Ispectrum magazine 10

ISPECTRUM Issue 10/November - December 2014

MAGAZINE

CHANGE, INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY

DARK TOURISM OUR OBSESSION WITH DEATH Ocimum sanctum A potent weapon against cancer Cracking the code The emotional language of music

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CONTENTS Features

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03 DARK TOURISM: OUR OBSESSION WITH DEATH 05 What Is Dark Tourism?

08 What drives us to seek out horror?

15 CHANGE, INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY:AN INTERVIEW WITH KATHRYN JABLOKOW 19 What is intelligent fast failure?

26 Plan your future.

30 Ocimum sanctum:A potent weapon against cancer 31 Tulasi gives protection from harmful radiation 33 Effect of tulasi on various cancers 37 Is the tulasi safe for humans?

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39 Cracking the code: the emotional language of music 43 The Theory of Musical Equilibration 44 The tonal characters of musical harmonies 59 A new way of understanding music

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editorial Issue number 10 means 10 reasons to be happy. Hold tight because we are celebrating it with amazing featured contents. For starters, our expert in Psychology, Rob Hutchinson, talks about Dark Tourism. Over the past few years visiting sights of death and destruction has been growing in popularity. What powers our desire to go and see the places where many people have suffered terrible deaths?

In our traditional section of interviews, Dr. Kathryn Jablokow, Electrical Engineer and a leading expert in creative problem solving, shares with us the secrets of change, innovation and creativity and how we can apply this knowledge to our quotidian life and our profession.

In turn, Dr. Wishwas B. Chavan introduces us to Holy Basil (Ocinum Tenuiflorum), a plant with many different medicinal properties. Its effect on cancer treatment has been studied extensively in recent years and it looks like this plant may be a potent weapon against cancer.

And for closing this issue, the researchers Bernd and Daniel Willimek wonder; how it possible for music to evoke emotions? The odd correlation between music and emotions is not something we think much about until we actively consider what music really is. Strictly speaking, music is nothing more than a series of molecules in the air that are made to oscillate and make their way to the ear.

But what do these oscillating molecules of air have to do with our feelings?

Enjoy reading!

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Mado Martinez Editorial Director

Ispectrum magazine

Published Bimonthly

ISSN 2053-1869

Editorial Director Mado Martinez, madomartinez@ispectrummagazine.com Art Director Rayna Petrova raynapetrova@ispectrummagazine.com Contributing Editors Matt Loveday mattloveday@ispectrummagazine.com Jennifer James Ravinder Dhindsa Contributing Writers Rob Hutchinson Dr. Vishwas B. Chavan Bernd and Daniela Willimek Images www.commons.wikimeadia.org , www.morguefile.com , www.freeimages.com www.ispectrummagazine.com admin@ispectrummagazine.com +44 7938 707 164 (UK)

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by Rob Hutchinson website

www.ispectrummagazine.com

DARK TOURISM: OUR OBSESSION WITH DEATH

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ver the past few years dark tourism - visiting sights of death and destruction - has been growing in popularity.

So much so that there are specialist travel operators who now offer package deals to tour places of ethnic cleansing and radioactive catastrophes. A trip to Chernobyl or the Killing Fields can now easily be arranged by a travel agent, and the business is booming. But what powers our desire to go and see the places where many people have suffered terrible deaths? And how ethical is it?

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What Is Dark Tourism?

Dark tourism is now such a significant topic that it is now a recognized field of academic study, with The Institute for Dark Tourism Research (iDTR) serving as a center for scholarships, articles and research. As dark tourism crosses the boundaries between tourism, sociology, psychology and culture, it has become an entirely distinct field of study, between the living and the dead. essentially combining an education Dark tourism is now responding of death with a holiday. to huge demand. Look at the Twin Towers now - there is a visitor center, Dark tourism, however, does not bus tours and hawkers selling maps represent death itself in its most and conspiracy theory books on the basic form; only certain kinds of corner. Why has the memorialization death. The distinction is important. of those who lost their lives warped Here, death is packaged up (would into a tourist attraction? Because the you like to go all inclusive on your demand exists. For me, leaving the trip to the Killing Fields?), and com- gaping hole where the towers were mercialised, even referred to as a would have been a far better memo‘contemporary mediating institution’ rial than the visitor center that exists 5

today - a raw, horrific reminder of the evil that is in the world. But the majority of visitors who want this dark tourism experience do not want something so painful; they want that ‘packaging up’ of death.

For example, in The Killing Fields in Cambodia you can crawl across the ground whilst live bullets are fired

over your head. A tacky adrenaline rush that insults those who lost their lives crawling through those same fields? Why not even send a postcard? This is not to say that all dark tourists want this experience - many are compelled to reach out to these sights so as to not forget tragedy, to be aware of their heritage or to pay their respects.

The Anne Frank Museum or the concentration camps are strong examples of this type of tourism. Paying to stay in a Latvian prison and be treated like a prisoner is on the opposite end of the scale. The iDTR claims that dark tourism is far more than a simple fascination with death that it is a complicated study of the interrelationships of society and culture. But for some of those who feel the pull of the macabre it is solely a curiosity of death that motivates them. Where does this curiosity come from?

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factors, with facilitation of social interaction and socio-psychological reasons significant contributors.

Interestingly, Uzzell (1984) claimed that tourists visit places according to their psychological needs, which would raise interesting Dark tourism is nothing new - it has existed in a basic form for centuries. In the Middle Ages and before, people would go to witness public executions, and for many it was a day out with the family. Curiosity was the pull for these people - especially when the unfortunate person sentenced to death was well known. Even now, where the people who died might be nameless, the more famous the atrocity the more visitors there will be. Tourists in gen-

eral today (and even historically) have been motivated by push and pull factors - the push of psychological factors to do something and the pull of the external motivators of a destination. Generally, pull factors have been considered more important with push factors being attributed solely to the desire to escape from everyday life.

However, research has proven that push factors are equally as important as the pull 7

questions regarding the psychological needs of dark tourists. A burning desire to connect with other people´s suffering? Or simply a perverse interest in the pain of others? Push and pull factors both involve motivation, but what motivates dark

What drives us to seek out horror?

Almost all animals exhibit curiosity, so it is no wonder that it plays a part in our motivation to seek out new experiences. Our curiosity to seek out dark tourism may hinge upon wanting to investigate death or to feel our own mortality. Either way, it is curiosity that serves as the psychological push factor that begins our journey.

If curiosity is human nature, then it is human nature to be drawn to places that satisfy this need to explore the darker side of humanity. Dark tourism helps separate a macabre curiosity from the harsh reality of death and make it morally acceptable to visit a 8

site of an atrocity, a buffer as such between witnessing death and dying itself.

Curiosity can be linked to novelty, or a desire to be different. If you are sick of the standard holiday on a beach, or want to stand out from the crowd, then dark tourism has a certain allure. We are all interested in new experiences - remember once going to a beach was a novel experience, but after many years it is nothing new. Once we were curious of the beach, but now as we have grown up, our curiosity reaches for more abstract places. I am sure you can think of a friend or acquaintance who loves to be the center of attention

or brag about their experiences, and here dark tourism again satisfies that craving. A thrill seeker might bungee jump or climb a mountain, but for those who seek adrenaline without the physical danger a dark tourism site provides the answer.

One key factor that runs through all visitors, whether they are conscious of it or not, is remembering the ordeals that happened at that place. Some people specifically go on a sort of pilgrimage, to remember those from their own community, country or religion who

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have perished, such as Jews paying their respects at Auschwitz, or out of guilt for the acts of their fellow countrymen and ancestors.

of death. This is a more cultural factor. In the Western world, where talk of death is frowned upon and nobody really, really considers their own mortality until it is too late, dark tourism offers them an outlet to view death in all its bareness, in the open light of day, and to contemplate what death really means.

We cannot talk about death over an evening meal, or with our friends, and it is almost a taboo subject.

Death may enter our mind one morning, but thoughts of our mortality are unpleasant, and it is soon pushed back into the depths of our mind. However, it remains there, and some people may choose to act on it, to seek it out and face death by confronting the death of others.

Either way, both visit for that poignant remembrance. For others, who go for the thrill and uniqueness of the holiday, they cannot fail to be touched at some moment and fall into a contemplative silence imagining the horrors of the past that occurred at their very feet so many years ago. Going hand in hand with the theme of remembrance is that

Psychologically, it may do people a huge amount of good to go out and investigate mortality through the deaths of others. Dark tourism may be taking that idea to the extreme, but it’s not like you can go down to your local morgue to explore death - and being ‘parcelled up’ and presented to you with the darkest parts cut off (no dead bodies lying 10

Educating the young about the mistakes of the past is one of the best ways to avoid them in the future in the fields for example) dark tourism becomes a viable option. In other parts of the world where death is a more open topic and people are not slaves to living, where modernization has not taken hold and family and community ties are more important than what the latest version of the iphone is, people have an interest and reverence of death, an acceptance which motivates them to pay their respects to others who have died, a mix of remembrance and death combined.

Another factor that can play an important role in dark tourism is education. Educating the

young about the mistakes of the past is one of the best ways to avoid them in the future. And if you tell a student they are going on an excursion to visit a place where evil or tragedy happened they are certainly going to remember it more than a trip to a museum, and the effect of them using their imagination whilst looking at an ordinary everyday scene that contained so much violence in the past is far more impacting than reading a textbook on it. Soon 11

the majority of those who lived through some of the most harrowing and evil events of the 21st century will be

books, but a visit to Auschwitz, for example, leaves the impression of a lifetime. It is not only the young that go to be educated.

Adults go to try and understand why these terrible events happened, or how desperate the victims were.

Some go for closure or answers, which cannot always be found or provided, but it is this curiosity that we seek to educate.

dead, and it will up to the future generations to honour victims and remember to not commit the same mistakes

again. The Holocaust was a terrible event, and this can be transmitted through watching films and reading 12

With media coverage now twenty-four hours a day and tragedies covered live on TV, in a sense we have become desensitized to violence and death. There is death on the news or in the papers everyday.

The media have almost

an obsession with death. So when dark tourism became slightly more well-known the media jumped on it.

A vacation to visit death? What a great story! The BBC has had reports, podcasts and videos on many aspects of dark tourism.

This free publicity has made many more people aware of its existence, 13

and if the nice man on the BBC is reporting from on death’s doorstep with all those normal looking people snapping photos behind him, what’s there to fear? Sure, it’s a little weird, but what an idea for my next holiday!

The media have helped to reduce the stigma attached to viewing death and in a way helped dark

vated to visit Ground Zero and pay their respects, remember the tragedy, look for answers and educate themselves. The media gives them this merely by reporting the live pictures. We can see how intertwined the media is with dark tourism. We watch death on TV with a morbid curiosity, and now we can actually go and relive it in our minds in the very same place.

Whether dark tourism appeals to you or not, enough people have the curiosity to explore it and it is undeniably a big money business.

Maybe this curiosity exists in us all and we only need a little push.

With the myriad of factors that are contributing to dark tourism I can only see it flourishing. Clearly other people do too - once the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant - hit by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and following tsunami in 2011 - is free of radiation, the authorities hope to open it up as the latest dark tourism attraction.

tourism to grow and become more accepted. It is still a niche market but in twenty years more it could become mainstream tourism.

Everybody remembers viewing the Twin Towers going down on the news and it is an image that will stay with us forever. It is a hard hitting one, and can affect people to such an extent that they can feel the pain of others and be moti14

CHANGE, INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY:

AN INTERVIEW WITH KATHRYN JABLOKOW

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he moved to the Philadelphia region in 1996, where she joined the full-time Engineering faculty at Penn State Great Valley, then went on to graduate from The Ohio State University with B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering. Since then, Dr. Jablokow’s research and teaching expertise in problem solving and creativity have expanded, and she is now recognized as one of the leading experts in this field as it applies to science and engineering.

Dr. Kathryn Jablokow 15

if only a few people were creative.

It just doesn’t make sense. But we have to be able to describe the reason that we don’t think the same way, because we clearly don’t think the same way. So somehow how do you put those two things together?

by mado martinez website

www.madomartinez.com

Everyone is creative but we don’t all create things in the same way. And so that was when I started studying some of the psychologists who have done so much work in creativity and realised that we could put these two things together and they could both be true. But you have to look at creativity as something that is different from person to person.

And once you make that assumption it actually falls into place very quickly.

MM. Is everybody creative?

KJ. Yes, and that is definitely not the common view in many places.

Many people say only certain people are creative. As I talked about in the book, they will separate people in many different ways, into these piles of creative and non-creative people. And when I started to think about it and started to read about a few psychologists and a few scientists who disagree, who say that everyone is creative, I found their reasoning to be very sensible. If you think about what we have accomplished, as human beings on the planet, we couldn’t have accomplished what we have done

MM. Can you give an example of two different creative people?

KJ. You have sort of the popular view of a creative person as someone who is overflowing with ideas and those ideas are pretty radical, they push the limits of things, 16

they may bend the rules, they may break the rules, and their ideas are kind of splashy and they fail a lot because their ideas are breaking rules and that doesn’t always work but they don’t mind because they have a hundred more. And that’s one style of creativity and it’s absolutely a style of creativity so I’m not denying that those people are creative, but that’s one way of being creative.

they understand those details, can create something within that system or within that domain that nobody else can see because they don’t understand the details the way this person does. So I can be creative in a big splashy breaking the rules kind of way but I can also be creative by really following the rules and exploring how those rules make things possible.

Those are just two ways that I can talk about creativity. I can also say somebody is creative and they have a talent for art, so their creativity in art is at a very high level because they know a lot about it

And then you have people who are creative by taking something and picking it apart to the point that they understand absolutely every detail of it and who then, because 17

and they have a lot of potential for it, and someone else is creative in science because they have a special potential for that, so their creativity in science is more developed. So there are different ways of giving you these examples.

very, very quickly. We forget something that we just write down in our head. It goes away because we have so many things coming into our minds. So much information all the time. So recording those ideas, however you do it, is an important part of making sure you don’t lose them, and making sure that you digest them properly. You know, I want to digest my ideas, I want to see them next to each other because that could give me another idea. I want to share them with people.

MM. If you have an idea and you don’t pay attention to it, what happens?

KJ. It is a pity. It’s a terrible pity. I have a quote that I like to use with my students when I say you need to write down your ideas because the problem with just making a mental note is that the ink fades

I can’t do that if I’ve forgotten them. So yes, I think recording them is critical. This is my ideas

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book. I have probably a dozen of them here in my office at work and another dozen at home. I carry one with me wherever I go, even if I go to a meeting and I think this meeting’s going to be really boring, I always have one with me because it’s amazing how many ideas come out of a boring meeting.

MM. Do you think people have low selfesteem and that’s why they don’t log their potential?

KJ. Yes, I think many people don’t get the encouragement. They may not get encouragement as a child which is very sad. Maybe there’s no-one at home who’s really listening to their

ideas when they have them, or it may be their friends. I have a tenyear-old son and he’ll come home and he’ll be upset because he had an idea and told his friends, and his friends all said it was silly. So even children with each other are already discouraging each other about ideas sometimes.

So I think we have to learn even from a very young age to be open to the ideas of other people, even if we don’t agree with them

MM. What is intelligent fast failure?

KJ. Intelligent fast failure says that I’m not going to succeed every time. I know I’m not, the world doesn’t work that way. We always fail at 19

something, and when it happens we tend to say ‘that means that something’s wrong with me, I failed because there’s something wrong with me, my ideas must be

‘I didn’t fail a thousand times, I learned a thousand ways not to do something’

bad’. Instead, say ‘no, wait a minute, by trying something and failing I can now learn something that I couldn’t have learned if I’d succeeded, perhaps’.

Use Thomas Edison. In the United States we use Thomas Edison.

He tried literally thousands of materials in one of the inventions he was working on, and he failed thousands of times. It was the wrong material, it was the wrong example. But he persevered, and there’s a famous quote of his that goes: ‘I didn’t fail a thousand times, I learned a thousand 20

ways not to do something’.

So intelligent fast failure is noticing that I’m not happy that I failed, but not thinking there must be something wrong with me because of it; rather, focusing on what I learned from that failure, because that learning thing is what I’m going to walk away with. I’m not going to walk away with the

failure, that’s behind me, that’s gone, but what did I learn? And that’s the thing I write down, I write down in my journal that I tried this, it didn’t work, but this is what I learned.

And then I might get a new idea. You don’t do it stupidly. It’s not stupid fast failure – that’s a bad thing. I don’t want to do things that make no sense at all - that’s not what it’s about. But it’s to take the information I have and make the good judgement of some things I should try. And then if they fail, mark down what I learned, and say I failed, but it’s like treating everything like an experiment. All of life is an experiment if you think this way.

MM. The more we fail, the more chances we have to succeed?

KJ. Sometimes. I mean, I can’t say that I won’t get there if I don’t; I may have no failures and get to the solution, and that would be OK too. But I think if you look at intelligent fast failure, you may find places where you couldn’t have proceeded any other way.

You explore spaces you may have missed otherwise. If you look at some of the problems we have to solve in our world today, they’re very difficult, they’re very challenging, they’re very complicated. We’re going to have to explore every space we can to find the solutions to some of these things.

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MM. Are we better when we work alone or when we work in teams?

KJ. You make a very good point. There are times when working alone is actually the better thing to do. So we shouldn’t think we have to work in a team to get things done, but we have to learn to work in teams because many of the things we want to do we can’t do alone, and if we can’t do it alone we need to learn how to collaborate. Collaborating is not something humans beings know how to do when they’re born but if you watch little children they know how to do it to a certain extent.

And then at some point it’s ‘no, that’s my car, that’s my toy, that’s my bunny rabbit’, or whatever. So you have to

teach them. So when we get to be adults it’s the same, we have to learn to work in teams at a different level now we’re more advanced.

For example, if I think about all the things in our book there is no way that any one of us has the resources to [write that book] alone, and the benefit

bining all that after we navigate our differences, that’s the trick. The product can be so much more, and so much better than I could have done alone.

I don’t remember which video it was where I talk about problem A and problem B. So problem A is the thing And in the end, com- that we’re trying to do is we have all these different perspectives on something and I continue to learn as I work with these other people, and they bring knowledge to the table that I have never seen, and they bring scales to the table that I have never used.

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together. And problem B is the fact that I have to manage the difference with you, and you with me, so every time I work with someone I always have two problems: the thing we’re trying to do together, and managing our differences.

MM. Let’s talk about resistance.

What can we do when we find resistance in our time or in the person we are working with?

KJ. There are a number of things we need to do. The first is to take a step back and take a deep breath because if we stay emotional about it we stop thinking clearly. I have many colleagues who think differently to me and if I come in after being very emotional about it then we just get conflict, so the first thing is to step back and remove the emotion from the situation.

The second thing is to think about what it is, what’s that problem that the two of us are actually trying to solve together, because that’s really more important.

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It’s more important that we solve this than whether I agree with the other person. So, what does this shared problem need from me and what does it need from the other person? And how can I see that what they’re saying, their resistance to me, has value for this thing we’re trying to do? It’s very rare really that people resist you and have no sense about it. It’s usually not nonsense. There’s usually some value in that resistance, there’s a good reason. It’s kind of like failure again, every time someone pushes back at me. If I can take the emotion out and think ‘wait a minute, it may be tiny but there’s something in that, that I can learn from, from what they’re saying, from their resistance’, it will help me move forward.

So, a professional example, from me: because I’m a professor we have to write proposals to get money, we do it all the time, and they tell us the statistics are ten to one, that I’ll have to submit a proposal ten times before they say yes, so I submit it and they come back

MM. What about the customers, readers, public, etc… what’s the importance of their opinion in our creativity process?

KJ. In a way everyone is your customer. A customer for new ideas.

My husband is my customer. If it’s an idea about doing things at home, he’s my customer. My kids are my customers. My mother is my customer. So are the people I work with. So are the people you write for. In a way every person I meet, that I do more than just say hello to, is a potential customer.

with resistance; this was wrong, that was wrong, we don’t like this, we don’t like that, why do you want to do this? If I just say “oh, then forget it”, I won’t get anywhere.

So I have to look and say they’re resisting my idea, what is it in their resistance that has value that I can use, that I can feed back into my proposal and make my proposal better? And that’s how you get the money.

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So learning to listen and to think ‘now what is it that they demand?

What is it they need?’ I might not have it, I may not be able to give them what they want. But I need to understand what they want before I can make that decision. So when I’m writing a proposal for a book or some other thing, there are probably times when I say I’m just not going to send it over there because I know that’s not what they want.

So I make a better decision, I send it over here because it’s more likely my proposal will be accepted here.

But if we don’t listen we don’t know how to make that choice.

sional relationship my empathy is more about motivation; what motivates them and their thinking, their ideas; so I’m listening for how they see the situation.

MM. How do you define empathy?

KJ. Empathy has a lot of different levels to it. So there’s an emotional level to empathy which can be valuable, particularly if I’m talking to people that I’m close to, like my family. If I’m listening with empathy it’s that emotional connection.

When I listen to my children I’m looking and feeling for their feelings because their feelings are just forming, they’re children and they need to understand. If it’s a profes-

MM. What is a strategic plan?

KJ. A strategic plan is basically thinking about your path, your trajectory, where you are and what you want that path forward into the future to look like. And you can say to yourself I’m going to look very far out. Where do I want to

How do they see the problem? And let’s say this tea cup is what I’m trying to make for them. How do they see this tea cup? I may think it’s beautiful and they may look at it and go ‘god, I hate white tea cups, I’ve never liked white tea cups, why would they make me a white tea cup?’ And if I’m not listening to their perspectives I’m gonna miss out.

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years? Where do I want to be in a year? Where do I want to be next month?

I can’t predict everything. A strategic plan isn’t about predicting everything absolutely, it’s about making choices and knowing how you want to make choices. So if I look, for example, at the key components of my life, those need to be part of my strategic plan; so my faith is a part of my strategic plan, my family is part of my strategic plan, my profession is part of my strategic plan, and so every decision I’m going to make is a strategic decision. I need to make sure that I’ve thought about all those key components so that they’re all tracking in the direction they want to go.

be in twenty years? And where do I want to be in ten years? Where do I want to be in five

MM. So you’re telling me that I should plan my future?

KJ. You need to plan it.

MM. Everyone should do it?

KJ. Everybody should do 26

it.

Everybody should think about where they want to be and what are some of the things they’re going to need to do to get there. Understanding that there’s no control. Ultimately there’s no control. Planning doesn’t mean controlling, it means planning, that’s it. It means if everything goes my way I’ll do this. If it doesn’t go my way, I’ll do that.

MM.How can we track our progress, how do we know if we’re doing it right or wrong or if we’re going to profit?

KJ. Well, we talk in the book about measuring things, about metrics, about how to measure things and there are many different

things you may need to measure, to track your life and to track what you’re doing and each of them may take very different kinds of measurements. So for example if I’m measuring my professional 27

life then I’ll use metrics like ‘am I rising in position in my company or my job?’

Some people keep track of how much money they make. Some people keep track of how

ing, about where I am in the university. But if I’m measuring my progress with my family, I’m not going to use the same metrics. With my family it’s going to be, again, much more emotional, much more intuitive. When I walk into my home do I feel a sense of peace or do I feel conflict? Are my children settled in school? Are they doing well in school? Do my husband and I have enough time together to do the things we want?

many options they have. They can work at five places or they could work at ten.

Those metrics relate to your professional life.

For me, as a professor, it’s about research, it’s about my teach-

The metrics are different, but I need to be aware of those metrics, even if I don’t write them down. Now of course I would say, you know, you need to write them down, right?

So that you can look back and say oh, that’s where I was a year ago, 28

that’s right, wow, look, I really have come far.

And that gives me confidence that my plan is working, I’m measuring things well. Or, I look and say I haven’t come as far as I wanted to - what can I change?

What should I do differently? Otherwise, it’s just trial and error, and that doesn’t work very well.

MM. Encouragement is a tool?

KJ. Yeah, from childhood. And I think you start with the people around you. You start small. If you only encourage one person in life to be creative who wasn’t before, you’ve made a huge mark, you really have.

I’ve had students come to my classes who are maybe thirty-five years

old - I teach masters students who are older than that - and they say, ’ you know I didn’t know I was creative’. And I think, good lord, that’s sad. And they walk out a different person. And I hope that everybody in the world is going to turn around and find somebody that they can now say to, wait a minute, you are a creative person just the way you are, you don’t have to change to 29

be creative, you already are. And help them to realize the ideas they have.

A potent weapon against

cancer

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“Tulsi Flower� Photo credit: Vaikoovery is licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0

Ocimum sanctum:

It was assumed that our ancestors considered many plants sacred because of their extraordinary medicinal properties. Nothing is more appropriate than the example of tulasi. Though this plant has many medicinal properties, its effect on cancer has been studied extensively only in recent years.

by Dr. Vishwas B. Chavan

Some of the main chemical constituents of tulasi are: eugenol, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, rosmarinic acid, carvacrol, linalool, β-caryophyllene, β-elemene, and germacrene D [1].

T

ulasi (Ocimum tenuiflorum, Ocimum sanctum or Holy basil) is a plant of the family Lamiaceae.

Long considered as sacred, tulasi has many medicinal properties. And the most important medicinal property getting the attention of the medical community is that which can fight against one of our most dreaded diseases… cancer. Cancer has little or vague complaints in the early stages, and is diagnosed frequently at advanced stages. Treatments are costly and have many side effects, and have a profound effect on the patient and his/her family.

Tulasi gives protection from harmful radiation Pre-clinical studies have shown that tulasi and some of its constituents like eugenol, rosmarinic acid, apigenin, myretenal, luteolin, β–sitosterol, and carnosic acid 31

prevented chemicalinduced skin, liver, oral, and lung cancers by increasing the antioxidant activity, altering the gene expressions, inducing apoptosis, and inhibiting angiogenesis and metastasis. Eugenol, rosmarinic acid, apigenin, and carnosic acid are also shown to prevent radiationinduced DNA damage [2].

Another study confirms the possible radio-protective effect of tulasi against high-dose (131) Iodine exposure [3].

In a study by Monga J et al, the 50% alcoholic aqueous extract of different species of tulasi, was admini s t e r e d orally in mice and resulted

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in significant reduction in tumor volume, increase in average body weight, and the survival rate of mice. The various extracts showed modulatory influence against lethal irradiation doses of gamma radiation in terms of radiationinduced chromosomal damage, while at the same time induced an increase in reduced glutathione level (an antioxidant) and GST activi t y [4].

Further confirming this, an extract from tulasi is found to protect one from harmful nuclear radiations. The active constituents of tulasi are now being turned into a drug at a Gujarat facility. The drug could be a boon for cancer patients to alleviate the side effects of radiotherapy treatment. The human clinical trials are nearing completion at the Advanced Center for Treatment Research and Education at the Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai. [5]

Effect of tulasi on various cancers

Chandrakanth Emani, assistant professor of plant molecular biology at Western Kentucky University-Owensboro (WKU-O) in the US said that the tulasi plant could serve as a storehouse of anti-cancerous compounds like eugenol [6].

Effect of tulasi on pancreatic cancer:

Pancreatic cancer is one of most aggressive cancers and has one of the highest fatality rates among all cancers (5-year survival is estimated as less than 5%) [7]. Scientists have shown in vitro that extracts of tulasi leaves inhibit the proliferation, migration, invasion, 33

and induce apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells. The expression of genes that promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells including activated ERK-1/2, FAK, and p65 (subunit of NF-ÎşB), was down regulated in pancreatic cancer cells after treatment with tulasi. Intraperitoneal injections of the aqueous extract significantly inhibited the growth of orthotopically transplanted pancreatic cancer cells in vivo (p<0.05) [8].

Effect of tulasi on incidence and mortality. In a Korean study, prostate cancer: As of 2011, prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death in males worldwide [9]. In a study done in USA, flavonoid vicenin-2 (VCN2), an active constituent of tulasi, effectively induces anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenic and pro-apoptotic effect in prostate cancer cells. This study provided strong evidence that VCN-2 is effective against prostate cancer progression in androgen-independent prostate cancer. [10]

Effect of tulasi on lung cancer:

Worldwide, lung cancer is the most common cancer in terms of both

results demonstrate that ethanol extracts of Ocimum sanctum (EEOS) induces apoptosis in human nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) A549 cells

via a mitochondria caspase-dependent pathway and inhibits the in vivo growth of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) animal model, suggesting that EEOS can be applied to lung carcinoma as a chemo-preventive candidate [11].

34

Effect of tulasi on other cancers:

In an Indian study, tulasi leaves significantly decreased the incidence of both B[a] P-induced neoplasia and 3â&#x20AC;&#x2122;MeDAB-induced hepatomas in mice [12].

In another Indian s t u d y, administration of ethanolic tulasi leaf extract reduced the incidence of N-methylN â&#x20AC;&#x2122; - n i t r o N nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) -induced gastric carcinomas in rats [13].

Anti-cancer mechanisms of tulasi In a study done by Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow, on the protective effect of tulasi, effects of the alcoholic extract of the leaves of tulasi on 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA), 7,12-dimethylbenzan-

thracene (DMBA) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) induced skin tumorigenesis in a mouse model were investigated. It was concluded that leaf extract of tulasi provides protection against chemical carcinogenesis in one or more 35

of the following mechanisms: (i) by acting as an antioxidant; (ii) by modulating phase I and II enzymes; (iii) by exhibiting anti-proliferative activity [14]

Another study concluded that free radical scavenging appears to be a likely mechanism of radiation protection by tulasi flavonoids orientin and vicenin in mice [15].

Effect on metastasis:

Metastasis (spread of cancer cells to distant organs) is always a problem in cancer treatments. Tumor cells detaches from primary tumor and spread to another organ in the body. There they form a new tumor, complicating the disease process and treatment options.

It was found that tulasi has anti-metastatic effect exerted through inactivation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and enhancement of anti-oxidant enzymes [16].

Metastasis sites for common cancers 36

Is the tulasi safe for humans?

Toxicity or safety study of tulasi: In a study by Chandrasekaran CV et al, scientists employed the standard battery of in vitro genotoxicity tests, namely bacterial reverse mutation, chromosome aberration and micronucleus (MN) tests, to assess the possible mutagenic activity of tulasi on rats. Tulasi extract did not show structural chromosomal aberrations or increase in MN induction, with and without S9, at the tested dose range in both 4-h and 18-h exposure cell cultures. Thus, it was concluded that tulasi extract is not genotoxic in bacterial reverse mutation, chromosomal aberration and micronucleus tests. In an acute oral toxicity test, rats were treated with 5 g/kg of OciBestâ&#x201E;˘ and observed for signs of toxicity for 14 days and the results did not show any treatment-related toxic effects to Wistar rats [17].

Thus, we can say that this wonder plant Tulasi (Ocimum Sanctum

or Holy Basil) can offer a ray of hope for cancer patients. Still, large numbers of randomized clinical trials are needed to establish tulasi as effective weapon against one of the deadliest enemy of humanity, cancer. We, as scientists, should use this opportunity effectively which Mother Nature has offered to us.

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References: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocimum_

with docetaxel in prostate cancer. Biochem

tenuiflorum

Pharmacol. 2011 Nov 1;82(9):1100-1109.

2.

Baliga et al (2013) Ocimum Sanctum L

11. Magesh V et al, Ocimum sanctum induc-

(Holy Basil or Tulsi) and Its Phytochemicals

es apoptosis in A549 lung cancer cells and

in the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer.

suppresses the in vivo growth of Lewis

Nutrition and Cancer; Volume 65, Supplement

lung carcinoma cells. Phytother Res. 2009

1, pages 26-35.

Oct;23(10):1385-1391.

3. Joseph LJ et al. Radioprotective effect

12. Aruna K, Anti-carcinogenic effects of

of Ocimum sanctum and amifostine on the

some Indian plant products. Food Chem

salivary gland of rats after therapeutic radio-

Toxicol. 1992 Nov; 30(11): 953-956.

iodine exposure. Cancer Biother Radiopharm.

13. Manikandan P et al. Proliferation, angio-

2011 Dec;26(6):737-43.

genesis and apoptosis-associated proteins

4.

are molecular targets for chemoprevention

Monga J et al. Antimelanoma and radio-

protective activity of alcoholic aqueous extract

of

of different species of Ocimum in C(57)BL

by ethanolic Ocimum sanctum leaf extract.

mice. Pharm Biol. 2011 Apr; 49(4): 428-36.

Singapore Med J. 2007 Jul; 48(7): 645-651.

5. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/

14. Rastogi S et al, Protective effect of

ahmedabad/Wonder-drug-from-tulsi-extract-

Ocimum sanctum on 3-methylcholanthrene,

may-be-your-answer-to-cancer/article-

7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene and afla-

show/11970923.cms

toxin B1 induced skin tumorigenesis in mice.

6. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/tul-

Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2007 Nov 1; 224(3):

si-enters-us-lab-to-fight-cancer-472623

228 -240.

7. http://www.who.int/tobacco/research/

15. Uma Devi P et al. Radiation protection

cancer/en/

by the ocimum flavonoids orientin and vicen-

8.

in: mechanisms of action. Radiat Res. 2000

Shimizu T et al. Holy Basil leaf extract

MNNG-induced

gastric

carcinogenesis

decreases tumorigenicity and metastasis of

Oct;154(4):455-460.

aggressive human pancreatic cancer cells

16. Kim SC et al. Ethanol extract of Ocimum

in vitro and in vivo: potential role in ther-

sanctum

apy. Cancer Lett.2013 Aug 19; 336(2):

through inactivation of matrix metallopro-

270-80(cancer cells in vitro and in vivo:

teinase-9 and enhancement of anti-oxidant

potential role in therapy.

enzymes. Food Chem Toxicol.2010 Jun;

9.

48(6): 1478-1482.

Jemal A, et al (2011). “Global cancer sta-

exerts

anti-metastatic

activity

tistics”. CA – A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

17. Chandrasekaran CV et al. Evaluation of

2011:61 (2): 69–90.

the mutagenic potential and acute oral toxic-

10. Nagaprashantha LD et al, Anti-cancer

ity of standardized extract of Ocimum sanc-

effects of novel flavonoid vicenin-2 as a

tum (OciBest™). Hum Exp Toxicol. 2013 Sep;

single agent and in synergistic combination

32(9): 992-1004.

38

C racking the code: the e m otional language of m usic The Theory of Musical Equilibration answers an age-old question

by Bernd and Daniela Willimek translated from German by Laura Russell

H

ow is it possible for music to evoke emotions? This is a question we often do not even ask ourselves: it seems completely natural for our feelings to be stirred up by music. The odd correlation between music and emotions is not something we think much about until 39

we actively consider what music really is. Strictly speaking, music is nothing other than a series of molecules in the air that are made to oscillate and make their way to the ear. But what do these oscillating molecules of air have to do with our feelings?

Studies on the effects of music are as old as music itself, and over the years different branches of science have focused on analyzing this issue. Back in the 19th century, a field known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tone psychologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; took up the cause, followed by the 20th-century disciplines of music psychology and music physiology, which studied how the brain processes music. However, any40

one who had hoped that these developments would contribute to solving the puzzle ended up disappointed.

Nowadays we even use highly sophisticated equipment and systematically structured research projects but we have yet to resolve the key question: how and why does music produce feelings?

For quite some time, the Theory of Musical Equilibration has astonished people with its assertion that music cannot convey emotions directly; instead, it simply expresses processes of the will with which the listener can identify. The theory states that identifying with these pro-

No progress despite highly sophisticated equipment

cesses gives them an emotional content.

For example, when we hear a major chord, we identify with a process of the will that says, ‘Yes, I want to’, whereas in a minor chord the message is, ‘No more’.

This process of the will that states ‘No more’

can be experienced as something sad or angry, depending on whether the minor chord is played quietly or loudly. The distinction here is the same as if someone were to whisper the words ‘No more’ quietly or if they were to shout them at 41

the top of their voice.

The words sound sad when whispered and furious when shouted.

The minor chord is the same: a quiet minor chord sounds resigned and a loud one, angry.

These kinds of processes of identifying with something are not only found in music.

Something very similar can be observed when we watch television and identify with the processes of will that our favorite character expresses. Here too, relating to these processes generates emotions in us. All attempts to find the root cause of emotions in music itself failed until we realized that a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;detourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; was involved, which led through will.

The Theory of Musical Equilibration offers a startling new insight: Music cannot communicate emotions directly; instead, it communicates processes of the will

42

The Theory of Musical Equilibration Developed by music theorist Bernd Willimek, the Theory of Musical Equilibration (die StrebetendenzTheorie) is the world’s first wellstructured approach used to outline the emotional character of different musical harmonies, and it is the first to postulate the rationale for the emotional effect they have. It was initially published in 1998 in the journal Tonkünstler-Forum BadenWürttemberg, Stuttgart (Germany), and presented in lectures, including one held in 1997 at the University of Rostock. The Theory of Musical Equilibration has yet to be refuted, and to date there is no equivalent scientific hypothesis.

How can we envision what a process of the will is like in music? It is related to the phenomena that earlier music-theory experts described in terms of suspended notes, leading notes and the urge towards musical resolution. As we listen to music, we sometimes anticipate the way one chord will lead to the next. The processes of the will are probably anchored in overtones – notes which also resonate when music is played, but as a rule they are not actively perceived and can have different impacts on the way we experience music.

The basic statement of the theory is that experiencing music emotionally has its roots in the listener identifying with processes of the will which are encoded in the music. The harmonies which are heard and anticipated interact with each other, presenting opportunities the Theory of Musical Equilibration has categorized systematically in such a way that even more complex and concrete processes of the will can be musically depicted.

The manuscript ‘Music and Emotions - Research on the Theory of Musical Equilibration’ can be downloaded free of charge through the link > http://www.willimekmusic.de/musicand-emotions.pdf

Overtones yield the processes of will in music

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Determining the emotional character of emotions

The Theory of Musical Equilibration hypothesizes that, to date, the effect of overtones has been misunderstood. Despite earlier beliefs to the contrary, it is not that we perceive changes in the notes: instead, we identify with the will that they express, and unlike previous premises, the notes want to remain unchanged. Something else remarkable is the fact that the notes are not perceived as what they really are – frequencies – but as something vague and uncertain.

The tonal characters of musical harmonies The fundamental principle of the Theory of Musical Equilibration is quite simple at first. Chords are traditionally described in many textbooks as having ‘striving’ notes, i.e. notes that want to be resolved.

This sense of striving, however, is a contradictory desire. For example, the real musical experience we have when we hear a C-major 44

In 1996, Bernd and Daniela Willimek began conducting surveys to learn how children judged the effects of different chords. They used these data as the basis for a wide-scale study in which over 2100 children from four continents have participated in musical preference tests. These tests were designed to find correlations between scenes from fairy tales and musical selections that described emotional terms. The most well-known participants in the tests included members of the Vienna Boys’ Choir and the Regensburg Cathedral Choir.

Overall there was an 86% match, i.e. 86% of the participants correlated the musical selection to the emotion outlined by the Theory of Musical Equilibration as being the best match. As a supplement to the tests, the Willimeks also researched the repertoire of classical music and film scores to explore further links between music and emotions. Here they found conspicuous parallels which further confirmed their findings.

chord is not the effort of the E to resolve.

Instead, the defining musical experience is identifying with the will for the E not to change – to allow it to keep resonating as it is. If we want to apply this idea with great-

er nuance in a musical context, we may also need to take into account the preceding or subsequent harmonies, if not also the harmonies anticipated.

Below we will discuss the nature of some of the chords as deter-

mined by the Theory of Musical Equilibration.

More information on the interpretation of these emotional characters can be found in the manuscript ‘Music and Emotions - Research on the Theory of Musical Equilibration´.

Why do major chords sound cheerful?

The Theory of Musical Equilibration states that when we hear a major chord, we identify with a process of the will that says, ‘Yes, I want to’. In emotional terms, we can describe this process of the will as ‘identifying with a feeling of sober-minded contentment with the present moment’, a sense of satisfaction.

There are, however, other qualities the major chord can evoke

as well: we will address those below.

A major chord can express a feeling of being content

Major chord 45

Why have we always associated minor chords with a sense of sorrow?

Why do minor chords sound sad? Several music theorists do not regard the minor chord as a harmonic interval of its own; instead, they see it as a ‘suppressed’ or clouded major chord, since the third in the chord is simply lower than in the major chord. If we apply this thought to the Theory of Musical Equilibration, that means a suppressed version of the major chord leads to a ‘clouded’ feeling of being content with the present moment. Contentment turns into discontentment, a sense of ‘no more’. The minor chord thus seems sad when played quietly and full of anger when played loudly. If a minor chord

is first repeated quietly and then at increasing speed and volume, you can experience a remarkable transfor-

mation from hearing an expression of sorrow to an expression of anger.

Minor chord

Play this chord several times, first quietly and then at increasing volume and speed. You will notice the striking shift from a sense of sorrow to a sense of fury.

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Major chords can sound just as sad as minor chords

If the chords below are repeated several times, the listener begins to anticipate the minor chord as the major chord is still sounding, resulting in the major chord taking on the character of a minor chord.

It then seems just as sad as a minor chord.

Musicology has not yet managed to find an explanation as to why minor chords feel sad, and consequently it was truly overwhelmed when it came to analyzing why major chords can also sound mournful. Major chords can seem sad if a sorrowful-sounding minor chord is used as their dominant.

Dominant

Minor chord

Alternate between quietly playing the chord on the left and the chord on the right several times. As you do so, pay attention to the effect of the major chord on the right. You will notice that after a short while, this chord sounds just as sad as the minor chord on the left, despite the fact that it is a major chord. Here the major chord assumes the character of a minor chord.

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Natural minor is the perfect match for high tension

rock and pop music (Deep Purple, Santana). In commercial esoteric music for meditation, this chord is played at low volume to express a sense of letting yourself go and embarking on a meditative adventure. The courage-inspiring effect of the chords is intended to evoke responsiveness to our feelings and new spiritual experiences.

Minor chords can evoke emotions other than sorrow and anger. The music from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean is a well-known example: the theme is played in minor, or more specifically in what is called natural minor. This harmonic mode sounds adventurous and courageous. Children who were asked their impressions of this chord used words such as ‘excitement’, ‘Wild West’ and ‘thriller’. The terms they used kept revolving around the ideas of adventure, courage and danger.

Natural minor Play the highlighted notes in whatever sequence you like. When you play them quietly, they will remind you of a meditative adventure, whereas when they are played loudly, they can be used to accentuate an exciting thriller.

Nearly every TV thriller uses the impact of the minor chord to general tension in the theme music and in exciting scenes. Beyond that, this harmonic device is what shapes the downright bold-sounding character of natural minor when used in 48

The dominant chord brings motion into music

When a major chord is alternated with a dominant chord (see image below right), the listener receives information that seems contradictory. It resolves this conflict by integrating both impressions into an impression of forward motion.

Nearly every wandering song uses this harmonic progression to create a sense of moving.

Major chord

Dominant Alternate between these chords many times, and you will have a sense of being part of forward motion.

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The subdominant is sound of tranquility

The subdominant chord (image below right) is used in classical and pop music to communicate a relaxed and untroubled mood. It is frequently used at melodic high points.

Passages with subdominant chords in songs of different kinds were also described in surveys as being the most

the

‘untroubled’ and ‘joyful’.

This sentiment goes well with moments of lightheartedness, such as those which occur in a rapturous state or after a victory. That means that the subdominant is also excellent for songs sung

at cheerful occasions, and its use is widespread in this context. The subdominant is also well-suited to depicting a light-hearted mood in children’s songs. In many national anthems, the subdominant emphasizes the emotional apex of the song.

Subdominant

Major chord

Start by playing the chord on the left several times to get used to the key. Then play the chord on the right and allow it to unfold its effect. You will sense your mood brightening.

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Major chord

Subdominant major 7th

First play the chord on the left a few times to establish the key. Then play the chord on the right, and you will notice a sense of wistfulness. Every musical epoch from the Baroque era onward has taken advantage of this effect.

The subdominant with a major seventh conveys wistfulness

by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy or in Elton John’s ‘Your Song.’ In many pieces, this harmonic device is a means of generating a sense of pensiveness.

This chord clearly illustrates that the emotional effect of harmonies has remained fundamentally the same across the centuries. The subdominant with a major seventh sounds downright wistful, regardless of whether it occurs in the Johann Sebastian Bach’s Air, the choral piece ‘Abschied vom Walde’ 51

The seventh chord was part of the countercultural revolution

When a seventh chord (see image below) is played at a loud volume, it creates a sensation of being rebellious and defiant. In the 20th century, this musical device provided a new way for the younger generation to revolt against the values of the establishment. Prior to that, the spirit of rebellion it expressed was aimed across racial lines in North America. The blues patterns, which are built on these harmonies, sound rebellious and defiant through their chords alone.

‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’, came from the sevenths in the chords and the melody. If these sevenths were removed from the melody and replaced with another note, the melody would suddenly lose its revolutionary nature, and at best it would be suitable as a rock anthem. By contrast, if the seventh were to be played quietly, the piece would take on an entirely different character. It would come across as plaintive, weepy or weak.

The explosive musical effect of what was once considered an anti-establishment anthem, the Rolling Stones’

If you play the highlighted notes of this chord at a loud volume, they have the character of rebellion or revolt. At a lower volume they feel more weepy or weak.

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Seventh chord

The added sixth in a major chord expresses warmth and security

The added sixth in a major chord, can convey profound togetherness, a feeling of warmth and emotional solace. Even Ludwig van Beethoven made use of this effect, and in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pop music, the chord continues to create the same impression.

the piece. The following examples demon-

The chord does not always have this effect, however. There is a small trick which inverts its character, however when this happens, the chord does not express comfort, but a feeling of being forlorn. The decisive point here is the listenerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s orientation towards the key of

strate the point:

Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven 53

Major chord (D-major)

Added sixth (major)

Play the chord on the left a few times to establish the tonic. Then play the chord on the right and see how it affects you. You can almost envision a mental image of being cuddled up next to a cozy fire with someone you love, enjoying a sense of contentment and security.

Major chord (F-major)

Added sixth (major)

Here again, play the chord on the left to establish the key as a baseline. When you play the chord on the right, something surprising will happen. Even though this is exactly the same chord as in the previous example, its emotional impact has changed completely. The same notes no longer seem to express warmth and comfort: they convey the very opposite, a sense of feeling lost.

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The added sixth in a minor chord represents heartbreak

In a minor chord, the added sixth has exactly the opposite emotional effect of the added sixth in major.

It is employed to express painful loneliness and heartbreak. Franz Schubert effectively deployed this chord as well: it appears at the beginning of his sorrowful song cycle Winterreise during the first words, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fremd bin ich eingezogenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Minor chord

Added sixth (minor)

First play the chord on the left to become acclimatized to the key. When you hear the chord on the right, you can relate to a sense of loneliness.

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or ‘someone running away from a monster in the forest’. The frightful effect of this chord was familiar as far back as Johann Sebastian Bach.

In St. Matthew’s Passion, he used this harmony at the very moving moment when Pontius Pilate asked the crowd who should be released, Jesus or the criminal Barrabas, and the crowd screams, ‘Barrabas!’. The same chord can be heard at the word “tears” in Stevie Wonder’s song ‘Joy Inside My Tears’. When the chord is played quietly, a spirit of melancholy brooding is evoked.

The diminished seventh chord communicates fright and despair

The diminished seventh chord is a solid device for creating a feeling of fright in listeners. Tense scenes of horror in movies are heightened with diminished sevenths, and this happens frequently in scores. When children were asked what this chord made them think of, they responded with answers such as ‘something horrible’, ‘somebody having a nervous breakdown’ 56

The diminished seventh chord When you play a diminished seventh quietly, it is reminiscent of melancholy brooding. If it is played at a louder volume, it is can be used to underscore the scenes in horror movies in which shocking things occur.

A miracle happening – the augmented chord is full of astonishment

The defining characteristic of an augmented chord (see image below) is that it contains dissonance which wants to resolve, but the resolution it seeks cannot be readily identified. Applying the Theory of Musical Equilibration thus leads to an equally unclear outcome: identifying with processes of the will is a vague and

unclear procedure. The listener assumes the role of a questioner and identifies with a feeling of astonishment and amazement. This also describes the emotional character of the augmented chord.

In movies, this is an effective way of calling attention to miraculous things happening in the

story. In cartoons in particular, augmented chords can frequently be heard when magic is performed in the story.

In Winterreise, Franz Schubert uses the augmented chord at the very moment the word ‘wunderliches’ is sung in the ‘Die Krähe’ (‘The Crow’).

With its combination of consonance and dissonance, the augmented chord conveys a feeling of surprise because the three notes of its triad cannot be clearly interpreted.

In film scores this chord can be heard when something remarkable or magical takes place.

Augmented chord

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The whole-tone scale feels weightless

The whole-tone scale, which is commonly used in Impressionist music, can yield a feeling of weightlessness.

In film scores, these chords are primarily a way to musically illustrate states of floating such as scenes that take place under water, in space, or in a subjectively buoyant state: dreams.

The whole-tone scale In Impressionism, the whole-tone scale is used to convey a feeling of weightlessness. If you play the highlighted notes in any given sequence, you will notice a sense of floating.

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The minor sixth expresses a sense of fear A new way of understanding music

A feeling can be inspired in the listener not only with a chord: two notes can also be enough to generate this effect. If you play a minor sixth (see image below) quietly, the dyad can create an unusual sense of fearfulness

The issue of the emotional effects that musical harmonies have is as relevant as ever.

Centuries of composers have been using harmonic structures in keeping with the observations described in the Theory of Musical Equilibration, which is quite remarkable. This gives researchers an endless field of new activities and a wide range of opportunities due to the rich scope of untapped material. The Theory of Musical Equilibration is to inspire further interest in one of the most exciting aspects of musicology: the emotional response to musical harmonies.

Minor sixth

A minor sixth can generate a mood of fearfulness

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