experimental' :) Hedera.

DarkChild	28 Jan 2003
thank you ihcoyc for the web address...

DeLani	29 Jan 2003
Quote: Originally posted by scheherazade Not quite sure if these have been mentioned, but above all, I would recommmend Loreena McKennit and Enya. Their music is unobtrusive, reflective, and deeply beautiful. Loreena McKennit sings for her culture - thus, she tends to be very in tune with the mood and focus needed for reading. Enya's music is less ethnic, more artistic - with many echoes and subtle chords that brings a listener deeper and deeper into her tone. I really agree. For me, I'm really "into" music. It does something to me. Besides Loreena McKennit and Enya, I also like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" CD. Very ambient (the new, politically correct term for "trippy."). Now, I suppose if I lived way out in the country, with only the sounds of tumbling waterfalls and crickets, that would be all the music I needed. But since I live near a highway, a hospital, and a police station, I need music. Peace!

Aoife	29 Jan 2003
Quote: Originally posted by DeLani I also like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" CD. Very ambient (the new, politically correct term for "trippy."). I never knew I had mountains of ambient music - I can recover my old vinyls from the attic! Mmmm..... Steve Winwood and Stomu Yamashta first I think. Or maybe Pnk Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother" [just the middle bit]. Or maybe.....

jlbvt	31 Jan 2003
Wow, this thread has a lot of replies already, but here are my 2 cents: 1. Ravi Shankar 2. I have a really cool CD that I got from the Smithsonian music catalog that is all Native American women musicians. Some songs are modern, like rock, but most are awesome for reading Tarot to, and I used to fall asleep to it every night because it is so relaxing! Definitely quality medititation music.

VGimlet	01 Feb 2003
I have to say, it depends on my mood. Sometimes I prefer silence, or the sound of the fish tank filter (if you sort of squint your ears it sounds like a trickling brook, lol). If I am reading for someone else, I almost always go for silence, more because I don't really think about putting music on while I read cards. I like Enigma, Deep Forest, Delirium or Pangea to read by sometimes. But I have also been known to read to the dulcet tones of Offspring. LOL.

Sara	06 Feb 2003
Hi everyone, Been away for a while. Red Emma, sorry it took my so long to get back to you, just so you know, I wasn't ignoring your question or anything. One of the books I remember reading was "The Mozart Effect" which is one of the books which really got people looking into the relation between music and the mind. I've since seen a couple of articles criticizing the results or finding contradictory results, and other studies that seem to confirm it. The basic idea of the book was tht certain types of music, particularly classical music, activate certain parts of the brain, thus increasing one's learning capacity. If I had time right now, I'd try to find some of the articles I read, but I'm busy up to my ears. You might try a web search on "the Mozart Effect." I seem to recall that there are sites devoted to the concept rather than the book. Since its kind of on the subject, I thought I'd pass on a few tidbits to think about from one of my classes, I'm taking a class in world music this semester. The emphasis is on Asian music. -In class, we were discussing cultural perceptions of music. We were listening to a piece of classical Indian music, and the professor mentioned that the piece was supposed to give one the feeling of "loving kindness and motherhood." To me, and many other people in the class, it sounded sinister, like the kind of music that builds up in a movie just before something bad happens. It is interesting how even the emotional experience of a particular tune can be culturally determined. -In our textbook, there was an article on Japanese music that had a blurb in it about the left-brain right-brain relationship-it said that to a limited extent, this is apparently culturally influenced, too. Testing done in Japan noted that Western people tend to listen to music with primarily the right side of the brain, regardless of what music they are listening to. Japanese liteners, by contrast, hear their own music with the left side of the brain, while hearing other music of the world with the right side. I can site the source of this: it was page 238 of "Sukiyaki and Chips: The Japanese Sounds of Music" in "Beats of the Heart: Popular Music of the World." I know, not exactly tarot related, but I didn't know if people might find it interesting, so I thought I'd post it. Sara

Jeanette	06 Feb 2003
Sara, I never realized listening to music (which does not seem to require any effort) was such an expenditure of activity in the brain! Very interesting phenomenon! Sometimes I prefer music, and other times quiet. Sometimes the music I prefer is very subtle, classical-type or mostly instrumental; while other times I want to hear something LOUD and ROWDY (that's usually when I want to accomplish something physical, like housecleaning!). Since I live in the country, and get to hear more than my share of nature sounds and very few sounds of civilization, I think my nerves would be completely frayed living near an airport or highway. I used to live near Philadelphia Airport, but since I've moved away I find I don't miss it at all and wonder how I managed to tune it out! Now I hear cows in the meadow across the street and the clip-clop of Amish horse-drawn buggies. What a difference!

sagitarian	06 Feb 2003
I haven't read all of the posts so forgive me if this is already suggested, but...I LOVE Dead can dance, it's really good reading music. Another suggestion, a little more contemporary, Robert Miles (very light techno).

Kyrielle	07 Feb 2003
Cirque du Soleil. A lot of it is instumental, some is in a recognizable language, and some is in NO language -- the composer made up vocals that sound like they should mean something, but which belong to no language. There is a variety of music styles through the shows, from African to Native American to Thai to Celtic-ish to quasi-operatic to techno. All the albums have at least a couple moody, meditative songs good for mystical pursuits. -- Kyrielle

Eowyn	07 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by sagitarian I haven't read all of the posts so forgive me if this is already suggested, but...I LOVE Dead can dance Dead can dance its so great!!! I havent read the whole thread, so sorry for that, but anyways... i like to hear old albums of Kitaro, and sometimes The Gathering and Amorphis. But always do light a candle... ;)

jakyle	09 Mar 2003
Creed's song "With arm's wide open,"but the person who I wish was awake right now isn't...So,I wander....

Hedera	10 Mar 2003
Since someone more or less bumped this thread for me, I thought I'd share some of my recent musical discoveries. For those of you who like Dead Can Dance and/ or Loreena McKennitt, I can highly recommend 'Axiom of Choice' and 'Vas'. They are not the same as DCD of course, but they do seem to have a certain kinship. Also beautiful vocals, interesting instruments, a certain 'haunting' quality. A bit more eastern influenced. I also really like Talvin Singh. He makes a kind of music often called 'Asian Underground', kind of a blend of Hindi pop, Indian classical music, and western trance / dance / etc. Great stuff!

Kiama	10 Mar 2003
When you learn how to give a good reading by reading for friends in pubs and clubs, you learn to forget the music and background noise, especially if you're getting really into the reading. Often in the middle of a reading, I realise that I have tuned the sound out... As such, as long as I like the music and am in the mood for it, I'll put it on whilst I'm reading. Of course, at other times I do need some silence. This means I read to such random music as: * Wheatus (Namely 'Teenage Dirtbag') * Loreena McKennit (Who DOESN'T love this gal? The Highwayman? Dark Night of the Soul? How can one not love those tracks?) * Disney. ('I can show you the world... Shining, shimmering, splendid. Tell me Princess, now when did you last let your heart decide...?') :D * Less Than Jake * Blink 182 * Johnny Cash * Paul Simon * Caliche * Classical Music. Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Winter, I find esp. good for reading, and Ave Maria. Kiama

The Music to read by thread was originally posted on 25 Jan 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.