Anyone have expertice regarding the effects of music on the brain?

[RawOrange]

Hey everyone, I have a somewhat odd question to ask of my Talkbass bretheren.
I am a junior in high school and have to do a research paper for my AP Language class. My topic is the effects of music on the brain, and I am taking a stand that there are real effects. For this project it is required that I have an "expert" interview. I was just wondering if there was anyone here on talkbass that would be considered an "expert" on Music and the Brain, and if so, would that person be willing to give me an interview.
If so, that would be awesome. Thank you all very much.
-Ryan

[NG51]

I'm not an expert, but there's a great book:"This is Your Brain on Music", by Daniel Levitin. The book is all about the physiological and psychological effects of music on the brain. His conclusion is that music is essential to the brain, and has huge benefits. I know that Levitin went to Stanford, and was part of the Computer Music Center there. If you can't reach him, maybe a call to Stanford would work-the people in the Computer Music Center are pretty cool.

[joroched]

Very interesting thread. I believe you will be our expert when you've completed this project. Looking forward to other replies, but it seems to me the closest so called expert nearest to you would be the music director in your school.

[AcidFripp]

Originally Posted by NG51

I'm not an expert, but there's a great book:"This is Your Brain on Music", by Daniel Levitin. The book is all about the physiological and psychological effects of music on the brain. His conclusion is that music is essential to the brain, and has huge benefits. I know that Levitin went to Stanford, and was part of the Computer Music Center there. If you can't reach him, maybe a call to Stanford would work-the people in the Computer Music Center are pretty cool.

Aww, man, that was such a good book!
I'm seconding this recommendation!

[RawOrange]

NG51, I have heard of that book and that is a very good idea, I think I might give that a try. Thank you!

The thing with the project is that the person who I am interviewing has to be a bona fide expert with credecials and all that jazz, so the music teachers at my school don't really have any expertise on this specific topic, only music. That seems to be the problem.

[superbassman2000]

Originally Posted by AcidFripp

Aww, man, that was such a good book!
I'm seconding this recommendation!

I fourth the book--super interesting on exactly the topic you are asking about

[Babar]

There have been a number of studies correlating the effect of early music education and math and language ability. My kid is starting Pre-K in the fall, and his school has a great music program.

Try Google scholars, or medline for citations.

[bassteban]

Subbed for fascination factor- I'd like to know specifically(if possible)why some music gives me a **** ** while other stuff makes me want to punch fluffy bunnies in the face. Sometimes it's the same tune.

[AcidFripp]

Originally Posted by Babar

There have been a number of studies correlating the effect of early music education and math and language ability. My kid is starting Pre-K in the fall, and his school has a great music program.

Try Google scholars, or medline for citations.

>Teaching a kid music so he can do better in other things

Dude, you HAVE TO read "This Is Your Brain On Music".

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

I fourth the book--super interesting on exactly the topic you are asking about

And I'll fifth it, now.

[totallyfrozen]

Ryan,
Generally an "expert" is considered to be someone with academic credentials or license in an area, for example a doctor or psychologist. There has been quite a bit of scientific research on this topic already and you should be able to find some. You might need to get your librarian to point you in the right direction to start a proper search for the information.

I would say that since TB is an online community where nearly all members use nicknames and you are not able to positively confirm the identity of anyone in this group, you will NOT be able to use anyone on TB as an "expert" source. Even if I told you I am a medical doctor, you cannot verify that here; therefore, I can not be considered an "expert". I'm NOT a doctor, btw, I was just making an example.

In academia, "expert" opinions are usually found in peer reviewed documentation, for example The New England Journal of Medicine or a similar type of publication. "Peer reviewed" means that whatever a doctor writes for that journal, for example, is read and reviewed by other doctors BEFORE it's considered legit. Sort of a checks and balances system. I'm willing to bet that your teacher would consider scientific research found in an industry publication (e.g. Psychology Today, etc.) or a peer reviewed journal to be "expert"--and I'm willing to bet that your teacher would NOT accept the opinion of a bassist on TB to be an "expert" opinion.

I have a couple of friends (married couple) who honestly believe that if you read 3 good books on a subject, you become an expert in that subject. That's absolutely the dumbest thing I think I've ever heard in my entire life...but they believe that crap and swear by it. It's total nonsense so don't fall for that idea.

Good luck with it. It's a fascinating topic. We discussed this in a Human Lifespan Development course I took as a nursing prerequisite.

[totallyfrozen]

Ryan,

One more interesting thing you might check into is the whole Mozart Babies theory. There was a theory out that if you played classical music for your infant, that they would have better brain development in certain areas and do better in school. Other studies came out proving that theory to be total nonsense and that the classical music had NO effect on the babies' intelligence levels.

Opinions in favor of both sides can still be found so take a look into that topic too. You might find it pretty intersting.

[BassChuck]

"Musicophilia" by Oliver Sacks is excellent.

[NateS]

Originally Posted by BassChuck

"Musicophilia" by Oliver Sacks is excellent.

+1

also "Music, The Brain, And Ecstasy" by Robert Jourdain

both are REALLY good books, i've read them out of interest and learned some good stuff.

[RawOrange]

Originally Posted by totallyfrozen

Ryan,
Generally an "expert" is considered to be someone with academic credentials or license in an area, for example a doctor or psychologist. There has been quite a bit of scientific research on this topic already and you should be able to find some. You might need to get your librarian to point you in the right direction to start a proper search for the information.

I would say that since TB is an online community where nearly all members use nicknames and you are not able to positively confirm the identity of anyone in this group, you will NOT be able to use anyone on TB as an "expert" source. Even if I told you I am a medical doctor, you cannot verify that here; therefore, I can not be considered an "expert". I'm NOT a doctor, btw, I was just making an example.

In academia, "expert" opinions are usually found in peer reviewed documentation, for example The New England Journal of Medicine or a similar type of publication. "Peer reviewed" means that whatever a doctor writes for that journal, for example, is read and reviewed by other doctors BEFORE it's considered legit. Sort of a checks and balances system. I'm willing to bet that your teacher would consider scientific research found in an industry publication (e.g. Psychology Today, etc.) or a peer reviewed journal to be "expert"--and I'm willing to bet that your teacher would NOT accept the opinion of a bassist on TB to be an "expert" opinion.

I have a couple of friends (married couple) who honestly believe that if you read 3 good books on a subject, you become an expert in that subject. That's absolutely the dumbest thing I think I've ever heard in my entire life...but they believe that crap and swear by it. It's total nonsense so don't fall for that idea.

Good luck with it. It's a fascinating topic. We discussed this in a Human Lifespan Development course I took as a nursing prerequisite.

I understand where you are coming from, and your points are all valid. I just thought that there may be an "expert" here on TB, I didn't really want the opinions of a random bassist. The idea was that maybe someone out there actually had academic credentials who would be willing to give some insight. Would I be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that their credentials were real, no, but then again, why would they lie?

[zenrad]

Originally Posted by RawOrange

Would I be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that their credentials were real, no, but then again, why would they lie?

1. Because it's the Internet
2. Human nature
3. Practical joke
4. All of or some combination of the above.



Totallyfrozen's comments sum it up pretty well.

[nutdog]

Try this:

Maki's Two Cents (part 5)

[Jazzdogg]

Call a few audiologists and ask if they're willing to conduct a brief interview.

The better prepared you are, the better your interview will be. If you've already prepared a list of specific questions, feel free to post them here, and we'll try to vet them for you.

[NG51]

I think a lot of the people doing this kind of research are neuropsychologists. A lot of these guys work at universities-maybe you could do a phone interview?

[Skitch it!]

I used to know a guy whom had Synesthesia, that on it's own was quite astounding, it was just an automated response to him.

Mood centres, dopamine uptake, primordial-ism, regression, association, you need a proper analysis of the centres of stimuli, even just in rhythm itself.There's an old tale here of new mothers putting big old wind-up clocks close to their newborns to imitate they're rhythmic heartbeat, subconsciously getting them to sleep better. Deep, deep stuff.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia

[zorf]

+1 to musicophellia - fascinating
+1 to your brain on music - anything by Sack is gonna be interesting