Music with Lyrics

[winifred]

my question for everyone out there is:

what music do have (or like) that is appropriate for massage, but that also has vocals and lyrics?

is anyone out there using music with lyrics in their practice?

most of the music i listen to in my personal life would not be appropriate for massage... mostly punk, with a little hip hop thrown in for good measure.

so, are there any artists, or groups, or even songs in particular, that you recommend i try?

 

[essassin]

Enya seems to be popular.

 

[Pompal 09.]

I find that lyrics in another language work really well. I like "Rasa" and "Deva Premal" for sanskrit type stuff with beautiful female singing that isn't "sexy"

i also have just started to like choral massage or opera. The stuff I have used is very gentle and beautiful. Someone burnt me the CDs though, so I don't know who the artists are. I find these are the most well received by the most people. (The sanskrit stuff I don't play with everyone, though it is easy on the ears)

Otherwise, no. I've had clients tell me that music with lyrics distracts them and keeps them from relaxing. So I try not too. Lately I have also been likely Ah Nee Mah. (native american/contemporary) which is not putting me to sleep, but also works for the client (and no english lyrics)

I like this question and I'm interested to see what the answers are! So thanks

 

[Tazzer]

I have two playlists on my i-pod for massage. One is traditional spa instrumental type music and the other is full of Nora Jones, Jack Johnson, Donavon Frankeriter, Ingrid Michaelson (my new fav and if you don't know of her go to I-tunes immediatly!) Sia, Sheryl Crow, The Beatles just to name a few. Even Modest Mouse Willful Supension of Disbelieve is a wonderfully relaxing song. A bit of reggae for flavor and off we go. Also a lot of "world music" its in Spanish, French or whatever and i have no idea what they are saying but it sounds pretty! I usually ask what type of music they like. Or if I am doing a scrub or treatment where they tend to be more alert and talkative I use the vocals. I just don't follow any strict rules. I have had a lot of people say they really like something other then traditional stuff once in awhile. A few of my regulars switch it up every other time. But I am an "Enya Free" work zone. Sorry for those who love it but just to much for me after the last spa I worked in.

 

[Da Cute Dude]

I once had a client say.... "Is that Enya? Is that all you Massage Therapists play?? " Aparently the MT before me played it for him.

I only play it if requested now. On a side note: I went to a day spa today and they were playing ENYA! :roll:

 

[Holden]

I always thought Enya was overplayed JUNK (even though personally I like her). So I NEVER played her for clients (figuring they've heard enough). Finally, working at the spa where I work now, I get lots of requests for her. My feeling is that a lot of people who have little to no exposure to "natural healing" or that kind of stuff have never heard her and associate Enya with Relaxation.

So now I've got a CD or two of her on my Iriver. If someone asks I can play it.

 

[M.E.]

Music

Becasue I use an i-pod I can mix stuff up. I have several playlists. The main massagey music, a quick massage music, vocal (Josh Groben, Russel Watson, etc), Soft hits and I could go on.

I have a client who hates anything that sounds like massage music and like 80's rock.

I feel it's best to have a wide range of music. I always ask my clients what they would like to listen to or if they don't like what I am playing to please let me know and I would be happy to change it.

 

[astutewoman]

I have a few CD's by Enigma, that have some "voice work" in them. I like it, the client who gave the CD's to me likes it, but I guess it would depend on taste. (I think I have Enigma3 and I can't recall the other). You may be able to taste their music here : http://www.enigmamusic.com/jukebox/index.html

The other CD I have with voice, is something like shivashiva mentioned (sanskrit type stuff) , but is a mixture of people and a copy that was given to me years ago, so I don't have names of the artists. I only used it in 30 min. sessions (which I don't do anymore, so it's been a long time since I've listened to it.

 

[mamma.austin]

Secret Garden's "Dawn of a New Century" and "Songs From a Secret Garden" mostly instrumental with occasional non-intrusive vocals.

Shiva, I'm glad for the reminder of Deva Premal! I have some old stuff on cassette that I never replaced with CD.

 

[cookie25]

Oh, I do remember one of the artists: Michael Hoppe.

"Afterglow" is a really great instrumental with cello, and rain falling.

The album with gentle opera is called "Requiem" and some folks REALLY love this. I have gotten favorable comments about both. You can listen to clips on amazon.

 

[jorge_felix_rodriguez]

I really like Adiemus when I want a bit....MORE....to my music. Their vocals are genrally not words but rather phonetic syllables so you have the beauty of voices with the distraction of lyrics. If that makes sense.

It's great for more active energy clients - not those who want to just fall asleep - but it's a nice change of pace.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/eforum.xxxging/items-eforum.xxxged-with?ie=UTF8&flatten=1&eforum.xxx=Adiemus&search=1

Here's the Amazon listing of their stuff - I think you can listen online from there.

Angela

 

[Pompal 09.]

"Enya-free work zone" : Thanks, Seattle, I love that. Yeah, I pretty much hate "massage" music. Dead Can Dance is good stuff- kinda Celtic/trance/goth/ambient , I like Enigma, too, from what I recall- haven't heard them in years.

I agree with the world music statements. A lot of that is not in English, but does have vocals. I have a mass from a Mexican church that is really fascinating, plus, of course, some classical Indian ragas that are very trance-inducing (no vox in that). Classical Iranian is nice, but can get a bit rambunctious in an understated sort of way.

 

[Araz]

I sometimes play smooth jazz type cd's. The main one I like is a compliation of love songs by Najee. It has lyrics but so far no one has said they don't like it. At first I used to play Miles Davis but the trumpet sound was a bit too intrusive/grating. I'm not keen on Enya or Cd's with natural sounds like birds and water.

 

[chaosjmf]

Most of my favorites have already been mentioned. The only one I can think of that I haven't seen is Loreena McKennitt. Beautiful voice and haunting melodies. Keep the suggestions coming!

 

[coopchic]

Ditto Lorena McKennitt, Deva Premal (I've seen her in concert recently - phenomenal!), Rasa and also Secret Garden (seen them in concert too - very moving).

For other "chant" vocals I like Norma Gentile who does Hildegard von Bingen, which is beautiful. I also enjoy the monk "Chant" CDs occassionally.

Clannad "Landmarks" is commonly in my rotation too.

Enjoy!

 

[Megan N]

I was listening to some of the links we've provided for each other and it reminded me of a CD I had re-mixed to work for me -- that is of multiple artists and would be considered Ambient Music. The CD is called Path. The link was pushing off the page, so I connected it to the CD name.

I've copied the names of the somgs from the CD and artists, in case you find one you like and wanted to search it out.

1 Tibet Art - Mark Isham Various Artists - New Age
2 On The Forest Floor - Bob Holroyd Various Artists - New Age
3 Le Desert Bleu - Xavier Descarpentries Various Artists - New Age
4 The White Spirit - Uman Various Artists - New Age
5 Ghost Dancer - Gabrielle Roth And The Mirrors Various Artists - New Age
6 To Tree Or Not To Tree - Dean Evenson Various Artists - New Age
7 Lydia - Tim Story Various Artists - New Age
8 Ancient Evenings - Garry Hughes Various Artists - New Age
9 Riding Windhorse (Buddhafields) - Heavenly Musi... Various Artists - New Age
10 12:18 - Global Communication

 

[Broderick]

For years I didn't play any music with vocals, because I thought it would draw the client's attention too much during the massage. However, after years of doing this work, I was longing for more variety in the music I played, for my benefit. So, I started adding a few songs sung in different languages. I figured people could tune out to that better than English. I don't think that's true though, because many clients ask me, "What language is that? Do you know what they're saying?" However, they love the vocals. I think most clients tune in & out to the music throughout a massage anyway, no matter what's playing.

So, here are some of my favorite tracks with vocals. Some artists others have mentioned & some are new to this thread. You can find all these songs on iTunes:

Joanne Shenandoah (Iroquois)
"Peace and Power"
"Mother of Nations"
"Aiionwatha Forgives"

Deva Premal (Sanskrit)
"Om Namo Bhagavate"
"Gayatri Mantra"

Peter Kater (Choral Chant)
"Surrender"

Ah Nee Mah (Wordless vocals & music that's very rhythmic yet relaxing. Good to play on a day when you're feeling tired):
"Spirit of the Canyon" - whole CD

Steven Halpern (bluesy wordless vocals)
"Deja Blues" - whole CD

Anugama
"Shamanic Dream" (says "So be it" as a low chant throughout the song)

Shastro
"Tale of the Sands" (Soft chant interspersed throughout the song: "I am the sun. I am the sand....I am the wave. I am the wind.")

Enya & Loreena McKennitt
I thought it was funny to hear all the anti-Enya sentiments. I agree she can be overplayed, but I actually love her music! However, I think most of her songs are too upbeat for massage, so I never played her in the office until this year. I recently made a short mix (45 minutes) of tracks by her & Loreena . Two of the tracks are instrumental. The rest are quiet vocals, mostly sung in Gaelic:

"Deora Ar Mo Chroi" - Enya
"Isobella" - Enya
"The Sun in the Stream" - Enya
"Watermark" - Enya
"Longships"- Enya
"Na Laeitha Geal M'oige" - Enya
"Prologue" - Loreena
"Cymbeline" -Loreena
"Courtyard Lullaby" - Loreena
"La Serenissima" - Loreena

And if you're going for English Vocals, the prettiest voice I've ever heard is Eva Cassidy. Here are some slow favorites. You'll recognize a lot of them, but in my opinion, she does the best versions of these songs you'll ever hear:

"At Last"
"Danny Boy"
"Bridge Over Troubled Water"
"Fields of Gold"
"I Wandered by the Brookside"
"Songbird"
"True Colors"
"Water is Wide"
"You Take My Breath Away"

 

[Pompal 09.]

P.S. On the issue of translating the lyrics of another language, that was an interesting process for me. I found that some of the lyrics were so beautiful, it made me enjoy the song even more. Whereas other songs I removed from my playlist, once I learned what they were singing.

 

[Abigael]

A comment on Loreena McKinnett... I threw in a LM CD that my friend had left in my massage room without really previewing it. I think she has a beautiful voice and her music is pretty soothing. However, when I was giving a massage, I realized that the lyrics were about someone being "shot down in the road like a dog in the road" repeating!!! I think my client and I realized it at the same time and started laughing and promptly changed the CD!

I agree that non-english lyrics are best. I love the Sanskrit chants.. I'd play some of my Kirtan music, but, about halfway through, they can whip up into a bit of a frenzy! I want to dance more than hold a space of relaxation! t041

Btribe "spiritual! spiritual!" is a good one. Kind of a latin feel but not too energetic.

I also like most of Dean Evenson's Cds that I've heard Forest Rain and the Tao of Peace are pretty.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations!

 

[Pompal 09.]

A great way to "test" music (full songs) is to build a Launchcast radio station on yahoo.

It takes a little time to get it the way you want it, but it's worth it.

It's free.