Teaching stroke victims who have lost the ability to speak to sing again can “rewire” their brains so they can speak again as well. And music isn’t just important for the old: Neuroscientists now think that music training should start in kindergarten and go through high school, because music helps shape the sensory system (this is at a time when most schools have eliminated music classes).
In BBC News, Victoria Gill tells the remarkable story of a woman whose “speech center” was damaged (a common aftereffect of a stroke) who learned to talk again by putting the words she wanted to use into melodies.
Researcher Nina Kraus says, “Playing an instrument may help youngsters better process speech in noisy classrooms and more accurately interpret the nuances of language that are conveyed by subtle changes in the human voice. Cash-strapped school districts are making a mistake when they cut music from the K-12 curriculum.
“People’s hearing systems are fine-tuned by the experiences they’ve had with sound throughout their lives. Music training is not only beneficial for processing music stimuli. We’ve found that years of music training may also improve how sounds are processed for language and emotion.” Musical training seems to make it easier for children to learn to read.
At last October’s Stargate conference, Anne Strieber and Starfire Tor did a lot of singing around the campfire while we watched the stars. While we won’t be having any campfires in Nashville June 25-27, we WILL be having a great time! And here’s something else to enjoy: The FIRST 25 people to get tickets to the Dreamland Festival in Nashville will get a FREE DVD of LAST YEAR’S Festival! Don’t wait, this special offer will fill up soon!
To learn more, click here and here.
Art credit: Dreamstime.com
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