Dr. Andri Abdurochman, S.Si., M.T: Al-Quran Reading Sound Has Best Relaxation Effect To Lower Stress

[Unpad.ac.id, 3/03/2016] Sound is not merely just any vibration that comes out of an instrument. In physical sciences, sound is a mechanical wave that propagates through the air. This was the research of Dr. Andri Abdurochman, S.Si., M.T., Lecturer of Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MIPA), Universitas Padjadjaran.

Dr. Andri Abdurochman, S.Si., M.T. (Foto oleh: Dadan T.)*
Dr. Andri Abdurochman, S.Si., M.T. (Photo by Dadan T.)*

In his research, Dr. Andri with a team from Physics Laboratory Instrumentation (formerly Electronic Instrumentation Lab) is trying to identify uttered voice-based human emotions since 2006. The study supported by research grant of Technological and Professional Skill Development sector project (TPSDP) of Higher Education, can also be used to distinguish human voice spoken naturally by the sound emitted when performing the role (acting).

By taking samples of several individuals voices, Dr. Andri and his team perform extraction to take the voice parameters. These parameters were later used to determine the type of human emotions views of the sound issued/uttered.

Dr. Andri initially recorded person’s emotionless voice as baseline, to determine how parameters of emotionless voice. After that, with the help of some students of Physics department, Dr. Andri also recorded sound of one when is angry, sad, or while laughing.

“We taunt people to get angry for real and producing voice (speaking). We did recording, extraction, before we finally mapped how the distribution of parameters of angry voice. It then became our database, “explained Dr. Andri during the interview with PR Unpad.

With the database, Dr. Andri and his team then took second sample by recording several actors from several movie roles. He recorded actors voice while acting angry, sad, and laughing. The sound is then extracted and its voice parameters mapped.

The extraction process was done to determine the frequency intonation and voice. Dr. Andri explained that human voice frequency usually only had 5 octaves. Each octave had its own range.

“When people are angry, their voice octave will rise up to maximum 5 octaves,” said this lecturer who was born in Bandung, May 26, 1974.

On the next step, Dr. Andri compared two sound parameters of the first sample to the second sample through software developed in the lab. “We created software and it was programmed to recognize acting or natural voice. The software is almost 90% aware of this difference, “said Dr. Andri.

In addition to recognizing emotions, Dr. Andri was also interested to study the effects of sound waves on the human body. In 2007, he compared the sound readings (murottal) Al-Quran to classical music and relaxation therapy to be used as a therapy lowers stress.

“The research showed that voice reading the Quran had better level of relaxation than classical music or other relaxation music,” he said.

This was proved by research in 2010, to be done to some children and adolescents sampling of school age (elementary, middle and high school) from a foundation in the village Ciluncat, Cangkuang District. For some time, these children were given music that can increase stress. Dr. Andri was recording children’s brain to map the frequency of brain waves generated from the music station that stress.

Then the children were given therapeutic session of listening reading of the Quran for three months, before returning to playing back music which can increase stress. The results showed that children’s resistance to stress on both occasions was much stronger compared to the time of first listening music viewed from a recording brain waves.

“Children who have listened to the voice reading (therapy) of Al-Quran would be much quieter and more resistant to stress,” he concluded.

As for Quran reading he used was a collection of similar passages. Dr. Andri searched for words in the Quran that had positive meaning and gathered readings (murottal) verses.

This Graduate of doctoral program at the Université de Strasbourg, France revealed that this effect arouse because relaxation was generated due to hear the reading, because each cell in the human brain has a natural frequency respectively. By the time the brain is given a sound stimulus—if the frequency spectrum of the sound that is directly proportional to the natural frequency of the cell—then the cell will resonate.

“During the resonance, the cells can then be activated or give signals to glands in the body to secrete hormones because the glands will be active only on certain conditions, such as sleep,” said Dr. Andri.

At the time of hearing the reading of the Quran, the brain turned into good relaxation as if it was in a state of sleep. In these conditions, the cells then provide signals to the glands in the body to secrete hormones. This condition was experienced by a person during similar therapy.

Further, Dr. Andri explained, something that is done or heard repeatedly also will have a hypnotic effect. Based on ability to increase endurance of the sampling because reading the Quran, he had research studies in field of dentistry communication studies. In the study, Dr. Andri took a role in data processing and the sound spectrum frequency during the conveying of words to sampling hypnosis, as well as the brain’s response (recording Elecro-encephalogram) to hypnosis.*

Reported by Arief Maulana

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