The Music Instinct

A couple of nights ago, I was killing some time, flipping through the channels, looking for something to watch on TV. I ran across a PBS Special that was absolutely fascinating. The Music Instinct was premiering that evening and encompasses a number of areas that really interest me. Those of you that read my blog regularly, know that two books on music and the brain have really grabbed my attention in recent years: This is Your Brain on Music, by Daniel Levitin; and Musicophelia, by Oliver Sacks.

Well, this special expands on both of these books and tackles a variety of related issues dealing with music, learning, and the operations of the human brain. This is a great primer for anyone that may be interested in these topics, but doesn't have the time to dig in to these interesting books. I would also encourage educators to check out the link to the show's website above. It contains several video clips, resources for teachers, a bunch of applicable links, and a variety of other resources.

Here is a excerpt from the PBS description of the show:

Researchers and scientists from a variety of fields are using groundbreaking techniques that reveal startling new connections between music and the human mind, the body and the universe. Together with an array of musicians from rock and rap to jazz and classical, they are putting music under the microscope.

“The brain is teaching us about music and music is teaching us about the brain,” says Levitin.” Music allows us to understand better how the brain organizes information in the world. There are a lot of different factors that go into our emotional appreciation of music [like] the memories we have of a particular song that we heard at a particular time in our lives.”

Internationally renowned performers Bobby McFerrin and cellist Yo-Yo Ma describe the way musical intervals are used or combined to create melody and harmony. McFerrin, together with the “World Singers,” sing a cappella to demonstrate that basic elements of music; pitch, tempo, rhythm and melody create specific reactions in our brains. Yo-Yo Ma plays two notes and then five more notes and then plays different combinations that demonstrate the way musical intervals are combined to create a melody or harmony.

Percussionist Evelyn Glennie encounters music in a unique way, as fundamentally a “physical phenomenon.” Profoundly deaf, Glennie “hears” music not through her ears, but by feeling vibrations through the floor and in her body: low frequencies through her legs and feet; high sounds in particular spots on her face, neck and chest.

Rock stars Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley were asked to participate in a new experiment to reveal the difference in the brain when two people perform music together – as opposed to solo. Neuroscientists wonder how two brains interact since music is fundamentally a social activity. Cocker was asked to enter a fMRI machine, while Hawley played his guitar in the room. When the Scan was analyzed it showed a measurable difference in brain activity when Cocker sang alone compared to when he sang with Hawley playing guitar. During the duet, Cocker’s brain was more active in areas for phrasing and coordinating music as well as cognitive and emotional interaction.

Research also shows that music has enormous potential to help explore the complexities of human brain function. For example, there’s a strong connection between the auditory and motor regions of the brain, and music seems to engage the motor system in a way that other modalities do not. People with motor disorders like Parkinson’s disease have improved their ability to walk while listening to a rhythm track, and stroke patients who have trouble with speech show signs of improvement when they receive music therapy. And there’s new evidence that music can actually change the physical structure of the brain – a fact that has critical implications for both education and medicine. One thing is clear, proven and agreed upon; music has a profound capacity to influence and alter the human experience.

I would encourage everyone to check this one out. It is appropriate for musicians, teachers, students, administrators, arts advocates, and anyone that has been impacted by music at some point in their life. I also happen to know that it is available for free if you are a member of Netflix.

Seek this one out. You will be gripped!
Peace.
Scott