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

10

CONTENTS
Features

15

39

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?

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

26

30
1

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!

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
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www.commons.wikimeadia.org ,
www.morguefile.com ,
www.freeimages.com
www.ispectrummagazine.com
admin@ispectrummagazine.com
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by
Rob Hutchinson
website

www.ispectrummagazine.com

DARK TOURISM:
OUR OBSESSION WITH DEATH

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?

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 memocontemporary 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?

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 peoples
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

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 its 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 deaths doorstep
with all those normal looking people snapping photos behind him,
whats there to fear? Sure, its 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

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.
Jablokows 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 doesnt make sense. But we
have to be able to describe the reason that we dont think the same
way, because we clearly dont 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 dont 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 couldnt 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 doesnt always
work but they dont mind because
they have a hundred more. And
thats one style of creativity and its
absolutely a style of creativity so
Im not denying that those people
are creative, but thats 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
dont 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 dont 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 dont pay attention to it,
what happens?
KJ. It is a pity. Its 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 cant do that if Ive forgotten

them. So yes, I think recording
them is critical. This is my ideas

18

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 meetings going to be really
boring, I always have
one with me because
its amazing how many
ideas come out of a
boring meeting.

MM. Do you think

people have low selfesteem and thats
why they dont log
their potential?
KJ. Yes, I think many
people dont get the
encouragement. They
may not get encouragement as a child which is
very sad. Maybe theres
no-one at home whos
really listening to their

ideas when they have

them, or it may be their
friends. I have a tenyear-old son and hell
come home and hell 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 dont
agree with them

MM. What is intelligent fast failure?

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

something, and when it

happens we tend to say
that means that somethings wrong with me,
I failed because theres
something wrong with
me, my ideas must be

I didnt 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 couldnt
have learned if Id 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 theres
a famous quote of his
that goes: I didnt
fail a thousand times,
I learned a thousand
20

ways not to do something.

So intelligent fast failure is noticing that Im
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 Im going to walk
away with. Im not going
to walk away with the

failure, thats behind

me, thats gone, but
what did I learn? And
thats the thing I write
down, I write down in
my journal that I tried
this, it didnt work, but
this is what I learned.
And then I might get a
new idea. You dont do
it stupidly. Its not stupid fast failure thats
a bad thing. I dont
want to do things that
make no sense at all
- thats not what its
about. But its 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 its
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 cant say that I wont
get there if I dont; 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 couldnt 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,
theyre very difficult,
theyre very challenging, theyre very complicated. Were going to
have to explore every
space we can to find
the solutions to some
of these things.

21

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 shouldnt 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 cant do
alone, and if we cant
do it alone we need to
learn how to collaborate. Collaborating is
not something humans
beings know how to do
when theyre born but
if you watch little children they know how
to do it to a certain
extent.
And then at some point
its no, thats my car,
thats my toy, thats my
bunny rabbit, or whatever. So you have to

teach them. So when

we get to be adults its
the same, we have to
learn to work in teams
at a different level now
were 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, thats the
trick. The product can
be so much more, and
so much better than I
could have done alone.
I dont 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 were 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.

22

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 were trying to do together,
and managing our differences.

MM. Lets 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, whats that problem that
the two of us are actually trying
to solve together, because thats
really more important.
23

Its 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 theyre saying, their resistance to me, has value for this
thing were trying to do? Its very
rare really that people resist you
and have no sense about it. Its
usually not nonsense. Theres usually some value in that resistance,
theres a good reason. Its 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
theres something in that, that I
can learn from, from what theyre
saying, from their resistance, it will
help me move forward.
So, a professional example, from
me: because Im 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 Ill 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 whats
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
its an idea about doing things at
home, hes 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 dont like this,
we dont like that, why do you want
to do this? If I just say oh, then
forget it, I wont get anywhere.
So I have to look and say theyre
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 thats how you get the
money.

24

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
Im writing a proposal for a book or
some other thing, there are probably times when I say Im just not
going to send it over there because
I know thats not what they want.
So I make a better decision, I send
it over here because its more likely
my proposal will be accepted here.
But if we dont listen we dont know
how to make that choice.

sional relationship my empathy is

more about motivation; what motivates them and their thinking, their
ideas; so Im listening for how they
see the situation.

MM. How do you define empathy?

KJ. Empathy has a lot of different
levels to it. So theres an emotional level to empathy which can be
valuable, particularly if Im talking
to people that Im close to, like my
family. If Im listening with empathy its that emotional connection.
When I listen to my children Im
looking and feeling for their feelings because their feelings are just
forming, theyre children and they
need to understand. If its 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 Im going to look very
far out. Where do I want to

How do they see the problem? And

lets say this tea cup is what Im
trying to make for them. How do
they see this tea cup? I may think
its beautiful and they may look at it
and go god, I hate white tea cups,
Ive never liked white tea cups,
why would they make me a white
tea cup? And if Im not listening to
their perspectives Im gonna miss
out.

25

years? Where do I want to be in a

year? Where do I want to be next
month?
I cant predict everything. A strategic plan isnt about predicting
everything absolutely, its 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 Im going to make is a strategic decision. I need to make
sure that Ive thought about all
those key components so that
theyre 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 youre 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 theyre going
to need to do to get
there. Understanding
that theres no control. Ultimately theres
no control. Planning
doesnt mean controlling, it means planning, thats it. It means
if everything goes my
way Ill do this. If it
doesnt go my way, Ill
do that.

MM.How
can
we
track our progress,
how do we know if
were doing it right
or wrong or if were
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 youre doing and
each of them may take
very different kinds of
measurements. So for
example if Im measuring my professional
27

life then Ill 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 Im measuring my
progress with my family, Im not going to use
the same metrics. With
my family its 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, its about research,
its about my teach-

The metrics are different, but I need to be

aware of those metrics, even if I dont
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, thats
where I was a year ago,
28

thats right, wow, look,

I really have come far.
And that gives me confidence that my plan is
working, Im measuring things well. Or, I
look and say I havent
come as far as I wanted
to - what can I change?
What should I do differently? Otherwise,
its just trial and error,
and that doesnt 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 wasnt before,
youve made a huge
mark, you really have.
Ive 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 didnt know I was creative. And I think, good lord, thats
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 dont have to change to
29

be creative, you already are. And

help them to realize the ideas they
have.

A potent weapon against

cancer

30

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,
-caryophyllene, -elemene, and
germacrene D [1].

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, 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

32

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-B), 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 3MeDAB-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 - 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 OciBest 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.

37

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): 6990.

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

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
tone psychology 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
detour 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 worlds 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 Tonknstler-Forum BadenWrttemberg, 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

43

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.

46

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.
47

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.

49

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 childrens
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.

50

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 Johns 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 Bachs 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 Cant 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
todays 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 listeners orientation towards the key of

strate the point:

Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven

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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, Fremd bin ich eingezogen.

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. Matthews 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 Wonders
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
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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 Krhe (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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I didnt fail a thousand times, I learned a thousand ways

not to do something
- Thomas Edison

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