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Talk of the Town: Music makes life better
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| PHOTO SUBMITTED Patty Goodsell of Arivaca won ”Best of Show” with her quilt, Magical Medallions, at the Tucson Quilters Guild 30th Annual Quilt Show on Sunday at the Tucson Convention Center. |
By Regina Ford
Who doesn’t like music?
Whether you are a jazz fan or enjoy listening to classical music, rap or rock ‘n’ roll, there probably isn’t a reader out there who hasn’t tuned into something to relax or just enjoy.
Music offers more than mere entertainment. Exciting new research is showing that good melody makes good medicine — dulling pain, reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, boosting mood, and curing insomnia.
Today, certified music therapists treat heart disease, asthma, Alzheimer’s, and more (to find one near you, call the American Music Therapy Association at 301-589-3300).
According to Prevention magazine, you don’t need to study music theory to reap the benefits.
Here’s how to find harmony between your physical and mental health.
Simply listening to music for one hour a day can ease your pain by 20 percent, Cleveland Clinic researchers recently found.
It can even reduce the need for pain medication before and after surgery. Music seems to stimulate the release of pain-masking endorphins in the brain.
Sleepless? Get in tune with your brain waves.
Insomniacs who listened to classical piano created in response to their own brain waves ??— a technique called brain music therapy — improved their sleep quality in four weeks, found a University of Toronto study. The cutting-edge therapy boosts levels of melatonin, a brain chemical linked to sleep.
Make music part of your sleep ritual, says Phil Eichling, MD, of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Arizona. Any music you associate with relaxation can help.
Want to try something new? Eichling’s personal favorites are the Somna sleep-promoting CDs (somna.com), which were developed by a sleep researcher, and albums by flutist R. Carlos Nakai (canyonrecords.com). If possible, use a CD player with a timer so the music shuts off soon after you’ve fallen asleep.
Got the blues?
Listen to upbeat songs while you walk. Listening to music can ease depression symptoms by up to 25 percent, Cleveland Clinic senior nurse-researcher Sandra Siedlecki, recently found.
The benefits are physical, too: Focusing on New Age music reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol, according to a recent French study, and research at the University of California, San Diego, revealed that listening to classical music lowered the blood pressure of college students.
A Japanese study concluded that your favorite workout tunes can ward off fatigue during exercise (another proven mood-lifter). This has convinced some experts that combining music and exercise is one of the best bulwarks against depression.
What a great showing the quilters from Green Valley had at the Tucson Quilters Guild’s 30th Annual Quilt Show this past weekend at the Tucson Convention Center.
Patty Goodsell of Arivaca took the judge’s first-place award in the hand appliqued/hand quilted category with her “Magical Medallions” quilt. It also took “Best of Show” from the judges and “The Hall of Fame” ribbon awarded by the co-chairs of the event.
This is a new award from the Arizona Quilter’s Hall of Fame, a non-profit organization formed to promote excellence in quilting among Arizona’s quilting community and to educate the public about quilting, its history and quiltmakers.
Patty’s quilt also won the coveted prize, the Viewer’s Choice selection as “Best of Show,” which is voted on by those attending the show on Friday and Saturday.
Patty said about her quilt, “It became an obsession taking, two-and-a-half years of my life to complete. It was so inspiring to see what happened when each new color was added. I am so honored by the awards.”
Other winners, all from the judge’s selections, from the Green Valley area include Susan Gorder, who took the award for “exemplary hand quilting” and first place in that category with her “Plaid Stars” quilt.
She also took an honorable mention ribbon for her miniature quilt, “Midnight Fiesta” and a third-place ribbon for her pieced bed quilt, “Under the Sea.”
Sylvia Brown took a second-place ribbon in the mixed techniques category for her quilt, “Wayne’s Hopi Quilt,” and Phyllis Mielonen took the third place ribbon in that same category for her quilt, “Grandma’s Favorite Things.”
Phyllis also received an honorable mention ribbon for her small hand-appliqued quilt, “Spring Bouquet.”
Mary Anne Strauss took first and third in the Pieced Quilt category with “Poppin’ Poppies,” a commissioned work, and “Rainbow Illusions.”
Jane Smith won second place for her large pieced quilt, “All that Glitters” and Angelika Haeber won a third place ribbon for “Arizona Dreaming.”
Jan Pickenpaugh took three awards, a second-place ribbon for “Southwest Vista” and both an Honorable Mention and a “Judge’s Choice” award for “Tranquil Treasures.”
Janie Schott won the first-place award for her “Southwest Jeans Jacket.”
Cheryl Walker’s quilt, “Happy Flowers,” was given an Honorable Mention award by Viewer’s Choice from the Friday and Saturday attendees to the show.
All of these quilters are members of the Valley Quilters Guild and/or the North of the Border Quilter’s Bee of the Tucson Quilters Guild.
rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740
Whether you are a jazz fan or enjoy listening to classical music, rap or rock ‘n’ roll, there probably isn’t a reader out there who hasn’t tuned into something to relax or just enjoy.
Music offers more than mere entertainment. Exciting new research is showing that good melody makes good medicine — dulling pain, reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, boosting mood, and curing insomnia.
Today, certified music therapists treat heart disease, asthma, Alzheimer’s, and more (to find one near you, call the American Music Therapy Association at 301-589-3300).
According to Prevention magazine, you don’t need to study music theory to reap the benefits.
Here’s how to find harmony between your physical and mental health.
Simply listening to music for one hour a day can ease your pain by 20 percent, Cleveland Clinic researchers recently found.
It can even reduce the need for pain medication before and after surgery. Music seems to stimulate the release of pain-masking endorphins in the brain.
Sleepless? Get in tune with your brain waves.
Insomniacs who listened to classical piano created in response to their own brain waves ??— a technique called brain music therapy — improved their sleep quality in four weeks, found a University of Toronto study. The cutting-edge therapy boosts levels of melatonin, a brain chemical linked to sleep.
Make music part of your sleep ritual, says Phil Eichling, MD, of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Arizona. Any music you associate with relaxation can help.
Want to try something new? Eichling’s personal favorites are the Somna sleep-promoting CDs (somna.com), which were developed by a sleep researcher, and albums by flutist R. Carlos Nakai (canyonrecords.com). If possible, use a CD player with a timer so the music shuts off soon after you’ve fallen asleep.
Got the blues?
Listen to upbeat songs while you walk. Listening to music can ease depression symptoms by up to 25 percent, Cleveland Clinic senior nurse-researcher Sandra Siedlecki, recently found.
The benefits are physical, too: Focusing on New Age music reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol, according to a recent French study, and research at the University of California, San Diego, revealed that listening to classical music lowered the blood pressure of college students.
A Japanese study concluded that your favorite workout tunes can ward off fatigue during exercise (another proven mood-lifter). This has convinced some experts that combining music and exercise is one of the best bulwarks against depression.
What a great showing the quilters from Green Valley had at the Tucson Quilters Guild’s 30th Annual Quilt Show this past weekend at the Tucson Convention Center.
Patty Goodsell of Arivaca took the judge’s first-place award in the hand appliqued/hand quilted category with her “Magical Medallions” quilt. It also took “Best of Show” from the judges and “The Hall of Fame” ribbon awarded by the co-chairs of the event.
This is a new award from the Arizona Quilter’s Hall of Fame, a non-profit organization formed to promote excellence in quilting among Arizona’s quilting community and to educate the public about quilting, its history and quiltmakers.
Patty’s quilt also won the coveted prize, the Viewer’s Choice selection as “Best of Show,” which is voted on by those attending the show on Friday and Saturday.
Patty said about her quilt, “It became an obsession taking, two-and-a-half years of my life to complete. It was so inspiring to see what happened when each new color was added. I am so honored by the awards.”
Other winners, all from the judge’s selections, from the Green Valley area include Susan Gorder, who took the award for “exemplary hand quilting” and first place in that category with her “Plaid Stars” quilt.
She also took an honorable mention ribbon for her miniature quilt, “Midnight Fiesta” and a third-place ribbon for her pieced bed quilt, “Under the Sea.”
Sylvia Brown took a second-place ribbon in the mixed techniques category for her quilt, “Wayne’s Hopi Quilt,” and Phyllis Mielonen took the third place ribbon in that same category for her quilt, “Grandma’s Favorite Things.”
Phyllis also received an honorable mention ribbon for her small hand-appliqued quilt, “Spring Bouquet.”
Mary Anne Strauss took first and third in the Pieced Quilt category with “Poppin’ Poppies,” a commissioned work, and “Rainbow Illusions.”
Jane Smith won second place for her large pieced quilt, “All that Glitters” and Angelika Haeber won a third place ribbon for “Arizona Dreaming.”
Jan Pickenpaugh took three awards, a second-place ribbon for “Southwest Vista” and both an Honorable Mention and a “Judge’s Choice” award for “Tranquil Treasures.”
Janie Schott won the first-place award for her “Southwest Jeans Jacket.”
Cheryl Walker’s quilt, “Happy Flowers,” was given an Honorable Mention award by Viewer’s Choice from the Friday and Saturday attendees to the show.
All of these quilters are members of the Valley Quilters Guild and/or the North of the Border Quilter’s Bee of the Tucson Quilters Guild.
rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740
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