The Role of Music in Meditation: Enhancing Your Practice

Music and meditation are connected to each other. Have you ever experienced spiritual enlightenment while at a concert or festival? There is a reason for that. Listening to our favorite tracks might put us into a trance state. That’s why meditation and music are a powerful combination.

Introduction: How Music Can Enhance Meditation

There are numerous ways in which music enhances mindfulness practices. Just listening to music is a great standalone technique. For example: listen to some of your favorite tracks and try to distinguish particular instruments or voices.

What’s more: calm music relaxes both mind and body. This study shows that listening to classical lowers brain tissue pulsatility, skin conductance and heart rate.

And the more relaxed you are, the easier it is to practice meditation.

Another awesome and simple advantage is that music can isolate you from distracting sounds. Thanks to that, you will have a better time focusing on the practice itself.

The Benefits of Using Music During Meditation

It’s worth noting that both listening to music and meditation might have similar effects. One study suggests that both reduce stress, improve mood, well-being and sleep in adults with early memory loss.

Another one provides evidence that both music and meditation improve memory and cognitive function in people with subjective cognitive decline.

Also, if you love music and listen to it while meditating, you will associate meditation with it. Thus, your brain will automatically start thinking about mindfulness practice as something pleasant.

Thanks to that, it will be easier to start if you are at the beginning of your journey!

Meditation and music have a lot of synergies. However, it is crucial to choose something that is not distracting. Meditation music that makes you dance and makes it impossible to focus

might not be the best choice!

Choosing the Right Music: Factors to Consider

Before finding the perfect music meditation, there are a few factors to consider. Ask yourself whether your chosen songs:

Make you fall asleep – the same tracks that you use for falling asleep are not the best choice for meditation music. You want to relax, not completely turn off your consciousness, during mindfulness practices.
Make you “fight” – on the other hand, you can’t get too “pumped” with the music. If some tracks make you feel epic, good! But use them for other stuff (like gym, writing a book, running etc.) instead of meditation.
Help you relax – some sounds are more relaxing than others. Preferably, choose those tracks that might not be your favorite, but helps you achieve “zone mode”.
Help you focus – more monotonous tracks are better suited for meditation. Why? Because there are fewer things going around, thus making it easier for you to focus. For example: Viking music is great if you are learning some tribal dances, but not so good for chilling, mindfulness practices.

Generally speaking, good meditation music helps you focus, negates distractions, is relaxing, but not associated with sleep.

There is also one, crucial aspect: emotions associated with a given music.

Let’s say that, objectively, some song is great and meets the aforementioned conditions. However, it still doesn’t work for YOU subjectively. That’s because you can have certain emotions, feelings or memories connected to that song.

And that’s nothing bad! We all do. You just need to find something else that you are not so attached to. And believe me — sometimes it takes time!

Music for Different Types of Meditation: Matching Sounds to Techniques

As you probably have guessed, meditation music is varied. Different sounds better align with different techniques. For example:

Mindfulness meditation – soft, ambient music with natural sounds like running water creates a peaceful background, encouraging focus on the breath or body sensations.
Loving-kindness meditation – gentle, heart-centered music, such as tracks with soothing strings or piano, amplify feelings of compassion, kindness, and emotional warmth.
Mantra meditation – repetitive, rhythmic music can synchronize with the repetition of a mantra, helping you stay undisturbed.
Visualization meditation – sounds of the sea will strengthen your visualization, if you want to immerse yourself in the warm, sunny day on a sandy beach.

These are of course just few examples. On your journey you will learn about many other techniques, to which different kind of sounds will be fitting. There is no such a thing as a universal meditation music for all techniques.

Also, keep in mind that with some practices, it’s best to not use music at all. The easiest example would be mindfulness listening to nature. Music won’t help here!

Another example: traditional Zen meditation focuses on silence and simplicity. It’s best performed without any sounds.

How to Use Music to Facilitate Emotional Release During Meditation

I’ve mentioned that meditation music shouldn’t be something that you are emotionally attached to. There are some exceptions to the rule, though. One that I like is emotional release. Whether as a standalone technique or part of a bigger routine.

Music might greatly enhance both sides of that practice. It can:

Enhance the emotion,
Enhance the release,
Enhance both.

So, how does it work in practice? For example: if you associate one song with a specific situation and emotion, you can use it to re-live that moment. Thanks to that, you will have easier time visualizing. And thus — the emotion will be stronger.

On the other hand: if some track makes you soothe certain feeling, you can use it after emotional release. When you do so, the whole practice will be stronger. Especially if music have strong effect on your emotions.

You can also first use one song, then a second one. It’s up to you, try experimenting!

However, I’d recommend first training emotional release. Only when you are already familiar with it, use music. Without preparations, this technique with music might be too much to bear.

Elevating Meditation: Experimenting with Music for a Personalized Experience

Once you found your perfect meditation music, you can start experimenting. First, start with the tracks you already use. Maybe try mixing them up? Create a small playlist? Or change the order of them?

Then, you can have a little fun with the tempo. For example: make it a little bit faster. If you were listening on normal speed, give 1.1 speed a go. Small adjustment that might change a lot!

After that, incorporate music that you first rejected. Maybe it was too heavy? Too fast? Why not give it a try once you are experienced? Some sounds, that used to be unfit, with time might become a fascinating choice.

The same goes with lyrics. In the beginning, the lyrics are rather disorientating (not counting guided meditation, of course). But with time, music with lyrics is interesting as well. Just remember to add them slowly!

Start with gentler voices that don’t play the first fiddle.

Finally, reflect on how the music influences your meditation. Is it deeper, or more shallow? It helps you focus, or maybe it’s distracting? There are endless possibilities. Experiment, learn, and note down your reflections.

This way you will find meditation music that will create a unique, personalized experience!

Meditation Music – Summary

While many different sounds are often distracting during mindfulness practices, some might elevate your experience. It takes time to find a perfect meditation music. It should make you relaxed, but not sleepy, negates distractions while helping to focus. Usually it’s best if it’s not associated with heave emotions or memories. There are some exceptions, though, like emotional release meditation.

Good luck in finding your perfect meditation music!