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Trance Inducing Music

This is a brief and simplified overview of trance inducing music, since the word trance is closely associated with the musical genre. There is a connection between trance theory and the musical genre 'trance music' or 'techno trance' as well as the trance inducing music of shamans of Africa, Central and South America and other areas. Moreover, ritual music of many western and eastern cultures has trance inducing aspects which can be analyzed and described using trance theory. The general trance inducing aspect of music is well-known, but trance theory helps to specifically identify those aspects of music which induce trance, and lays the foundation for describing the nature of the specific trance. Why should we want to do this? One reason is so that we can engineer better trances through music. There is a part of any music that does induce trance. Sometimes it is only the trance inducing aspect of music which many people feel is what makes music successful or not. Why is this? Because people get pleasure when they are in a trance. Therefore, if you can make better trances through music, then people will like your music. So, it comes down to trance engineering. But to do that, you have to have a practical model for trance. You got that. Now all you need to do is apply the model. 'Pure' trance inducing music is simple to produce. All that is needed is at least three or four (or more) individually engaging rhythms. Some kinds of reggae music does this, so do the canons of J.S.Bach. In much so-called generic trance music only two rhythms are used, and only occasionally three. The 'engaging' aspect of trance inducing rhythms is important. What may be 'engaging' to one person may be repulsive to someone else. Repeating rhythms can be perceived as 'boring' but it is precisely this 'boring' aspect which is the precursor to trance.

If a rhythm is 'engaging' and not boring, then trance is certain to occur. How to make a rhythm engaging is implied by trance theory. One important characteristic of successful trance inducing music is what trance theory would call 'modulating the dissociated trance plane'. The music of shamans and many aboriginal tribes create effective music which modulates the dissociated trance plane by slightly varying the underlying trance generating loop. Several good examples of this can be heard in the CD 'Heart of the Forest' The music of the Baka Forest People of Southeast Cameroon. Several good examples can also be heard in Glen Velez's Assyrian Rose. el-HADRA: the Mystik Dance has some good attempts at creating the dissociated trance plane, but fails to exploit the opportunities to skillfully modulate it. There are many nature sounds, such as birds, frogs, crickets which fundamentally repeat, but which contain slight variations within each repetition. The fundamental repetition is the trance generating loop (TGL) and the variations in each repetition results in the modulation of the dissociated trance plane. It is for this reason that the sounds of nature tend to produce trance. The type of variations within the TGL determine to a great degree the effectiveness and depth of the trance. When there is some 'subtilty' or artistry in the creation and modulation of the DTP, then the trance is compelling and there is an increase in the trance force. The trance force is a measure of the strength of a trance in units called a 'wyrd'. Without going into too much technical detail here if some assumptions are made and results simplified, the wyrd is proportional to the log of the number of repetitions of a loop and inversely related to the number of elements in a loop.

Wyrds are additive, so the trance force increases with more than one loop. The range of values of the wyrd are pretty much what you would expect in a musical setting. A loud, heavy beat is not necessary. Loudness or heavyness is not of itself productive of trance. Repetition produces trance. But it will be the type of repetition which is 'engaging' or which produces an involvement with the inner reality. In some trance music - such as goa - there are multiple loops, some of which are subtle. Subtle loops tend to bring the attention to a finer focus. The resulting splitting or dissociation results in trance. But that is not the whole story. What 'subtle' is to one person may be different for another. The effect - which is to say, which cognitive functions are disabled - is another story. Again, this can vary between persons listening to the same music. Another consideration is the order in which cognitive functions are disabled, and finally, what additional processes are being encouraged when these cognitive functions are disabled. In other words, how is this state of mind being used? Dissonance is also not necessary; although loud heavy beats and dissonance may be interesting from aesthetic points of view, they will not produce trances over which there is much control. Complex rhythms are not necessarily productive of deeper trances. Deeper trances are more easily produced when, after some time of engaging rhythms, there are increasingly more subtile rhythm or melodic changes, or if rhythm loops become longer and longer. The point is that the rhythms or melodic sequences become more subtile and more engaging. Avoid sharp or unsettling rhythmic or melodic changes as these will most likely terminate the trance by destroying the trance generating loop resulting in the collapse of the dissociated trance plane.

One of the reasons that 'trance music' works to produce trance is that there are long periods of the same loop or loops. The long repetitions add to the wyrd logarithmically. This is generally not enough, so secondary loops are invariably added to increase the wyrd and make the music successful as a trance producer. At the point that a deep trance is produced, subliminal messages could be introduced with effectiveness. The content of the suggestions should be carefully crafted to empower. Suggestions will also affect the music producer. Most instances of trance music do not allow sufficient time for deeper trances to develop, as complexities are introduced too quickly. Remember, in shamanistic trances, drumming would go on for days. Subtile changes in the rhythm and melodic structures over time will produce deep trances because it is the 'subtilty' which is engaging. Commercial trance music should continue for a minimum of 20 minutes to induce deep trance. Perhaps we are all fortunate that such long trance music riffs almost never happen. Trance theory mentions secondary trance loops and multiple dissociated trance planes. I can show you how this has a musical equivalent. It is possible to produce schizophrenic-like behavior from music alone. You don't want to do that, right? It is also possible to produce 'addictive trance music'. Jeez! Why would anyone want to do that? Additional research in the application of trance theory to music as well as to other arts which produce trance and trance-like effects is needed. Goa, drum & bass, acid trance music are all fascinating examples of trance inducing music.

Obviously, some are more successful than others. Some DJs as well seem to be better at producing trance than others. Again, I can recommend that you apply trance theory to music making in order to create more and deeper trances. It can be done with music alone - no words! One interesting (and new) aspect of trance music is the possibility to control and create music using Perl and MIDI interfaces. A repeating musical loop is relatively easy to program, and it is quite obvious that a loop is being programmed. If you compare acoustic music with computer generated music, the loops often are not obvious from reading the musical score; but in a computer program they are more obvious (to me). I once thought that it would be interesting to create computer instrumentation which could analyze acoustic music, find the loops and count them. I realize that such an undertaking is not simple. What is simpler is to do it the other way: create the music with programs so that the loops can be precisely controlled. There may even be measures which can be made on such programs. One research project would be to find correllations between various measures on such created music and the subjective effects. Such musical research projects are intended to become part of the activity encouraged by The Trance Institute. If you are a musician interested in this subject, please get in touch with me! If you want to recommend web sites or musical CDs, tapes, albums in the contemporary trance music genres, or would like to see those recommendations, please send me your recommendation. Trance theory is rich; it is full of important implications. Not only does it explain the trances of the past, it can help us to analyze the trances of the present and design trances of the future.

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