The Power of Sound: How to Manage Your Personal Soundscape for a Vital, Productive, and Healthy Life
by Joshua Leeds

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Book Reviews of The Power of Sound: How to Manage Your Personal Soundscape for a Vital, Productive, and Healthy Life

Book Review: The Power of Sound
Summary: 5 Stars

His work is based on the premise that sound is a nutrient for the nervous system. Thus different sounds have varying effects on listeners. Although music is sound, not all sound is music. He discusses exactly what sound is, what it does to us, and what it can do for us. He emphasizes that we need to develop "sonic responsibility," that is, an awareness of the sounds continually bombarding us and taking steps to protect ourselves from harmful noises.

Leeds says that "Sound, like other elements, can fuel or deplete us," adding that "increasing noise pollution affects the planet's citizenry physiologically and psychologically."

He explains vibration, resonance, and entrainment, and how those can have a negative or positive effect on people. He then discusses therapeutic uses of sound, and includes a section detailing how to select particular sounds to accomplish certain goals. For example, high sounds will "charge" the system and increase activity, while bass sounds can "discharge" the system and decrease activity.

He also includes information for health practitioners for use in correcting various conditions, such as learning disabilities, relaxation techniques, and reduction of medications.

Extensive appendices provide additional information on music, sound and music therapy, and resources. Leeds also includes a CD with specially orchestrated music designed for motivation, relaxation, learning, inspiration, productivity, and concentration.

Leeds says that "we have come to understand the extraordinary power of the ear. In addition to its critical functions of communication and balance, the ear's primary purpose is to recycle sound and so recharge our inner batteries." Readers will find that The Power of Sound gives them all the information and techniques they need to use their own marvelous ears and sound to enhance their lives.

Summary of The Power of Sound: How to Manage Your Personal Soundscape for a Vital, Productive, and Healthy Life

Discover firsthand in this book/CD set the powerful effects sound has on you and learn to customize your own soundscape for a better quality of life.

? Sound pioneer Joshua Leeds shows how to use music to reduce stress, enhance learning, improve performance, and address conditions as diverse as dyslexia and depression.

? Includes accompanying CD featuring musical examples designed to induce specific mental states such as relaxation, receptivity, concentration, and creativity.

? Includes detailed guides for musicians and healthcare professionals

What we hear--and how we process it--has a far greater impact on our daily living than we realize. From the womb to the moment we die we are inescapably surrounded by sound, and what we hear can either energize or deplete our nervous systems. It is no exaggeration to say that what goes into our ears can harm us or heal us.

In The Power of Sound Joshua Leeds explores the importance of healthy auditory function. He investigates how noise- or stress-induced auditory dysfunction may result in difficulties in learning, communication, and social interactions, and he explains new techniques designed to invigorate auditory skills. The accompanying CD of psychoacoustically refined classical music provides immediate examples of the benefits of music explained in the book. Readers can experience the effects of a variety of sounds and begin the life-enhancing design of their own soundscapes.

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