Therapeutic Effects of VIOLIN AND NATURE

Therapeutic Effects of VIOLIN AND NATURE

Violin and Nature is an experimental approach in relieving stress of daily living.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Cover design of CD (Audio-video presentation not included in this article)

Music must be elevated from the level of entertainment and expression of skills to one that http://brings the listener to a state of catharsis, relieving him of the stresses and tensions of daily living. Music therapy is now recognized as part of alternative medicine. There are musical compositions that bring about the so-called Mozart Effect, named after Amadeus Mozart whose compositions are acclaimed by scientists to be the most therapeutic of all musical compositions, even among his contemporaries in the classical and romantic schools.

This article is the result of a research conducted by the author with his class at the UST Graduate School as respondents to the hypothesis that the combination of Violin and Nature sounds has therapeutic effects to the listener. And if so, how? What aspects of our body physiology, mind, psyche, and spirit are affected? In what ways, and how do we measure such effects?

Can auditory art be developed by converting word to music, and re-create the sound of nature to accompany it? The idea is to find a compatible blend of science - the prosaic and formal, with humanities - the entertaining, cultural, and the sounds of nature, definitely a rare experience that takes place in the inner vision of the mind. Violin and Nature is a CD recording or 32 extemporaneous popular and semi-classical compositions played on the violin by the author with accompaniment of birds, insects, wind, waterfall and running stream.

People say, “ Relaks lang” or “just do it” as part of daily conversation. Either it is taken as advice or compliment, the message is clear: life today is growing tenser. “ Take it easy” has a reassuring note that everybody must learn to live in a stressful world.

Both the poor and rich are subject to different forms of stress, so with the city and village dweller. Ironically, stress does not spare growing affluence. In fact, it persists invariably throughout life, virtually from womb to tomb.

The idea of dealing with tension or stress is how one is able to reduce it effectively so as to enjoy life and get rid of its complications from headaches to various psychosomatic symptoms- and eventual health problems, if it is not checked on time.

One proposal is the use of therapeutic effects of music and nature, thus the rationale of this experiment that employs the combined soothing sound of the violin, and the harmony of nature.

Music is well known to reduce tension. Pipe-in music increases work efficiency in corporate offices, takes out boredom in otherwise monotonous assignments, and fosters proper attitude and disposition, when correctly applied. In fact, scientists have established the biological basis of music by being able to increase the production efficiency in poultry and livestock with the use of background music. The key is the reduction of stress in the animal. The same result has yet to be established in plants.

A stressful life builds tension in the body. Headache, wakefulness, palpitation, indigestion, trembling and many other symptoms, which wear away the life force, accompany tension. Tired nerves need rest and quiet, as nature needs time to recuperate her exhausted energies.

What is tension? It is the effort that is manifested in the shortening of muscle fibers. Physiologists compare muscle tension with “neuromuscular relaxation” to differentiate popular interpretation of relaxation as amusement, recreation, or hobbies. To be relaxed is the direct physiology opposite of being excited or disturbed.

Neurosis and psychoneurosis are at the same time physiological disturbance, for they are forms of tension disorders. Therefore, the key to treatment lies in relaxation.

Who are victims of tension? Everybody is a candidate. These are models of tensed individuals: the “burnt out” housewife, the tagasalo in the family, the gifted child, the dominant lola, the authoritative patriarch. These persons themselves are not only victims of tension; they spread tension among people around them.

Multitudes long for a better life, but they lack courage and resolution to break away from the power of habit. On the other hand, many escape from the harsh realities of life by taking alcohol and drugs.

Hypothesis

The whole idea of relaxation is in disciplining the body to budget life’s energies, and to immerse oneself to relaxing moods. Music and nature are a great inexhaustible source. Plato and Confucius looked at music as a department of ethics. They saw the correspondence between character of man and music. Great music, they believed, is in harmony with the universe, restoring order to the physical world. Aristotle on the other hand, the greatest naturalist of the ancient world supported the platonic view, which through the Renaissance to the present dominate the concept of great composition. Great music has always been associated with God’s creation.

Nature on the other hand, produces calming effects to the nerve. Sightseeing, picnic and camping are a good break to prosaic city life. Different from ordinary amusements in the park or theater, the countryside is one arena of peace and quiet. Features on TV and print media provide but an alternative scenario. Today “canned” Nature is being introduced in many forms such as traveling planetarium, CD-ROM Nature Series, Ecology Village, and the like, to illustrate the growing concern of people to experience the positive effects of Nature in an urban setting characterized by a stressful modern life.

This experiment is based on the premise that the combined effects of music and Nature help reduce tension in daily living, particularly among working students in the city.

Conceptual Framework

A- Tension tends to dominate the body to relax, resulting in tension build-up in the muscles;

B- Music (violin solos) and Nature’s sounds( birds, running stream etc.) make a composition which provides a rare listening experience in varying intensity; and

C- The experience enhances relaxation, reduces tension and its physiologic effects in the individual.

Methodology

The Violin and Nature recorded in compact disc (CD) was then presented for evaluation to students in Research Methodology at the UST Graduate School on two aspects, namely, the content of the tape and the perception of the respondents. Physiologic response was determined by measuring the pulse rate before and after listening to eight sample compositions from the tape for thirty minutes.

These are as follows:

1. Serenade by Toselli (semi- classical)

2. Meditation, from the Thais by Massenet (classical)

3. Lara’s Theme (sound track of the movie, Dr. Zhivago)

4. Beyond the Sunset (ballad)

5. Paper Roses (popular)

6. A Certain Smile (popular)

7. Fascination (popular dance music)

8. Home on the Range (country song)

Respondents Profile

This is the profile of the 42 respondents, which made up one class in research methodology. They are predominantly female students (81%), employed (86%), with ages from 21 to 29 years old (76%).

Content Analysis

The respondents counted eight tunes or pieces, of which 5 are familiar to them. They identified three non-living sounds (running stream, wind, and waterfall, aside from the violin), and two living sounds (mainly birds).

Physiologic Response

The average pulse rates before and after listening to the tape are 79.47 and 73.29 per minute, respectively, or a difference of 6.18. Statistically, the difference is significant, thus confirming the relaxing effects to the respondents after listening to the CD.

Perception

The ten criteria used in rating the perception of the respondents are ranked as follows, adopting the Likert Scale. Note: A scale of 1 to 5 was used, where 1 is very poor, 2 poor, 3 fair, 4 good, and 5 very good.

Criteria Rating Rank

1. One has the feeling of being

transported to a Nature/Wildlife scene. 4.48 1

2. Listening to the tape creates an aura

of peace and serenity. 4.39 2

3. The composition is soothing to hear,

Has calming effect on the nerves. 4.24 3

4. The composition creates a meditative

mood. 3.95 4

5. It brings reminiscence to the

listener of a past experience. 3.64 5

6. It helps one in trying to

forget his problems. 3.59 6

7. One has the felling of being

transported heavenward, to Cloud 9. 3.55 7

8. There is tendency to sleep while

listening to the composition. 3.52 8

9. It brings about a nostalgic feeling. 3.19 9

10. The composition makes one

sad and melancholic. 2.55 10

Analysis and Interpretation

The means the first three criteria fall between good and very good, while the others, except the 10th, are between fair and good. This finding supports the positive relaxing effects of Violin and Nature.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Listening to Violin and Nature slows down pulse rate significantly, thus reducing tension, and brings the listener closer to a state of relaxation. The effects are measured as based on ten criteria. Topping the scores which are classified Very Good are:

1. One has the feeling of being transported to a Nature /Wildlife Scene;

2. Listening to the tape creates an aura of peace and serenity; and

3. The composition is soothing to hear, and has calming effect on the nerves.

There are six other parameters that support the hypothesis that the CD is relaxing. This is different from its effect of bringing nostalgia, sadness and melancholy that received the lowest scores and rankings.

However, there is need to improve the quality of the compositions, and their recording. It is also recommended that similar evaluation be conducted on other age groups and people of different walks of life who are similarly subject to stressful life and environment. ~

Disturbing Views on the Road. Neutral Morality Coming of Age quotes

"Moral crisis looms in a society where people are neutral and indifferent in values."

Photos taken from the front seat of a car.      

 It's wrong to block the sight of motorists and pedestrians,
 more so to distract their attention.  

 Balloons on the road, with no occasion to celebrate, 
what a sight!  Heat and cigarette pose danger of explosion,  

 The disappearing sidewalk is one for the Book of Guinness. Now you see it, now you don't. 

What is this sexy model doing on the road? Don't get too close for better view.
It's a tender, deadly trap.

 Need a helping hand? Boy scout or traffic aide wanted.   

 Chaos, that's normal traffic.  Truck ban, bicycle lane, traffic on a standstill. 

How would you like tailing this face all the way to 

your workplace or home? Hauntingly disturbing. Is he or a she? 

Camouflaged bus with ads looks like new.  Actually a surplus from the junkyard.~

The Last Tree Sentinel (International Environment Day, June 5, 2020)

A testimony of threatened Nature 

The Last Tree Sentinel    

"Once upon a time there was a Paradise 

  abandoned by man in search for glory. " - avr

                                     Dr Abe V Rotor

   Sentinel on Tagaytay Ridge - but for how long? March 24, 2013  

I braved the wind and storm, drought and rain,

     vandals and lovers carving their pledge, 

the beetle and caterpillar, all that has to gain

     from me standing on this ridge at its edge.

I was as proud as a king, tallest among my kin,

     home of countless tenants and refugees;

by height and place I was keen at touching the sky,

     though so little I felt on Babel's knees.

The view around was lush and green, verdant 

     in the sun as mist and fog would unfold;

a woodland was my world, I was once a part,

     until humans came to replace the old.

My neighbors are gone, I lost track of my lineage, 

     I've no one to talk to, though humans can 

in queer sound far from the gentleness of breeze

     all day long and after the sun is down. 

I lost sight overlooking the famed volcano, 

     its lake within a lake shining in the sun;

my vantage is blocked by roofs and walls and smog,

     an orphan I became by progress of man. 

I no longer hear plaintive and joyful songs,

     recitation of verses under my wing; 

weary travelers no longer stop to take a nap,

     nor birds nest in my branches and sing.

I live in fear for the woodsman, the engineer,

     but I've lived with fear enough to understand

the world of man: fear akin to his existence

     hidden in want - guideless, boundless in band. 

Man's era shall reign over nature, but for how long?

     I can only tell from my ancestors' story:

once upon a time there was a Paradise 

    abandoned by man in search for glory. ~

Postmodernism Hydra* - Real or Myth

There is no straight definition, and acceptable at that, of Postmodernism, but Dr. Florentino H Hornedo a foremost Filipino sociologist came up with a terse statement of what the age we are living in today as "living tomorrow today in a free fall." Man is indeed losing his sense of reality in a fast changing world.  

Researched by Dr Abe V Rotor

                                                                                                                                                                  Introducing Postmodernism 

What is Postmodernism?

A general and wide-ranging term which is applied to literature, art, philosophy, architecture, fiction, and cultural and literary criticism, among others. Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality. In essence, it stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality. For this reason, postmodernism is highly skeptical of explanations which claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses on the relative truths of each person. In the postmodern understanding, interpretation is everything; reality only comes into being through our interpretations of what the world means to us individually. Postmodernism relies on concrete experience over abstract principles, knowing always that the outcome of one's own experience will necessarily be fallible and relative, rather than certain and universal.

Postmodernism is "post" because it is denied the existence of any ultimate principles, and it lacks the optimism of there being a scientific, philosophical, or religious truth which will explain everything for everybody - a characteristic of the so-called "modern" mind. The paradox of the postmodern position is that, in placing all principles under the scrutiny of its skepticism, it must realize that even its own principles are not beyond questioning. As the philosopher Richard Tarnas states, postmodernism "cannot on its own principles ultimately justify itself any more than can the various metaphysical overviews against which the postmodern mind has defined itself."https://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/postm-body.html

Postmodernism is likened to the mythical Hydra, among its many heads are:  (References: Introducing Postmodernism; Internet)

Hyper-consumption refers to the consumption of goods for non-functional purposes and the associated significant pressure to consume those goods exerted by the modern, capitalist society, as those goods shape one's identity.

A simulacrum is a representation or imitation of a person or thing. a fake version of something real. A wax museum is full of simulacrums of famous people. The word was first recorded in the English language in the late 16th century, used to describe a representation, such as a statue or a painting, especially of a god. Wikipedia

Fundamentalism a form of a religion, especially Islam or Protestant Christianity, that upholds belief in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture. Fundamentalists believe that the statements in the Bible are literally true. They often argue against the theory of evolution.
Ultra-Right - The radical right is a term applied in the United States to sociopolitical movements and political factions and parties that develop in response to supposed threats against American values and interests. According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics, in liberal democracies, the political Right opposes socialism and social democracy. Right-wing parties include conservatives, Christian democrats, classical liberals, nationalists and, on the far Right, racists and fascists. On the other hand, Left-wing politics supports social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy and social inequality.

Post-Industrial Revolution is a development, expanding on the growth of the industrial revolution, which results in the creation and production of knowledge and information rather than durable goods. A post-industrial society is a stage in a society's development during which the economy transitions from one that primarily provides goods to one that primarily provides services.

Conservatism (or conservativism) is any political philosophy that favors tradition (in the sense of various religious, cultural, or nationally-defined beliefs and customs) in the face of external forces for change, and is critical of proposals for radical social change.

Mega media - The mass media regarded, collectively, as a large and powerful organization.
The name "Hearst" meant megamedia -- an empire of dozens of opinionated news-papers, magazines, broadcast properties, a movie studio and expansive real estate holdings as well as a great art collection.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer technology that uses Virtual reality headsets, sometimes in combination with physical spaces or multi-projected environments, to generate realistic images, sounds and other sensations that simulate a user's physical presence in a virtual or imaginary environment.

Recession - a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.
----------------
Greek MythologyHYDRA LERNAIA (Lernaean Hydra) was a gigantic, nine-headed water-serpent, which haunted the swamps of Lerna. Herakles (Heracles) was sent to destroy her as one of his twelve labors, but for each of her heads that he decapitated, two more sprang forth. So with the help of Iolaos (Iolaus), he applied burning brands to the severed stumps, cauterizing the wounds and preventing the regeneration. In the battle he also crushed a giant crab beneath his heel which had come to assist the Hydra. The Hydra and the Crab were afterwards placed among the stars by Hera as the Constellations Hydra and Cancer.

The Hydra possessed many heads, the exact number of which varies according to the source. Later versions of the Hydra story add a regeneration feature to the monster: for every head chopped off, the Hydra would regrow a couple of heads. he Hydra had poisonous breath and blood so virulent that even its scent was deadly. ~ 

Graffiti Art on Nature

Graffiti Art on Nature

Watch the ever changing landscape of clouds - Nature's art 

in endless evolution that inspires the popular art movement.

Dr Abe V Rotor

 Cloud Art

Graffiti Art

Start by watching the ever changing faces and landscape of clouds;

they are Nature's art in endless movements and evolution,

from romanticism to realism, impressionism to surrealism, and more;

the graffiti artist lumps them into real or imaginary vision; 

creating a world of his own addressed to postmodern times and living, 

waking up the essential and spirit else lost into oblivion.

  

   

   

 

Themes of graffiti art range from farm life to wildlife, with 

varied expressions from post-impressionism to surrealism. 

Acknowledgement: Internet photos

Strange Creatures: Chameleon and Tarsier

Strange Creatures: Chameleon and Tarsier

“Chameleon is the animal which changes according to surrounding, feature similar to human” ― Ax-n Arshed

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) come in a range of colors, and have the ability to change color. They are distinguished by their zygodactylous feet (two toes point forwards, and two to the rear); their very extensive, rapidly extrudable tongues; their swaying gait and crests or horns on their brow and snout, and a prehensile tail.  They are adapted for climbing and visual hunting, and live in warm habitats from rain forest to desert conditions, with various species in Africa, Madagascar, Europe, and Asia. They also have been introduced to other countries and often are kept as household pets, such as the Chamaeleo calyptratus. 

Different chameleon species are able to vary their coloration and pattern through combinations of pink, blue, red, orange, green, black, brown, light blue, yellow, turquoise, and purple. Males are more ornamented than the females. Chameleons have the most distinctive eyes of any reptile. Their eyes are independently mobile, and aim at a prey with stereoscopic vision. The upper and lower eyelids are joined, with only a pinhole large enough for the pupil to see through. Each eye can pivot and focus independently, allowing the chameleon to observe two different objects simultaneously. This gives them a full 360-degree arc of vision around their bodies. Chameleons have very good eyesight, and can see small insects from a distance of 5 to 10 meters. 

Philippine tarsier (Carlito syrichta), locally known as mawumag or mamag 

For the past 45 million years, tarsiers have inhabited rainforests around the world, but now they exist on only a few islands in the Philippines, Borneo, and Indonesia. In Bohol, the Philippine tarsier was a common sight in the southern part of the island until the 1960s. The Philippine tarsier (Carlito syrichta), is a member of the family Tarsiidae, whose name is derived from its elongated "tarsus" or ankle bone. Formerly a member of the genus Tarsius, it is now listed as the only member of the genus Carlito, a new genus named after the conservationist Carlito Pizarras.  Carlito syrichta) is one of the smallest known primates, no larger than a man's hand. It is nocturnal and lives on a diet of insects. 

Acknowledgement: Internet photos and Wikipedia reference

Old Flowering Tree Alive

Old Flowering Tree Alive 
Dr Abe V Rotor

Old Flowering Tree in acrylic on wood (18.5 x 19.5) AVR 2020

It has been a long time I saw a flowering tree,

having lived long in a high rise in the city; 

Memories come from an orchard of my childhood 

where once bloomed an old, old tree, its last. 

Behold! ~