Music During Session

[Kelley Woods]

Hello Folks,

I'm curious as to how many of you utilize background music in your therapy sessions and your reasons for doing so, or not!

Cheers,

Kelley

[John Bittner - Ocotillo Hypnosis]

I do not use background music during my sessions. I trained at a school where PR was taught as the primary method of induction and background music (typically "New Age") was a component of that teaching. When I was the subject I found it to be an annoying distraction. (As a subject I also find PR annoying, but that's another story.)

When we did clinics as part of the training, music was continuously piped-in to the session rooms. At one of these clinics, some New Age Native American music was playing when one of my first real clients walked in. After doing the pre-talk I asked him if he had any other questions. He responded with, "Can you turn off those damn flutes?"

Moral of the story, you can never predict one's musical taste nor can you predict what desirable or undesirable associations one might have to a given style or piece of music.

If you're looking for a way to help a client relax, you might want to consider using environmental sounds - surf, rain, brook, birds, etc. - that are congruent with your client's concept of a peaceful and relaxing experience in nature.

[Michael White]

I think using music during sessions is a rad idea! Of course, not necessary to have an effective session, but it will help to set a client's state.

To use a different context as an example, my theater troupe is very aware of both music choice and volume for pre-show music. We want to set mood (emotional state) before we even step out on stage. Often we want it loud and fast so unconsciously the audience gets what is going to happen. And it gets us in a very effective state as well. This I call the "pre-show induction". Give as much evidence as to what the client...uh, I mean audience can expect and then deliver on the evidence given.

The same experience can happen in a hypnosis session. Music can be used to help calm a person. Those cool recordings of forest sounds at night is a really cool tool too. I love them. Monks chanting will drop people into Alpha states. Or you can just have them play THAT song over and over in their head until they drop down.

Another suggestion I have is to play a really great comedian's live set quietly in the background. Important so that they can hear the audience respond to the jokes. An audience can expect to laugh at certain points and the comedian delivers on that expectation. Great comedy is about tension and release (along with other stuff). Can you see how this might be useful in a hypnotic session? You will definitely know when they stop listening to you to hear the joke. This I feel is a very effective way to gain rapport and also elicit their ability to laugh. Some people will be distracted by it and you can say, "let the soundtrack only increase your ability to focus and if you want to just listen, that's fine too. I don't want you to enjoy this or anything else in your life too much!" You know,all that good hypnotic instruction. Often times people want to be able to learn how to direct and organize their mind and thoughts. This is a cool way to help them figure out when to pay attention, when to drift and so on...

And it might distract them enough so that they stop "trying" or "impressing" or whatever. Breaking patterns can be very healthy.

And hey asking, "What advice would Richard Pryor give you regarding your problem?" Could lead to some very interesteing conversations. Gives you a third opinion in the session.

[DiamondPendulum]

in my opinion, i think it would depend on the type of session. im not certified/licensed as a hypnotherapist as of yet, im still studying. but i do like making pre-recorded sessions. most of them i publish onto youtube, so most of the time they are simple, geared more towards relief of anxiety, stress, trouble sleeping and relaxation, unless i get a special request. now as for my 2 cents on the topic of music, one shouldnt choose to use/not use music for ALL their sessions, because maybe later a client will probably come to you......or in my case it would be peoples comments and reactions to my video sessions on youtube, that theres something about my voice that is so soothing. in fact, so soothing that sometimes i get requests for making a session without any music, because lots and lots of people have come to me saying that my voice alone relaxes them. but i personally like having soft music with maybe some sounds of nature. i just think that, even if you just use only your voice to guide the person, i like to deepen the trance with a tranquil waterfall and birds, for example. i even had one person in particular tell me that my voice IS the music!
with all the audio recorder and mixing software thats all over the net, why, people can just tweak their hypnotic voice a little to kinda make an echo effect, or something of the sort. but when i actually went and tried that, i was messing around a little bit trying to see how THAT would tie in with the music. well, i later learned that adding in the music was a mistake, especially when the volume of the music is almost louder than my voice was.
so what i have learned from that experience was, that if you are going to use background music, keep it really soft, but just enough to where the client can hear it and hopefully will enhace or deepen the hypnotic state.

have a tranquil day!

-kristen

[James Hazlerig]

I've made mixes of royalty-free music with nature sounds, and I usually have either that or just music playing in my office. I find that it sets the mood well for both me and my clients. Of course, I'm very musically-oriented; I often trance out just from listening to music.

Today a client asked me if I planned for the music to augment what I was saying in the session, because it seemed to swell and ebb like a sound track. I guess I'm just lucky. :-)

I also had one occasion that a client recognized a bit of music from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack in my office. That led us to discuss fantasy literature, which provided lots of imagery for our trance.

Sooooo . . . Music--not a necessity by any means, but I like having it.

[Henxy]

I like having music because it triggers an anchor in me to speak and act in a certain way. Without it, I have to concentrate more on the delivery. I find it also helps me to use specific phrases.

I also like to anchor the music with any CDs I give them: so they have the same music and can anchor a similar level of relaxation from the hypno session to their time at home with the CD.

[Celeste Cole]

Speaking as a client and not a hypnotherapist, any music with a discernible melody is extremely distracting and I much prefer to focus on the sound of the therapist's voice. (This may be due in part to my fascination with people's voices.)

On the other hand, I recently purchased one of Richard Nongard's MP3s, "embedded with binaural beat technology," as it's described on his site, and as soon as the "music" begins to play I slip into a state of deeper relaxation. So I think the question of playing music or sound effects is unique to each individual.

Also, depending on a person's state of mind, a certain type of music which is soothing in one session may be irritating in another.

[Henxy]

Ooh, piano...
[Swoon].

[Hugh Cole]

Hi Kelley,
I am an avid music person. I use it in all my sessions. Yes I know you don't really need it, but it does set a tone and a mood and an anchor for trance. I have done a great deal of work on my voice and work carefully to ensure it it is tonal and soothing (Thank you Jonathan Altfeld), but i still want the music in the room. I DON'T use head sets or anything that might feel less than natural. I look at it as carving out a sacred space and time for trance work. I also use very specific music in the induction phase of any public demonstration work I do. A bit of trivia, which some of you may know is that folks like Richard Bandler use music in most of thier seminars to set moods. Richard had Denver Clay (Moody Blues) under contract for a while to produce only for him. While I agree with my "purest friends" that music is not necessary. The right music enhances the work tremendously'

Hugh Cole

The Pretty Goodest Hypnotist on the Planet

[DiamondPendulum]

exactly hugh, im glad you agree. the use of music should always vary with the individual's needs and whether or not they find it either comforting, or a distraction. but me as the client, always have to have some form of music, if not just nature sounds to deepen the trance. it helps me to stay focused and tranquil. volume is also a very important thing too. if you do use music in the session, it should never be played too loudly. i learned this the hard way, trust me.

[Steve Lovold]

Hello Kelley, I find that while I'm in discussion, with a client who is dealing with stress, that they seem to enjoy classical music. I recommend Mozart. !!! ~ Aloha

[Sharon Stiles]

I don't use music in my sessions or I find I start listening to it and get distracted! I don't use much progressive relaxation and I talk a lot so I think people get caught up in my voice. Some clients have commented that they don't like music as they find it distracting but no one else has really commented. WIth the most recent MP3s I've made I've created 2 versions - one with and one without music so people can choose which they prefer. I haven't sold enough yet to see a preference though.

Best Wishes
Sharon

[Dennis Atkinson]

I definitely use background music ... mostly ocean sounds or some type of meditation music. I use noise cancelling headphones with my clients, and virtually all of them have told me they enjoy the music because during the moments of pause, they want to hear something so they know they are still in touch with their surroundings.