It seems that there are many different spins on the musical brain. In an article by Mark Wheeler , he wrote of Istvan Molnar-Szakacs who will be using “emotional music” to examine the brain regions involved in emotion processing.
“Music has long been known to touch autistic children,” Molnar-Szakacs says. “Studies from the early days of autism research have already shown us that music provokes engagement and interest in kids with ASD. More recently, such things as musical memory and pitch abilities in children with ASD have been found to be as good as or better than in typically developing children.”
His research hypothesis is, “if we are able to engage the brain region involved in emotion processing using emotional music, this will open the doorway for teaching children with ASD to better recognize emotions in social stimuli, such as facial expressions.
In study after study scientists are finding correlations between music making and some of the deepest workings of the human brain. Research has linked active music making with better language, improved social behavior and school grades.”
Recently I found a reference to Albert Einstein’s grade school years. At one point, teachers told his parents to take him out of school because he was “too stupid to learn.” The school suggested that his parents support Albert in getting a manual labor job. Instead of following the school’s advice, Albert’s parents bought him a violin. Albert had a natural affinity towards the violin and he became proficient on the instrument. He loved the music of Mozart and Bach the most. A friend of Einstein, G.J. Withrow, said that the way Einstein figured out his problems and equations was by improvising on the violin.
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Jennifer Buchanan is a professional speaker, performer and happy owner of JB Music Therapy. She is available to present at your next conference to inspire your audience with music that aims to make each moment more memorable.
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