How we pick our products
Welcome to our big meditation music test 2023. Here we present all the meditation music we have tested. We have compiled detailed background information and added a summary of customer reviews on the web.
We would like to make your purchase decision easier and help you find the best meditation music for you.
You will also find answers to frequently asked questions in our guide. If available, we also offer interesting test videos. Furthermore, you will also find some important information on this page that you should definitely pay attention to if you want to buy meditation music.
The most important facts
- Meditation music is the right choice for you if you are looking for a relaxing and activating accompaniment to meditation.
- Other advantages are the low price and the suitability for both passive and active meditation. You can buy inexpensive meditation CDs for as little as 5 euros. Prices between 10 and 20 euros are more common.
- Since musical taste is always subjective and cannot be judged by certain criteria, you should listen to the shortlisted CDs yourself.
The best Meditation Music: Our Picks
Guide: Questions you should ask yourself before buying meditation music
What distinguishes meditation music from other music?
Meditation music, on the other hand, has a relaxing component. It leads the body, the mind and the soul into a state of rest and releases tension. On the other hand, it can contain a dynamic part, which is characterised by more rhythm and melody. The dynamic part has an invigorating and trance-promoting effect.
Which meditation music should you use?
Passive meditation is done while sitting quietly. This includes, for example, quiet meditation, mindfulness meditation or concentration meditation.
CDs with sounds from nature, for example, are suitable for these forms of meditation. These help to reduce stress and to concentrate. It is suitable for people who want to be more in touch with nature.
Adapt the meditation music to your meditation style. For passive meditation, sounds from nature are especially good to use, whereas for active meditation, energetic and powerful music is beneficial.
In contrast, active meditation focuses more on physical movement, mindful action or reciting aloud. This includes, for example, tantra, walking meditation or newer forms of meditation inspired by the Far East.
Faster and more dynamic meditation music that includes instruments such as drums is suitable for this meditation. Meditators say that this music has a mind-expanding effect.
What are the different styles of meditation music?
There is also Arabic and Asian meditation music. The latter is recommended above all for relaxing (=passive) meditation.
Ultimately, it is always a question of taste which style is right for you. The solution here is to try it out. Every person is different and reacts differently to certain vibrations, so be curious and experiment with the style.
The following table summarises the different styles of meditation music:
| Music style | Description |
|---|---|
| New Age style | The New Age style combines Eastern and Western influences. Asian and Western instruments are used. Instruments include: Bamboo flute, guitar, keyboard. |
| Arabic | Oriental sounds are produced by drumming and rustling. |
| Asian | Asian music belongs to passive meditation music. It has a particularly calming effect. It includes, among other things, the bamboo flute. |
| Indian | Instruments are used that imitate the sound of the human voice. |
| Instruments | Piano, guitar, gong, drums, chimes, kalimbas, singing bowls. |
| Nature sounds | Nature sounds include: Sound of the sea,wind,rain,whale song or waterfalls. |
What is meditation music?
Meditation music often includes various sounds of nature. These include for example
- Nature sounds
- Sounds of the sea
- Wind
- Rain
- Whale song
- Waterfalls
In the case of active meditation music, drums and shouts are often used to evoke an upbeat mood.
Meditation music or relaxation music?
But meditation music, unlike normal relaxation music, is optimised for the meditation process. For example, the music develops in a way that can directly support a particular form of meditation.
How does meditation music work?
Emotional events are linked in the brain with certain sensory impressions. In addition to smells and haptic sensations, this naturally also includes acoustic experiences.
This phenomenon is also called emotional conditioning. Example of this: If you often listened to a certain song with your first love, the sound of the song will remind you of that time even years later.
Brainwave meditation music dramatically affects the production of three hormones directly related to life expectancy and overall well-being: Cortisol, DHEA and melatonin.
Cortisol is found in the adrenal glands and influences learning and memory. DHEA is used as a “precursor” for virtually every “good hormone” the body needs and helps our immune system.
Melatonin is the chemical produced in deep, natural sleep. Having plenty of DHEA and melatonin is good for us. This is increased by brainwave meditation music with binaural beats.
Meditation music aims to trigger certain sensations, such as relaxation and calm. It uses sounds that you associate with relaxation, such as the sound of the ocean or rain.
At the same time, meditation music deliberately uses only a certain frequency spectrum. For example, the human ear tends to associate higher frequencies with restlessness, as evolutionarily high frequencies have tended to indicate alarm (e.g. the shouting or calling of other people).
Human hearing is very sensitive in the high frequency range between 3kHz and 6kHz – meditation music for passive meditation deliberately avoids such frequencies.
People tend to perceive very low frequencies as threatening – these are also hardly ever used in meditation music.
Among the frequencies that are perceived as relaxing are especially frequencies in the low-mid range between 300Hz – 600Hz. You can hear these frequencies very clearly when you hear something under water, for example. It is precisely in this range that passive meditation music is used – creating sounds that have a relaxing effect on body, mind and soul.
The situation is different with active meditation music, which can also be heard during martial arts, for example. Drums and loud, bright shouts are not uncommon here and accordingly also heat up strongly. That is why active meditation has a completely different effect than passive meditation.
When can you use meditation music?
Passive meditation music is suitable for listening to during
- Meditate
- Working
- To fall asleep
- To learn
In addition to active meditation, active meditation music can also be used for sports activities. Of course, it is also great for active physical work (as opposed to mental work, where passive meditation music can be more beneficial).
What are binaural beats?
When the human auditory system hears a different frequency in the left ear than in the right ear, the brain averages this and it appears as if you are actually hearing the same frequency in both ears.
Example: if you hear a frequency of 440 Hz on the left ear and 430 Hz on the right ear, a tone with an average frequency of 435 Hz is generated in the brain. Similar to a beat, a pulsating sound is perceived, the binaural beat. The frequency at which this pulsates is just the difference between the two original frequencies, in this example 10 Hz.
Binaural beats and their effects have been investigated in numerous studies: however, their effect is not yet completely clear. It is possible, at least from a scientific point of view, that binaural beats can have a relaxing or concentration-enhancing effect. Tip: The best thing to do is to try out binaural beats – they are completely free to listen to on the internet.
https://youtu.be/9pJheICAck4
Is meditation music available for free?
Spotify & Co. also have an extensive range of meditation music. Advantage: you practically can’t lose. However, if you are looking for high-quality complete works, you often have to resort to CDs, as many producers of meditation music have not yet jumped on the digital bandwagon.
Decision: What types of meditation music are there and which is right for you?
The question of the right meditation music is basically a question of what kind of meditation you want to do. In general, it is advisable to try both forms of meditation: passive and active.
What is meditation music for active meditation and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
By active meditation we mean forms such as tantra, yoga, martial arts or the like. It is obvious that for this style of meditation only a certain kind of music can be supportive.
If you are a rather active person who releases tension through sport, you should try active meditation. There is a wide range of meditation music for this.
What is meditation music for passive meditation and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
If you are the type who wants to go deep inside yourself and calm down, then passive meditation is certainly something for you.
This often takes place while sitting or lying down with your eyes closed. Music that supports this form of meditation is calm and contains many natural sounds – typically supported by slow harmonies, often played by strings or synthesizers.
Normally, meditation music is understood to be music for passive meditation. If you want to try to relax and dream, then passive meditation – and therefore passive meditation music – is for you.
Buying criteria: These are the factors you can use to compare and evaluate meditation music
In the following, we will show you which aspects you can use to decide between the variety of possible meditation music.
The criteria you can use to compare meditation songs include:
- Genre
- Quality of recording
- Price
- Number of artists
Genre
When buying, you should ask yourself what kind of meditation you want to use the music for. Do you want the meditation music to play in the background and help you relax? Then choose a CD with nature sounds or subtle instruments.
Or do you prefer more dominant music that is the main element in the foreground? Then take a look at the guided meditations (for example, fantasy journeys, chakra meditations, deep relaxation).
Basically, it should be noted that meditation music has a different effect on everyone. To get a feeling for the effect, you can find free audio samples on many websites.
Recording quality
Recording and sound quality speak volumes about meditation music. Of course, with contemporary music it is much more important that everything is mixed perfectly so that it can stand up to other tracks on the radio.
But also with meditation music it can be decisive to what extent the recordings sound “clean”. You can either record nature sounds with your smartphone or use highly complex stereo microphones.
If musicians have recorded live for the music, their artistic skills also play a role.
Ultimately, many factors influence the quality of the recording, just as they do in pop music. If you don’t want to take any chances, make sure that the songs are mixed in 16-bit quality with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz.
Finally, it may be worthwhile to compare customer reviews in this regard to determine whether recordings are free of noise and crunch and whether they are suitable for intensive meditation.
Price
Of course, always an important criterion: how much does the CD or collection of meditation music cost. In times of streaming and digital stores, you should be careful not to spend too much on your meditation music.
Good meditation music is already available for 10-20€ and in most cases it is not worth spending even more for a CD.
Number of artists
Also important: How many artists have worked on the meditation music? Is it the work of a single artist or did several musicians work together? Perhaps it is also a collection of different tracks that have already been released elsewhere?
This criterion can tell you to what extent the music is diverse and emphasises different nuances.
Image source:
123rf.com / Mladen Mitrinovic
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