By: Laura Sanders Musical training tunes the developing brain, scientists report in the Sept. 3 Journal of Neuroscience. After two years in a music enrichment program, children in Los Angeles had more sophisticated brain responses to spoken syllables than kids who had only a year of training. [Read more…] Source: Science News
By: Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences A musician’s brain is different to that of a non-musician. Making music requires an interplay of abilities which are also reflected in more developed brain structures. Scientists have discovered that these capabilities are embedded in a much more finely tuned way than assumed: The brain Read more about The brains of jazz and classical pianists work differently[…]
Could learning to play a musical instrument help the elderly react faster and stay alert? Quite likely, according to a new study by Université de Montréal’s School of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, part of UdeM’s medical faculty. Published in the U.S. journal Brain and Cognition, the study shows that musicians have faster reaction Read more about Playing an Instrument Boosts Reaction Time[…]
By: Jeremy Montagu How did music begin? Did our early ancestors first start by beating things together to create rhythm, or use their voices to sing? What types of instruments did they use? Has music always been important in human society, and if so, why? These are some of the questions explored in a recent Read more about What is music?[…]
By: Nancy M. Williams …presence applies beautifully to a concert pianist’s Olympian challenge of a 10-city tour. Yet presence also matters for the daily, dogged commitment to practice. To sight-read, practice repetitive scales, master tricky rhythms like three against two, and ease into a rapid trill, we must occupy the piano bench with presence, Read more about Power Poses for Piano Practice[…]
John Green shares some little known facts about the science of music! [Text Version] Source: Mental Floss
By: Tom Barnes If your parents forced you to practice your scales by saying it would “build character,” they were onto something. The Washington Post reports that one of the largest scientific studies into music’s effect on the brain has found something striking: Musical training doesn’t just affect your musical ability — it provides tremendous Read more about Science Just Discovered Something Amazing About What Childhood Piano Lessons Did to You[…]
By: Daniel Owen van Dommelen The piano is a beautiful instrument. Its players often come across as mysterious; these people who have spent hundreds of hours practicing scales and repeating phrases over and over again to reach sheer aural perfection. To an audience member it can have a similar effect to watching a magic trick Read more about Science Says Piano Players’ Brains Are Very Different From Everybody Else’s[…]
In 1993 Rauscher et al.1 made the surprising claim that, after listening to Mozart’s sonata for two pianos (K448) for 10 minutes, normal subjects showed significantly better spatial reasoning skills than after periods of listening to relaxation instructions designed to lower blood pressure or silence. [Read more…] Source: NCBI
By: Tom Barnes 2015 was a standout year for music for so many reasons. Industry watchers saw intriguing trends and collaborations emerge that no music fan could have ever seen coming. Fans pored over songs and albums that further elevated popular music to the level of high art. Listeners enjoyed others that will forever color how they look back on Read more about 13 Amazing Things Science Discovered About Music in 2015[…]