The power of natural sound to entrain and soothe and facilitate a relaxation response is well known. Indeed, it is being leveraged every day in mindfulness apps and streaming services. Often an overlay of birdsong or ocean over a musical composition is used to achieve this effect. I have long felt the possibility of a deeper integration of sound and music, the healing power of nature - water, wind, insect, and birdsong - as the source of the harmonies and therapeutic entrainment effect of music. Rather than creating an overlay of birdsong or ocean I was inspired to find the notes within those lush sounds and build them into an integral part of the melodies. On the upcoming album, ‘Forest Bathing,’ I have created an interwoven soundscape arising from a pristine environment, the music echoing the themes of birdsong, the constant, fractal brown noise of rushing water, the hypnotic high frequency drone of cicadas.

We are fortunate to have access to a pristine and magical forest near Aongatete, New Zealand, a secret river valley that reaches from the edge of farmland up into the rugged rainforest of the Kaimai ranges. This soundscape has rainforest and a rocky river and is far enough from civilization that it is possible to record long passages of sound without planes or chainsaws or low frequency truck rumbles. No wasp-like drone of farm bikes rips through the ambient beauty. In this idyllic place sound is felt as much as it is heard, and here the ‘Forest Bathing’ music began to form and come into being.

‘Forest Bathing’ is essentially two interwoven soundtracks, first a lush bed composed of a magical rainforest river soundscape, facilitating a powerful hypnogogic state as the music grows out of and evolves through the forest sound field. The underlying pulse of a piece of music can be called the ‘ground rhythm’ or ‘groove.’ In ‘Forest Bathing’ the ground rhythm is the forest itself, which is multidimensional.

Many of us have a challenging soundscape in our treatment rooms. The sounds of urban traffic, external shared spaces, waiting rooms, and muffled office conversation may seep into our sound environment. With a subtle layer of Brown Noise derived from the river rushing over rocks, ‘Forest Bathing’ establishes a refreshing natural sound field that will mask external noise while generating a profound autonomic entrainment effect.

Journey to the rainforest with us and experience the enchantment of ‘Forest Bathing.’

Stay tuned - Coming up next…’Forest Bathing’!