Purr-fect Harmony
Cool cats lend their voices to soothe and energize
By Amy Abern
When it came time to go into the recording studio to produce their first CD, Jeff Moran and Jack Stewart knew all too wekk the many challenges facing them. The music tracks of nature sounds, panpipes, flutes, synthesizers and didgeridoos had been recorded without a hitch. But recording the accompanying vocal performances proved to be a different animal altogether. The 13 singing divas arrived not only with their voices, but also their own agendas, quirks, and neuroses.
Ch'Bee couldn't keep her mouth shut and, of course, sang in full voice even when the dynamics of the composition required a softer touch. Harry interrupted his own melodic flow with a break-dance routine every time someone called out his name. Belle grudgingly agreed to her role as a background vocalist. But Milly felt slighted as a secondary voice and pouted that Harry was a poseur and stealing her thunder. Merlin may have been stoned. And poor Milo suffered from such bad stage-fright that he produced no sound at all.
The remaining seven artists contributed to the chaos with pitch problems, bad timing, inability to take direction, greater inability to accept constructive criticism, and incontinence.
Moran and Stewart weren't dealing with your average pop stars; they were recording cats. the had cajoled, corralled, and bribed 13 cats to lend their voices - actually, their purrs - too the Purrfect Symphony CD. Considering all the fur that flew as the cats vied for their 15 minutes of fame (and many of the cats hogged double that amount on the 70-minute release), is it any wonder it took a year to edit and produce the final mix?
But it was worth it. After smoothing all the ruffled coats, and stroking the egos of the prima donnas, Moran and Stewart deliver a listening experience that's said to be perfect for yoga, meditation, or couch-potato aficionados. On some cuts, the purring is barely audible - more of a pleasant underlying grumbling that accompanies the musical text. On others, the purrs serve as staccato percussive instruments or a continuous ostinato bass line.
Each song follows a theme: "Coming Home," "Here and Now" and "Infinity" support health and well-being; "Drifting" and "Breeze" are for relaxation; "Santorini" and "Back to Nature" serve to energize. The last cut, "Catalyst," is open to the listener's interpretation There's some science behind the music to suggest that listeners will react with the intended response.
But before the science came the dream.
Stewart wears many career hats, including psychotherapist, management consultant, and lecturer. He also pursued research in alternative medicine, which let him to the study of therapeutic sound. One night in 2002, Stewart had seen disturbing images of animal cruelty on TV. Later, in what he calls a dream state, he received a message from his cat, Tommy, telling him that he could forever change the way people perceive animals - through the sound of a cat's purr.
At first, Stewart took no notice of the message. But a year later, Moran contacted him after reading The Magic Lamp, an alternative therapy magazine published by Stewart. The two immediately "got on like a house on fire."
Moran also possesses an impressive career hat collection; he's a psychotherapist, vocal analyst and presenter of workshops on the use of sound for healing and learning. As founder of Unique Sounds, Moran has cards, CDs, and sound pillows designed to help those suffering from such ailments as insomnia, tinnitus, and attention-deficit disorder.
Moran agreed to work on Purrfect Symphony, but he told Stewart after its completion that he thought the idea "mad" initially. "It was only when he experienced the powerful relaxing effects himself through editing the purrs," noted Stewart, "that he realized the true potential for an inspired product."
To audition the cats (there were many more than the chosen 13), Moran got down on all fours with a microphone to test the pitch, tone, melody and therapeutic properties of each cat's "instrument." Some cats couldn't be convinced to go anywhere near the untra-sensitive microphone equipment. Others purred only when stroked. Most refused to purr for ore than five minutes at a time. Ch'Bee and Harry won a spot on the CD because they purred on domand.
But each of the vocalists was indispensable for his or own special sound. Each purr was unique in timbre, strength, rhythm, and endurance. When Moran began the editing process, he had to limit his work to an hour at a time - any longer and he would find himself "catted out," falling asleep, hypnotized by the dulcet purrs.
Fans of the CD say the Purrfect Symphony delivers on its promises. One woman claims the recording is the only thing that calms her children. Another commented, "It zonked me out completely." Someone else said he felt as if an actual cat were sitting on his lap while the CD played.
Empirical data supports the theory that cats' purrs have therapeutic properties. Scientists at Fauna Communications Research Institute in North Carolina, a leading authority on the science of animal communication, recorded the purrs of 44 felines, including domestic cats, cheetahs, pumas and ocelots. They found the virtually all the purrs had vibrating frequencies between 25 and 150 hertz (Hz).
Dr. Clinton Rubin, professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University in New York, has conducted several studies on the theraputic effects of vibration therapy. He concluded that short periods of exposure to vibrations between 25 and 150 Hz may help increase bone density, relieve suffering from chronic and acute pain, and expedite the healing of injured muscles and tendons. While his experiements used the vibrations mechanically transmitted directly into human tissue, not received secondhand from a lap cat, Rubin admitted, "Certainly having a purring cat around can't be a bad thing."
And listening to Purrfect Symphony with a purring cat on your lap? That's not such a bad thing either.
