Make Your Own "Life Soundtrack"!

by Robin Frederick
© 2004 All rights reserved. Used by Permission.

Robin Frederick has composed and produced of over 500 songs for record albums and television series. She is a former Director of A&R for Rhino Records and a recording artist with releases on Virgin/Higher Octave Records and Sound Experience Music. For more information, visit RobinFrederick.com

Instead of thinking of songs as merely entertainment, think of them as the greatest mood-altering drug of all time. From the lulling sweetness of a lullaby to the ecstatic joy of Handel's "Messiah," songs irresistably call forth in us emotional states, memories, and associations. Although science has yet to determine just how music evokes emotions, there is no doubt about the fact that it does.

We are surrounded by music. In fact, we already have a soundtrack of sorts accompanying our lives from the time the clock radio wakens us in the morning with a sad love song until the tv assaults us at bedtime with music-driven ads for tomorrow morning's breakfast cereal. Most of the time we don't notice this inappropriate incidental music, but it's there nonetheless - lifting us up or slowing us down without our conscious awareness. But what if you could choose the music that accompanies your life - what would it be? There are two or three times during the day when you can program your own life soundtrack, using music to energize those feelings that will harmonize with and support the kind of life experience you want.

To learn more about how music and songs affect your emotions, read my article Love Songs And Visualization or Dream Lovers: Make Them A Reality by Lara Royce, co-founder of Sound Experience Music.

YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD FOR LULLABIES: You spend one third of your day asleep. Making the transition from hectic daytime activity to a state of peaceful relaxation can make the difference between a good night's sleep and a restless night of tossing and turning. You can provide a soundtrack that will encourage deep sleep and productive dreaming. Gregorian chant, choral music, and many New Age recordings work well for this. Look for pieces that have very slow or non-repetitive rhythms and minimal volume changes. Enya's Watermark album has several excellent tracks. Fleetwood Mac's beautiful "Songbird" track (from their album Rumours) works well. Play the tape as you get ready for bed each evening. Or let it play while you fall asleep.

CAR TUNES: Many of us spend a substantial amount of time driving to and from work or doing errands. To offset the stress of driving in traffic, try playing a tape of your favorite love songs. Check out the Top 20 Love Songs on this site for song ideas or the Visitors Choice Award winners.

MENTAL ALERTNESS: If you can play music at work, you can put together a compilation of music that will energize your brain and increase your ability to concentrate. Research has shown that mental alertness and memory retention are improved by listening to music, particularly Bach. Graphic design, layout and other tasks which require the mental manipulation of images can also be supported with music, specifically Mozart. Studies done at the University of California at Irvine have shown an improvement in spatial task performance (known as the 'Mozart Effect') for a period of time after listening to the music of Mozart. For more information and research results, go to MuSICA.uci.edu at http://www.musica.uci.edu and click on Research Notes.

RELAXATION: Instrumental music and songs can both enhance relaxation. The main thing to listen for when selecting music for a relaxation tape is the rhythm. Your body's pulse rate will respond to the beat of the music. There are two ways you can select music for this compilation: you can simply choose music that does not have a prominent rhythm component (ambient or atmospheric music) or you can check your resting pulse rate and try to find music that has a similar or slower tempo. Because both of these approaches require some effort on your part, you might prefer to buy some of the excellent relaxation tapes that are available from New Age record labels. If you are making your own compilation, be sure the songs you select have a positive message. For lists of songs, go to the Favorite Love Songs page on this site and click on the alphabetical links. Look for songs with the "red heart" symbol, then make a list of those you like that have a slow tempo. An example would be Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love." There are several songs on my album How Far? How Fast? which will also work well.

HOLIDAYS: Music is an important part of many holidays. Everyone is familiar with the traditional songs associated with Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween. With a little creativity, you can put together a tape of contemporary songs that will add a personal touch to holiday celebrations. For example, a music tape for a Fourth of July fireworks display might include such songs as "America" (Simon & Garfunkel), "Promised Land" (Bruce Springsteen), "This Land Is Your Land" (Peter, Paul & Mary), "We Are The Champions" (Queen),"The Star Spangled Banner" (Jimi Hendrix), or any march by John Phillip Sousa. Use your imagination! Try a search on the internet for songs related to a particular holiday, month, or date. The home page for this web site always features a selection of songs related to the current month or upcoming holiday.

TO MAKE YOUR SOUNDTRACK

SELECT THE SONGS: Go through your CD, tape, or record collection and choose the songs you want to include in your compilation. Or cruise through the hundreds of love songs listed on this site. (Go to the Favorite Love Songs page and click on the alphabetical links.) Look for songs that have a positive message and give you an emotional lift. Don't limit yourself to any particular music style or artist; the more variety, the better.

Tip: There are a number of sites where you can buy and download individual songs on the internet. Choose from thousands of songs for less than a dollar each at sites like the Apple Music store, Rhapsody, eMusic, and Napster (all legal now).

CHOOSE A SEQUENCE: When you have selected the songs and have them ready to record, decide on the order in which you want the songs to play on the tape or CD. Sequencing is mostly a matter of personal taste. For a general purpose tape or for listening in the car, mixing up the tempos and styles of the songs as much as possible ensures that the tape will grab your attention and not become background music. Try alternating fast and slow songs, male and female singers, songs and instrumentals for the best results.

RECORDING ON CD

EQUIPMENT NEEDED: You will need a dual-well CD player/recorder, or a computer with a CD burner and the software needed to download mp3 files and burn them to CD. Audio quality does vary depending on the speed at which you burn the CD and the brand of CD you use. The best CD's for music hold 650 MB. I like Maxell or Memorex. Burn your CDs at the slowest speed possible for the best sounding copy. The faster the copy speed, the more errors you get which can cause some CD players to reject the CD. High speed copies also result in a loss of audio quality. You're going to be listening to this compilation a lot, so make sure it sounds good.

RECORDING ON CASSETTE TAPE

EQUIPMENT NEEDED: You will need a cassette deck or CD player to record from and a cassette deck to record your music to. A dual cassette deck that will play a cassette while recording onto a second cassette will work, too. You'll want the tape you record on to sound good and last as long as possible so use a high-quality cassette tape, one that is specifically made for music recording, and don't use a tape that is longer than a C-100 (50 minutes per side). Most songs are three to four minutes long (instrumentals tend to be longer) so divide the length of your cassette by four to determine approximately how many songs will fit on your tape. (C-100's will hold about 25 songs, a C-90 about 22 songs, and a C-60 about 15.) If you reach the end of Side A in the middle of a song, go back and erase that song and start it over at the beginning of Side B. It's always frustrating to be listening to a favorite song only to have it interrupted in the middle! If you reach the end of Side B in the middle of a song, go back and erase that song. Save it for another tape or, if it's a song you really want on this tape, you can record over the previous song. The object is to create a tape that preserves the beauty and integrity of your favorite songs.

WHEN YOU FINISH RECORDING: Be sure to write down the song titles on the blank J-Card fitted into the cassette box or the CD booklet that comes with most blank CD's. On the label write "Life Soundtrack" followed by the particular use, such as "In the Car," "Relaxation," or "Morning Wake Up" If you're recording on cassette tape, after you have finished recording, remove the plastic tabs on the top edge of the cassette. When these tabs are removed, the cassette is record-protected, meaning you cannot accidentally record over or erase what is on the tape.

USING THE TAPE: You can listen to your "Life Soundtrack" any time you want an emotional lift: driving in the car, relaxing at home, getting ready for work, any time music is appropriate and will not interfere with your concentration. (For highly-focused activities such as creative writing, designing, or computation, use instrumental music only, not songs. ) Your "Life Soundtrack" will put you in an energized, positive, emotional state you can use as a launching pad for the rest of your day or evening activities.


NOTE: The CD or cassette tape you are making is for your personal use only. It is illegal to copy a commercial recording for any other purpose and it deprives the recording artist and songwriter of well-deserved royalties. Please do not make copies or distribute copies of your personal soundtrack tapes.