![]() ![]() …somewhere, far away in the muddle of the emergency room, I heard a B-flat leading tone and the familiar leap to the major sixth. My tears grew more ferocious and aggressive. Confronted with the silence of solitude, I began to grasp the unforgiving situation I was in. The emergency room doctors and nurses paced in front of me without so much as a glance. My family and high school friends were across the country. Upon realizing that I had absolutely no control over my floppy arm, I broke into tears.įrom then on out, I don’t remember much. The pain shot through me, paralyzing me with shock. Vaguely aware that the length of my arm was behind my back, I threw myself to the side and popped back my shoulder. The ground was icy cold, and I couldn’t feel anything but the almost indiscernible pain in my left side. In my first year of college, I found myself staring at the ceiling of the ice rink. Though surprised, I wholeheartedly understood why the patients felt soothed by the Chopin-esque music. Similarly to “Nocturne,” much of new-age music offers an ambient, constant harmony and a slow and steady rhythm. Patients who listened to new-age music after undergoing surgery felt better, required less morphine, and had less cortisol, the “stress” hormone, in their bloodstream (Nilsson 2005). Although Chopin wasn’t specifically researched, a 2005 study published in the European Journal of Anesthesiology found that music aided the healing process in surgical patients. Screenshot from YouTube search for Chopin’s “Nocturne.” (Internet)Īs I grew older, I realized that there was scientific merit to the claims that “Nocturne” relaxes its listeners. Pages of videos tout it as a study aid and relaxant (Just Instrumental Music 2015). A simple search on Youtube for “Nocturne” yields nearly three million results, with various performances getting tens of millions of views. It can be found playing in elevators, grocery stores, and on-hold answering machines. Even today, this neutral tune is widespread. In fact, it was played so incessantly that professionals stopped performing it (Lederer 2008). Back when it was first published in the 1800’s, the piece quickly established itself as the most pleasing song to play for guests at evening salons. With growing intensity, sets of chromatic notes interweave the familiar motif, washing over the stable 3/4 rhythm with suspenseful resolve.Īs one of Chopin’s most recognizable pieces, “Nocturne” has become synonymous with tranquility. With an andante tempo throughout the piece, the left hand keeps a steady beat, providing a backbone to the right hand’s dreamlike melody that seems to want to fly away. On the top left, Chopin writes express dolce or expressively sweet. 2” begins with a subtle, timid B-flat, leaps to the distinctive major sixth, and then launches into a beautiful, yearning melody.
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