As Biodanza facilitators we have all learned that the lyrics of the songs we use in our sessions need to be consistent with the positive inner experiences we want to induce. Yet, I wonder how many of us actually checks the lyrics of the songs included in the playlists when planning a session, especially from songs in foreign languages, which we also need to, as our groups are increasingly more likely to include native speakers and/or people who understand other languages.
Let's imagine for example that you selected the song Sodade by Cesária Évora for the first circle without being aware that the chorus is about a profound melancholic longing for home, expressed by the singer's cry of longing, “longing, longing, longing for this land of mine.” After a few minutes one of the members quietly leaves the group. It was someone from Cape Verde who was struggling with homesickness.
Recent research has confirmed the need to avoid lyrics that may trigger negative emotions. For example, a study by S. Omar Ali and Zehra F. Peynircioğlu exploring the role of lyrics and melodies in conveying emotions in songs found that lyrics enhance the emotion in sad and angry music (negative emotions). And results from a functional MRI study of happy and sad emotions in music with and without lyrics by Elvira Brattico et al suggested that emotions induced by sad music with lyrics are experienced more deeply.
Some think that when people are dancing they are not paying attention to the lyrics – and that therefore we don’t need to worry about it. However, research has also shown that we are subconsciously influenced by supraliminal music to the point of affecting our behaviour. When researchers played German music in a liquor store, German wine outsold French wine. However, on the days they played French music the reverse happened (North, Hargreaves, & McKendrick, 1999). So let’s not underestimate its power.
Lyrics are so important that they influence the choice of music for specific exercises and even the very creation of some Biodanza dance exercises. For example, why was the song Yo vengo a ofrecer mi corazón by Mercedes Sosa chosen for an encounter of hearts? The answer lies in the title, “I come to give you my heart.”
Finally, if you’re interested in the power of music, I’ll be giving a talk with Lucia Lindner from the Netherlands on musical semantics at the Biodanza European Congress in Eindoven in July 2016. I’d love to meet you there! Meantime, I’ll leave you with a quick preview. “Music has a multitude of meanings and effects. Considering the rapid changes in Europe as regards globalisation and the ageing of the population, how can we adapt our music selection to maximise its effectiveness in our regular groups and in our socially-engaged work? How can we use music to include human diversity with its differences and vulnerabilities? How can we support each other in this? I will share my experience of working in the United Kingdom with refugee women and the oldest-old. I will end with some thoughts on musical semantics as a cultural, universal and biocentric phenomenon.”
© PJ2016