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SoimSandheaver Group: Members Posts: 325 Joined: May 2006 Posted: May 11 2007, 18:25 This topic has probably been done to death several times, but at this particular moment in time, it is of a great deal of relevance to the situation that I...and many others of my age are currently facing. The dreaded Exams. Now, I thought things couldn't possibly get worse after my GCSEs and AS Levels...but the powers that be really love piling on the pressure. This is now the reason why I've found myself stuck with a deadline to finish my half-complete ICT Coursework by Teatime on Sunday... HELP!!! Anyway, I'm having a break at the moment, and I find myself listening to MO's excellent Incantations, a composition that has almost always helped me whenever I'm working. But, I'm listening to it at the moment because I'm going through all the MO Albums I have in chronological order - just to have something to help me in these dark hours. This is when I thought, what music by MO, or any artist, would help you guys through a tough situation, such as Exams? When I revise, I make sure the music is firmly background noise, and I try to take my focus off it and concentrate on the work in front of me. It sometimes helps. In fact, I sometimes use Classical music I've never heard before, so I don't suddenly start singing along to it or something. But I've found some songs by R.E.M., Queen and The Verve have been helpful, but it really depends on the mood I'm in. Anyway, I've done enough talking (or should I say, typing). I'll leave the rest to you guys. What d'you think? -------------- "Three blokes go into a pub, one of them's a little bit stupid, then the whole scene unfolds, with a tedious inevitability." Back to top

moonchildhippy Group: Members Posts: 1807 Joined: Dec. 2004 Posted: May 11 2007, 18:57 Yep I've often used Incantations in stressful situations, such as just over two years ago I played Incantations whilst having some dentistry done, to remove excessive gum overgrowth, which was often swollen and painful, also unsightly. I used to avoid smiling There's a thread I created  on this somewhere, not sure how to link in without loosing my typing. Inkanta I know will back me up on using Incantations whilst at the  dentists. Other  music I play in stressful situations or to relax are TSODE or my favourites are  Hergest Ridge or Ommadawn  , I sometimes play Elgar for the pastoral nature of his music, I often picture him cycling through the Worcestershire/Herefordshire countryside, as I imagine Mike walking on Hergest Ridge. I find some of Queen's music helpful as is Comfotably Numb by Pink Floyd and also Time Echoes and  The Great Gig in the Sky     . This usually gets the ideas flowing with things such as job applications. -------------- I'm going slightly mad, It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come. I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health "Part time hippy" I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!! Back to top

ImAFoolAndImLaughing Group: Members Posts: 536 Joined: Feb. 2006 Posted: May 12 2007, 05:30 Amarok is probably not a good choice (unless you play the last fifteen minutes or so of it, which I actually find pretty soothing! ) I've found that the problem with using Mike's music as a relaxation aid is it's tendency for pieces to jump wildly between mood and atmosphere within a short space of time (Amarok is an extreme example of this, but look to The Lake and Taurus II as other examples of what I mean) Of Mike's longer pieces, Hergest Ridge and Incantations would be my recommendations for relaxation, since they are generally calmer throughout, and suffer less from this "jumping about" (which, don't get me wrong, I love about Mike's music - I just don't think it's always conducive to relaxation). Voyager is also a cracking album to relax to, although I find some of the songs on there a bit dirgey... If it were me, I'd also consider putting together a compilation of some of Mike's shorter pieces - something like this: Top Of The Morning Surfing Woodhenge The Path Jungle Gardenia Mount Teide Waldberg (The Peak) Blackbird Sentinel Harmonics (TB2003) In High Places -------------- "I was in this prematurely air conditioned supermarket and there were these bathing caps you could buy that had these kind of Fourth of July plumes on them that were red and yellow and blue and I wasn't tempted to buy one but I was reminded of the fact that I had been avoiding the beach." Back to top

Inkanta Group: Admins Posts: 1453 Joined: Feb. 2000 Posted: May 12 2007, 08:22 Incantations has helped me through root canal, childbirth, and dreadfully sad times. I suppose it is because I love it so much and have listened to it consistently over the years that it doesn't get permanently associated with any one troubling event or period of stress, thank goodness! If anything it connotes lovely things like dancing with horses, pink moons at sunrise on sweet spring mornings, the magickal calm and dewiness of meadows in the early morning and at sunset, new life, the Renaissance, the rhythm of the sea, and glass art exhibitions. I have also found Tres Lunas very calming, both mentally and physically (e.g., when I need to slow my pulse a bit while running in too much heat). Have to also agree with Voyager and HR--just watch out for that thunderstorm, lol. -------------- "No such thing as destiny; only choices exist." From:  Moongarden's "Solaris." Back to top

bevy Group: Members Posts: 295 Joined: Nov. 2002 Posted: May 12 2007, 12:42 Quote (SoimSandheaver @ May 11 2007, 23:25) This topic has probably been done to death several times, but at this particular moment in time, it is of a great deal of relevance to the situation that I...and many others of my age are currently facing. The dreaded Exams. Now, I thought things couldn't possibly get worse after my GCSEs and AS Levels...but the powers that be really love piling on the pressure. This is now the reason why I've found myself stuck with a deadline to finish my half-complete ICT Coursework by Teatime on Sunday... HELP!!! Anyway, I'm having a break at the moment, and I find myself listening to MO's excellent Incantations, a composition that has almost always helped me whenever I'm working. But, I'm listening to it at the moment because I'm going through all the MO Albums I have in chronological order - just to have something to help me in these dark hours. This is when I thought, what music by MO, or any artist, would help you guys through a tough situation, such as Exams? When I revise, I make sure the music is firmly background noise, and I try to take my focus off it and concentrate on the work in front of me. It sometimes helps. In fact, I sometimes use Classical music I've never heard before, so I don't suddenly start singing along to it or something. But I've found some songs by R.E.M., Queen and The Verve have been helpful, but it really depends on the mood I'm in. Anyway, I've done enough talking (or should I say, typing). I'll leave the rest to you guys. What d'you think? the wall is there TBH dont build a wall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05waz6p44yI Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: May 12 2007, 21:14 Incantations is definitely one of the best Mike Oldfield choices. But it depends on the effect desired, too. I find Tubular Bells to be a big stress release, in a sort of "cleansing" way. As for other artists, The Plateaux of Mirror, by Eno and Budd, is brilliant in a "background" sort of way. Bob Marley is great, too. On a more lighthearted note, there's always Men at Work. Men at Work are always great, no matter the occasion. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: May 15 2007, 03:12 Tr3s Lunas for me - though the most relaxing of all is the Snow Cavern Flight from Tr3sLunas II (or Ringscape from Light and Shade) mostly, I'm sure, because of the associated imagery of the flight through the cavern. I made some blood pressure measurements a few months ago (reported in some other thread) that demonstrated significant and measurable blood pressure reduction after listening to it, compared with before. Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: May 15 2007, 09:09 For me,it depends of the situation. -it can be Amarok -it can be Ommadawn -it can be Light + Shade -it can be Tr3s Lunas -it can be Tubular Bells II Amarok is just perfect when something pisses me off(sorry for the expression) and I get stressed so I need the "out demon out" effect to relax and Amarok does for me. -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

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