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StillnessMusic science fact

Silence between pieces of music can relax the body more than the music itself. In a 2006 study of 24 people, fast music raised heart rate, blood pressure and breathing; during a two-minute pause all three fell, even below the levels measured before the music began.

Bernardi, Porta & Sleight, Heart, 2006

MindScienceMusicHealth

The story behind the card

Physician Luciano Bernardi of the University of Pavia in Italy, with Cesare Porta and Peter Sleight, tested 12 practising musicians and 12 people of the same age without musical training. Each listened to six styles in random order, including rap, techno, Indian raga and classical music, with a two-minute pause inserted at a random point. Tempo mattered more than style: faster music and simpler rhythms were the most stimulating, while slow or meditative music had a calming effect. The musicians' breathing followed the tempo more closely than the others'. The authors suggested that alternating music and pauses might help with stress, but a single small laboratory study is only a starting point.

Türkçe oku
Müzik parçaları arasındaki sessizlik, bedeni müziğin kendisinden daha çok dinlendirebilir. 2006'da 24 kişiyle yapılan bir çalışmada hızlı müzik nabzı, tansiyonu ve solunumu artırdı; iki dakikalık arada ise üçü de düştü, hatta müzik başlamadan önce ölçülen düzeyin altına indi.
Bernardi, Porta ve Sleight, Heart, 2006

İtalya'daki Pavia Üniversitesi'nden hekim Luciano Bernardi, Cesare Porta ve Peter Sleight ile birlikte 12 aktif müzisyeni ve müzik eğitimi almamış, aynı yaştan 12 kişiyi inceledi. Her katılımcı rap, tekno, Hint ragası ve klasik müzik gibi altı farklı türü rastgele bir sırayla dinledi; parçaların arasına rastgele bir noktada iki dakikalık bir sessizlik kondu. Belirleyici olan tür değil tempoydu: Hızlı müzik ve basit ritimler bedeni en çok uyardı, yavaş ya da meditatif müzik ise sakinleştirdi. Müzisyenlerin solunumu tempoya ötekilerden daha yakından uydu. Araştırmacılar müzikle sessizliği art arda kullanmanın stresle başa çıkmaya yardımcı olabileceğini öne sürdü; ama küçük bir laboratuvar çalışması ancak bir başlangıçtır.

Sources and further reading

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