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Music and the Brain
Sing Whenever/Wherever You Can
Singing in the shower may be healing to your brain. Song has long
been known to have healing qualities. You can often tell that a
person is in a good mood if they are humming or singing. Song is a
true joy of life, no matter how you sing. I have seen how the
temperaments of my girls change when we sing together. They could
be having a terrible day, but when they start singing, often they
forget their cares and feel better.
Song is often associated with spiritual experience. When I was in
college, I attended Calvary Chapel, a large church in Southern
California. The music was magical. Listening to the choir was not
just a pleasant listening experience, it was a wondrous experience
that resonated through every cell in my body. The music uplifted
both the soul and mood of the congregation. The pastor said the
music was "Blessed by God Himself." Several of my friends were
choir members. I often saw them become transformed when they
started to sing. Shy people would become more extroverted, more
alive. People in the congregation became more involved in the
service during congregational singing. The church community
glistened with the contagious joy of the music.
Preschool and kindergarten teachers have known for a long time that
children learn best through songs. They remember the material
easier and it is easier to keep them engaged in the activity. So
why do we stop singing in the second or third grade? Perhaps we
should continue the singing into later grades.
Interestingly, when I was in basic training in the military, we
often sang when we marched. I still have those songs in my head.
When we sang as a group, morale went up, and the tasks that we were
doing didn't seem quite as bad (like 20-mile road marches).
Sing whenever and wherever you can. You may have to sing softly if
your voice is like mine (my 16-year-old daughter is often
embarrassed when I sing in church). It will have a
healing effect on your temporal lobes, and probably your limbic
system as well.
Use Humming and Toning to Tune Up Your
Brain
In the Mozart Effect, Don Campbell, founder of the Institute of
Music, Health and Education, lists the benefits of using your voice
to enhance mood and memory. He says that all forms of vocalization,
including singing, chanting, yodeling, humming, reciting poetry, or
simply talk can be therapeutic. "Nothing rivals toning," he
concludes. The word 'toning' goes back to the fourteenth century
and means to make sounds with elongated vowels for extended periods
of time. Ah, ou (such as in soup), ee, ay, oh and om are examples
of toning sounds. Campbell writes that when people tone on a
regular basis for 5 minutes a day, "I have witnessed thousands of
people relax into their voices, become more centered in their
bodies, release fear and other emotions, and free themselves from
physical pain…I have seen many people apply toning in
practical ways, from relaxing before a dreaded test to eliminating
symptoms of tinnitus or migraine headaches…Toning has been
effective in relieving insomnia and other sleep
disorders….Toning balances brain waves, deepens the breath,
reduces the heart rate and imparts a general sense of well-being."
Campbell reports that in his experience certain sounds tend to have
certain effects on the body and emotions:
Ahhh - immediately evokes a relaxation response,
Ee or Ay - is the most stimulating of vowel sounds, helps
with concentration, releasing pain and anger,
Oh or Om - considered the richest of sounds, can warm skin
temperature and relax muscle tension. Try toning for 5 minutes a
day for 2 weeks to see if it will help you.
In a similar way, humming can also make a positive difference in
mood and memory. Mozart hummed as he composed. Children hum when
they are happy. Adults often hum tunes that go through their minds,
lifting their spirits and tuning their mind. Consciously focus on
humming during the day. As the sound activates your brain, you will
feel more alive and your brain will feel more tuned in to the
moment.
Listen to Classical Music
In a similar way, listen to a lot of great music. Music, from
country to jazz, from rock to classical, is one of the true joys of
life. Music has many healing properties. Listening to music can
activate and stimulate the temporal lobes and bring peace or
excitement to your mind.
Music therapy has been a part of psychiatric treatments for
centuries. When certain music is played it has a calming effect on
patients. Fast-paced, upbeat music has a stimulating effect on
depressed patients.
In highly publicized work, researchers at the University of
California at Irvine (UCI) demonstrated that listening to Mozart's
Sonata for Two Pianos (K.448) enhanced visual spatial learning
skills. Frances H. Rauscher, PhD and her colleagues conducted a
study with 36 undergraduates from the department of psychology who
scored 8 to 9 points higher on the spatial IQ test (part of the
Stanford-Binet Intelligence scale) after listening to 10 minutes of
Mozart. Gordon Shaw, one of the researchers, suggested Mozart's
music may be able to warm up the brain, "We suspect that complex
music facilitates certain complex neuronal patterns involved in
high brain activities like math and chess. By contrast, simple and
repetitive music could have the opposite effect." In a follow up
study the researchers tested spatial skill by projecting 16
abstract figures similar to folded pieces of paper on an overhead
screen for one minute each. The test looked at ability of
participants to tell how the items would look unfolded. Over a
5-day period, one group listened to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos,
another to silence, and a third to mixed sounds, including music by
Philip Glass, an audiotaped story, and a dance piece. The
researchers reported that all three groups improved their scores
from day one to day two, but the group that listened to Mozart
improved their pattern recognition scores 62% compared to 14% for
the silence group and 11% for the mixed group. On subsequent days
the Mozart group achieved yet higher scores but the other groups
did not show continued improvement. The researchers proposed that
Mozart's music strengthened the creative right-brain processing
center associated with spatial reasoning. "Listening to music,"
they concluded, "acts as an exercise for facilitating symmetry
operations associated with higher brain function. Don Campbell
gives a nice summary of this work in The Mozart Effect, along with
many other examples of music enhancing learning and healing the
body. Campbell writes that in his experience Mozart's violin
concertos, especially numbers 3 and 4 produce even stronger
positive effects on learning.
In the context of the temporal lobes this research makes perfect
sense. The temporal lobes are involved in processing music and
memory. Certain types of music may activate the temporal lobes and
help them learn, process and remember information more efficiently.
It is likely that certain types of music open new pathways into the
mind.
Certain music can also be very destructive. It is no coincidence
that the majority of teenagers who end up being sent to residential
treatment facilities or group homes listen to more heavy metal
music than other teens. Music that is filled with lyrics of hate
and despair encourage those same mind states in developing teens.
What your children listen to may hurt them. Teach them to love
classical music when they are young.
Music is influential from a very early age. Dr. Thomas Verny in his
book The Secret Life of the Unborn Child cites scientific
experiments showing that fetuses preferred Mozart and Vivaldi to
other composers in early as well as later stages of pregnancy. He
reported that fetal heart rates steadied and kicking lessened,
while other music, especially rock, "drove most fetuses to
distraction," and they "kicked violently" when it was played to
their mothers.
Classical music and most beautiful soothing, stimulating music can
make a positive difference in your brain.
Learn a Musical Instrument
In a follow up study by Rauscher and Shaw at UCI 34 preschoolers
were given piano keyboard training. After 6 months, all the
children could play basic melodies from Mozart and Beethoven. They
exhibited significant increases in visual spatial skill (up to 36%
improvement compared to other preschoolers who received computer
lessons or other types of stimulation. Campbell reports on the
following studies: The College Entrance Examination Board in 1996
reported that students with experience in musical performance
scored 51 points higher on the verbal part of the SAT and 39 points
high on the math section than the national average. In a study of
approximately 7,500 students at a university music and music major
had the highest reading scores of any students on campus. Learning
a musical instrument, at any age can be helpful to develop and
activate temporal lobe neurons. As the temporal lobes are activated
in an effective way they are more likely to have improved function
overall.
Move In Rhythms
The temporal lobes are involved with processing and producing
rhythms. Many Americans never learn about the concept of rhythm and
how important it can be to healing and health. Chanting, dancing
and other forms of rhythmic movement can be healing.
Chanting is commonly used in eastern religions and orthodox western
religions as a way to focus and open one's mind. Chanting has a
special rhythm that produces an almost trance-like quality,
bringing peace and tranquility to the person. In these states, the
mind is more open to new experiences and learning.
Even for people with two left feet like myself, dancing and body
movement can be very therapeutic. When I worked on a psychiatric
hospital unit, the patients had dance therapy three to four times a
week. I often found that my patients were more open and more
insightful in psychotherapy after a dance therapy session. Dancing,
like song and music, has the ability to change a person's mood and
give them experiences they can treasure throughout the day, week,
or even longer.
Look for opportunities to move in rhythms.
Mozart for Focus
In one controlled study, however, Mozart has been found helpful for
ADD children. Rosalie Rebollo Pratt and colleagues studies 19
children, ages seven to seventeen, with ADD while playing
recordings of Mozart during three times a week brain wave
biofeedback sessions. 100 Masterpieces, Vol. 3: Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart was the music used. It included the selections of Piano
Concerto No. 21 in C, The Marriage of Figaro, Flute Concerto No. 2
in D, Don Giovanni and other concertos and sonatas. The group that
listened to Mozart had reduced their theta brain wave activity
(slow brain waves often excessive in ADD) in exact rhythm to the
underlying beat of the music, and displayed better focus and mood
control, diminished impulsivity and improved social skill. Among
the subjects that improved, 70 % maintained that improvement six
months after the end of the study without further training.
The Music You Listen to Matters!
After she heard me lecture on music and the brain, my 18 year old
daughter, Breanne, did a study with 12 of her friends for a
psychology class. She timed them playing the game Memory while they
listened to nothing, Mozart, rock, heavy metal, and rap music. She
found that they did best when they listened to Mozart (even better
than to listening to nothing at all), and worst when they listened
to heavy metal and rap music.
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