Music to Our Ears
Anatomists would be hard put to identify the brain of a visual artist, a writer, or a mathematician – but they could recognize the brain of a professional musician without a moment’s hesitation.
And it seems music is not just physically transformative for musicians – all of us are responsive to music. There is no doubt about it, our relationship with music is ancient, complex and mysterious. Both sides of the brain are involved when we listen to music which gives us a coherence that many scientists consider essential for both biological and social function. This coherence promotes high level brain function and may possibly be one reason music has such a powerful influence on all of us – but important as that may be, it isn’t the complete picture.
After all, nobody really knows why we can sing even when we can no longer speak. Or why different parts of our brains react to different musical pitches. And how can it be that babies in the womb – completely free of cultural influence – show definite musical preferences?
Our relationship with music is a mystery that continues to lead scientists to investigate and musicians to create.
So – what does music do to your brain?
- See the work of Dr. Daniel Siegel and others
- Arlinger, S.; Elberling, C.; Bak, C.; Kofoed, B.; Lebech, J.; Saermark, K. (1982). “Cortical magnetic fields evoked by frequency glides of a continuous tone”. EEG & Clinical Neurophysiology 54 (6): 642–653. doi:10.1016/0013-4694(82)90118-3.
- Your Brain Knows a Lot More Than You Realize | DISCOVER (discovermagazine.com)
- Localizing language in the brain (scienceandreason3.wordpress.com)
- Scientists discover cradle of fear in the brain (news.bioscholar.com)