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Finding Your Music, Expanding Your Choices

Finding your music, expanding your choices

Music can help support your needs, whether they be for pain management, stress management, validating your feelings, distraction, help going back to sleep, or reaching your exercise goals. But to do this, you may need to expand your listening choices. The suggestions that follow (below) are meant to encourage you to explore many types of music and a wide variety of instruments, styles and tempos, in order to find more music to support your current and perhaps unfamiliar needs. You can also try listening to streaming services such as  Spotify to get a better sense of what you like. Try categories such as “lute music” or “folk music.”
Gumboots (Soweto) high-energy singing with percussive sounds

Stomp Also high-energy, with lots of percussion

Irish fiddle music (you can  search  on Spotify)

Music you can dance to: Irish, tango (try Piazzola) Reggae, tap, or ballet music such as Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite, or Alvin Ailey or Twyla Tharp dance music. You probably know more!

Stravinsky Rite of Spring

Holst The Planets

Orff Carmina Burana

Faure Requiem

Bach, J.S. Masses, Cantatas (What instruments or voices do you prefer?)

Gospel

Let there be peace on earth

Your religion’s seasonal music

Lower brass music.

Circle Songs Bobby McFerrin

Ladysmith Black Mambazi Raise your Spirit Higher (S African and gospel mix)

Hukwe Zawose Chibite call and response. male A cappella

Committed, a male a cappella group

Mbira music (thumb piano)

Massenet Meditation from Thais violin and orchestra

Frank Sonata for violin and piano

Kreisler Recitative and Scherzo for solo violin

Bach JS Cello Suites

Bach JS pieces for solo lute (What instrument do you prefer? Do you like higher or lower-pitched instruments?)

Bach Goldberg Variations for solo piano.

Baroque lute music. (Baroque music often has a strong bass line and can give you the feeling of extra support)

Ashokan Farewell

Marcus Roberts Alone with Three Giants

Chopin waltzes piano solo

Satie Gymnopedie

Anonymous 4. A cappella female voices

Gregorian chant, all male voices A cappella

Chanticleer A cappella mixed chorus

Double drumming Michael Harner. Meditation on what at first seems to be a uniform, steady beat

Solo guitar. Asturias or solo Bach pieces

India’s Master Musicians or Tranquility L Subramaniam violin

Shakti Yoga Russill Paul. An opportunity to become grounded, then expand breathing and energize

Bedtime Beats The secret to sleep. Has music 60 BPM or slower

Ocean Surf, no other sounds added

Delibes Lakme Flower Duet

Puccini Gianni Schicchi O Mio Babbino Caro

Mozart Magic Flute Papageno’s Song

Try listening to these singers:

Thomas Hampson, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Jessye Norman, Barbara Hendricks, Renee Fleming, Cecelia Bartoli. You no doubt already have other favorites!

Folk music. Folk instruments.

For more information on music and wellness visit http://wellness.pittsburghsymphony.org