Will
listening to music make you smarter? Will learning
to play a musical instrument make your brain grow
larger than normal?
Questions
like these ones have been popping up all over the
place in the past few years, and not just in scientific
journals either.
In recent
times the media has been fascinated by the research
surrounding brain development and music, eagerly reporting
on the latest studies to the delight of the music-loving
parents of young children.
But
all this information - and some misinformation too
- has led to generalized confusion about the role
of music and music training in the development of
the human brain. The bottom line is this: if you're
confused by all you read about music study and brain
development, you're certainly not alone.
In part,
this is due to the manner in which the phrase "the
Mozart Effect" has been popularized by the media
and bandied about to describe any situation in which
music has a positive effect on cognition or behavior.
In fact
the Mozart Effect refers specifically to a 1993 research
finding by Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine
Ky and published in the prestigious journal Nature.
The scientists found that 36 college students who
listened to 10 minutes of a Mozart sonata performed
higher on a subsequent spatial-temporal task than
after they listened to relaxation instructions or
silence.
An enchanted
media reported this interesting research as "Mozart
makes you smarter" - a huge over-simplification
of the original results.
As Rauscher
explains in a later paper, the Mozart Effect was studied
only in adults, lasted only for a few minutes and
was found only for spatial temporal reasoning. Nevertheless,
the finding has since launched an industry that includes
books, CDs and websites claiming that listening to
classical music can make children more intelligent.
The
scientific controversy - not to mention the popular
confusion - surrounding the Mozart Effect, has given
rise to a corresponding perplexity for parents. They
wonder: "Should my kids even bother with music
education?"
In fact
the answer to this question is still a resounding
yes, since numerous research studies do prove that
studying music contributes unequivocally to the positive
development of the human brain. Other researchers
have since replicated the original 1993 finding that
listening to Mozart improves spatial reasoning. And
further research by Rauscher and her colleagues in
1994 showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons,
preschoolers demonstrated a 46% boost in their spatial
reasoning IQ, a skill important for certain types
of mathematical reasoning.
In particular,
it is early music training that appears to most strengthen
the connections between brain neurons and perhaps
even leads to the establishment of new pathways. But
research shows music training has more than a casual
relationship to the long-term development of specific
parts of the brain too.
In 1994
Discover magazine published an article which discussed
research by Gottfried Schlaug, Herman Steinmetz and
their colleagues at the University of Dusseldorf.
The group compared magnetic resonance images (MRI)
of the brains of 27 classically trained right-handed
male piano or string players, with those of 27 right-handed
male non-musicians.
Intriguingly,
they found that in the musicians' planum temporale
- a brain structure associated with auditory processing
- was bigger in the left hemisphere and smaller in
the right than in the non-musicians. The musicians
also had a thicker nerve-fiber tract between the hemisphere.
The differences were especially striking among musicians
who began training before the age of seven.
According
to Shlaug, music study also promotes growth of the
corpus callosum, a sort of bridge between the two
hemispheres of the brain. He found that among musicians
who started their training before the age of seven,
the corpus callosum is 10-15% thicker than in non-musicians.
At the
time, Schlaug and other researchers speculated that
a larger corpus callosum might improve motor control
by speeding up communication between the hemispheres.
Since
then, a study by Dartmouth music psychologist Petr
Janata published by Science in 2002, has confirmed
that music prompts greater connectivity between the
brains left and right hemisphere and between the areas
responsible for emotion and memory, than does almost
any other stimulus.
Janata
led a team of scientists who reported some areas of
the brain are 5% larger in expert musicians than they
are in people with little or no musical training,
and that the auditory cortex in professional musicians
is 130% denser than in non-musicians. In fact, among
musicians who began their musical studies in early
childhood, the corpus callosum, a four-inch bundle
of nerve fibers connecting the left and right sides
of the brain, can be up to 15% larger.
While
it is now clear from research studies that brain region
connectivity and some types of spatial reasoning functionality
is improved by music training, there is growing evidence
that detailed and skilled motor movements are also
enhanced.
Apparently
the corpus callosum in musicians is essential for
tasks such as finger coordination. Like a weight-lifter's
biceps, this portion of the brain enlarges to accommodate
the increased labour assigned to it.
In a
study conducted by Dr. Timo Krings and reported in
Neuroscience Letters in 2000, pianists and non-musicians
of the same age and sex were required to perform complex
sequences of finger movements. The non-musicians were
able to make the movements as correctly as the pianists,
but less activity was detected in the pianists' brains.
The scientists concluded that compared to non-musicians,
the brains of pianists are more efficient at making
skilled movements.
The
study of music definitely affects the human brain
and its development, in a staggering number of ways.
But what to make of all the research, especially in
terms of deciding the best course of music study or
appreciation for yourself or your offspring?
A 2000
article by N M Weinberger in MuSICA Research Notes
makes the following excellent point: Although the
Mozart Effect may not list up to the unjustified hopes
of the public, it has brought widespread interest
in music research to the public. And listening to
ten minutes of Mozart could get someone interested
in listening to more unfamiliar music, opening up
new vistas.
Irregardless
of the hype surrounding the Mozart Effect, the overall
academic evidence for music study as a tool to aid
brain development, is compelling.
At the
University of California School of Medicine in San
Francisco, Dr. Frank Wilson says his research shows
instrumental practice enhances coordination, concentration
and memory and also brings about the improvement of
eyesight and hearing. His studies have shown that
involvement in music connects and develops the motor
systems of the brain, refining the entire neurological
system in ways that cannot be done by any other activity.
Dr. Wilson goes so far as to say he believes music
instruction is actually 'necessary' for the total
development of the brain.
So the
bottom line is this: Music study and practice probably
does aid in the development of the brain in various
important ways. And after all, if you enjoy music,
there is nothing to lose by trying, and everything
to gain!
Duane
Shinn is the author of over 500 music courses for
adults. His book-CD-DVD course titled "How To Play
Piano By Ear Using Chords!" at www.pianoplayingbyear.com
has sold over 30,000 copies around the world. He
is the author of the popular free 101-week online
e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting
Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions" available
from www.playpiano.com
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