Musicians have better brains, but what makes them that way?
genes or
practice and exposure to music? And researchers
discovered that when jazz musicians improvise, their brains
turn off areas linked to self-censoring and inhibition. Does
music
soothe the savage beast? A group of musicians is studying
music's effect on animals.
By looking at brains listening to Bach, researcher Elizabeth
Margulis found evidence to support one side in a long-running
debate among musicians. Practice, training and experience, it
appears, are what develop a musician's ear, not genetic
predisposition. She found that trained musicians have more
extensive and complex neural responses to music played on
their OWN instruments than on another instrument. In other
words, violinists? brains respond most actively when listening
to violin music.
When listening to classical music, audiences are expected to
sit quietly and listen without tapping feet or humming along.
After her research, Margulis says, "Perhaps musical
experience needs to be less passive and more active. Perhaps
we need to connect music more with other domains of
activity."
Using fMRI machines and musician volunteers, researchers
have shed light on the creative improvisation that artists and
non-artists use in everyday life. It appears that jazz
musicians create their unique improvised riffs by turning off
inhibition and turning up creativity.
Researcher Charles J. Limb says, "When jazz musicians
improvise, they often play with eyes closed in a distinctive,
personal style that transcends traditional rules of melody and
rhythm. It?s a remarkable frame of mind during which, all of a
sudden, the musician is generating music that has never been
heard, thought, practiced or played before. What comes out
is completely spontaneous."
In LiveScience.com, Maryann Mott quotes harpist Alianna
Boone as saying, "The structure of the harp is considered to
be the most healing instruments next to human voice." She
tested this by playing her harp for hospitalized dogs in a
Veterinarian clinic, and found that her music lowered the
patients? heart rate, respiration rate and anxiety.
Tracie Russell calmed a boisterous cow by playing a CD of
harp music, causing it to fall asleep. Sue Raimond played her
harp for an angry male gorilla at a zoo in Boston, with the
same results.
The key
to wisdom is to
learn from
the past. Maybe humans with
insomnia
should try listening to a CD of harp music while trying to fall
asleep...or maybe to our great Dreamland shows (except
those will keep you awake!)
Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
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