The healing and trance-inducing properties of sound and rhythym have been in use since time immemorial.
Vessel flutes in the form of gourds,whistles and ocarinas were in regular use in tribal medicine rituals and high temple ceremonies.
Modern experimenters have investigated the power as a meditational focus and trance inducing power of vessel whistles-
Thanks Helen,
for your interesting question,I believe the transcendental state is induced by repetitive or cyclic tones for a period of 20 minutes upward (Statnikov's "Animated Earth" discusses this phenomenon).
As to intervals,they mainly seem to me to be concentrated in arpeggios or trills to the 4th,5th and octave and glissandos:as to phrasing,traditions vary,from the very long cycles used by the Dervishes, through the variations of limited tonal compass used for the repeated bars of community circle dancing,to the long drawn out ostinatos investigated by the late Dan Statnikov.(also used in conciousness altering electronic gadgets coupled with low level strobe close to closed eyelids):(
In-depth research of our pages reveals a cross-over to Reiki healing transcendence (Sonya Slany) who uses our ocarinas for a chakra therapy album. My friend and coleague Susan Rawcliff is also on our Ocarina Links pages and a picture of her with her ceramic hooded flutes and special ocarinas I loaded to my personal section(/baz.html). It may prove fruitful to scrutinise our history too,our site is aimed to be a research tool.
Of course it is the aim of all music to be transcendental (EVEN Muzak!?-!)and Modern Club Music is aimed at achieving a transcendental state,just as the Aztecs did as communities of temple dancers and singers-musicians-but unlike them would not be sacrificed to the gods (Smoking Mirror) for missing the beat!