Music To Relax/Fall Asleep To...

This might sound strange but I'm in the market for some good music to relax and/or fall asleep to.

After a long, busy day, I often like to unwind just before bed with some music. When I eventually turn out the light and go to sleep, I usually leave the music on instead of falling asleep with the TV because the extra darkness helps me drift off to dreamland faster.

Typically, I'll listen to some instrumental acoustic fingerstyle guitar or some soft piano music (not New Age, although it's often classified as such, i.e. Windham Hill). And sometimes, I'll put on a Jackie Gleason album because the snails pace rhythms and lush sound really help me quiet my thoughts (read: turn off my brain from thinking about the previous day or the day ahead), regulate my breathing, and fall asleep.

That being said, I'm getting tired (HA!) of listening to the same music at bedtime. Jackie's great, but not all of his albums are sleep-worthy (your opinion may vary) so I started thinking: there must be other mid-century easy listening or jazz albums in the vein of Jackie Gleason's music that I could add to my repertoire, so to speak. Heck, some might even have been designed as relaxation music for just this purpose!

Arthur Lyman's vibes sometimes do the trick but every once in a while he'll toss a more rousing, percussion based song in the middle of his albums and that is definitely NOT conducive to sleep.

Can anyone offer a recommendation or two?

 

Apparently, the forum search function is my friend.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...sic-to-drift-off-to-sleep-at-night-to.426414/

Sorry for the topic dupe.

 

Ah well, not to worry.

When I made the thread, I was surprised that I hadn't found or seen something similar - but these threads are like buses... nothing at all and then a number come along at once.

With getting busy (new job and everything) I found I had very little time to be on here but intended to kickstart it with some more replies and findings of my own - which there have been quite a number as I tend to pick up CDs wherever I visit. Fortunately, it's taken off in the last day after another posting and so I'll crack on with looking at the additions at the start of the coming week as I've a bit of time off coming.

Hopefully you'll find some useful things... the thread soon became far more varied than I could have possibly imagined - some very weird on the surface, but weird works for me quite often!

 

Laetitia Sadier - Silencio


Here's a sample. Enjoy.

 

Take a look at this:

Max Richter: 'SLEEP' (8-hr long minimalist album) »

 

Christopher Cross

 

I got a Spotify playlist full of Eno's more calmer ambient stuff. Not all of his offerings are conducive to sleeping.

Because I work nights and sleep through the day, it helps having some sounds in the room.

 

Anything acoustic or instrumental

 

Brian Eno- Ambient 1: Music For Airports always does the trick for me for both falling asleep and general relaxation.

 

Most any Eno.

 

In certain kinds of unexpected musical places, there must be a secret mathematical formulation that tweaks my calm, all-is-right-with-the-world buttons, and lets me drift off. I had to give up being horizontal with "Roma" by Nirvana (a radio broadcast-sourced live concert from 1994) on. I'd be out like a light.

Bad, inadequate music of any tempo or genre - that definitely keeps me awake and agitated.

 

Wait, wait, wait... a live Nirvana show helps you get to sleep?! Really? Well okay, here's the video if it helps any more.

 

For falling asleep,I thought watching Tarkovsky's Stalker do the trick,but it didn't.

 

My go-to's are;

Sinatra, Wee Small Hours
Miles, Sketches of Spain and In a Silent Way
Grateful Dead, 1972-1974 era

 

Yea, and while acoustic guitar instrumentals can do the job, too, that can be a dicey proposition.

Like the OP, I keep that meandering, Windham Hill/new age stuff out of my sleeping space. I'm likely to get up and smash something.

 

James Taylor

 

Nothing quite like a little vintage 70's James to help you unwind.

 

Tough crowd!

 

Michael Hedges-Aerial Boundaries

 

Flamenco Sketches.

 

Try his In a Silent Way lp as well.

 

Accept no substitute. This is actually a compelling listen when awake as well.