Well, that wraps up the Google Project. I have successfully investigated how the brain processes and perceives music. From my research on the auditory cortex to the function of the frontal lobe in music, I have discovered quite a bit. Moreover, since I have never previously took time to learn about the anatomy of the brain, this has been quite an introduction.
I have also found music's similarities to language, both in terms of mechanics and mental perception. Interestingly, music can also affect one's hormonal balance and mood, as well as stress. All of these effects are caused by music, something I have practiced for years but never fully understood from this perspective. Therefore, my first "scientific" look at music has been a significant and noteworthy investigation, and I hope to continue this work in the future!
A brief Powerpoint presentation I gave to the Wind Ensemble class can be viewed at https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dcz83dhk_4fjtxjfcq. Happy viewing!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Last Day
Well, this has been quite the journey for me.
Though I haven't posted in a few weeks, I have made substantial progress in learning more about our brain and how it sees music. For example, I've learned how different kinds of music can change our patterns of hormone release. It is scientifically proven that music can prevent the release of cortisol, a hormone produced in response to stress. Thus, music is indeed a great way to lower one's stress.
However, everything must be taken, as they say, with "a grain of salt." Actually, fast music can actually make one feel more stressed out, while slower music has a more relaxing effect. Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict an individual's response to any kind of music because every person is different. How their brains react is heavily dependent on their previous experiences.
Again, I also learned more about how music stimulates neural pathways in other parts of the brain. In short, it trains the brain to think. Since it "exercises" many critical thinking areas of the brain in the frontal lobe, people who experience music, especially through playing it, have better reasoning abilities. This is because even though they might not seem like they're working their critical thinking areas, music is in fact training them and making them more effective. So, if you want to get better at math, it might actually be a good idea to pursue music. Music uses so many parts of the brain that it is like an all-around workout.
Having learned all of these things, I shall present my findings to the Wind Ensemble class tomorrow at Lake Oswego High School. Since it is our first year pursuing this "Google project," I hope that I will be able to learn many things tomorrow. Of course, I was one of the few to choose a more scholarly approach to this project-again, where a person chooses what they want to investigate on their own time. Other people have chosen to use music to stimulate their curiosities (thereby strengthening neural pathways and furthering their intelligence!) by composing and arranging music. It will be interesting to see their products. Hopefully, next year we can repeat this project, as I feel it has been highly successful. Until then, may music touch you and change the way you think!
Though I haven't posted in a few weeks, I have made substantial progress in learning more about our brain and how it sees music. For example, I've learned how different kinds of music can change our patterns of hormone release. It is scientifically proven that music can prevent the release of cortisol, a hormone produced in response to stress. Thus, music is indeed a great way to lower one's stress.
However, everything must be taken, as they say, with "a grain of salt." Actually, fast music can actually make one feel more stressed out, while slower music has a more relaxing effect. Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict an individual's response to any kind of music because every person is different. How their brains react is heavily dependent on their previous experiences.
Again, I also learned more about how music stimulates neural pathways in other parts of the brain. In short, it trains the brain to think. Since it "exercises" many critical thinking areas of the brain in the frontal lobe, people who experience music, especially through playing it, have better reasoning abilities. This is because even though they might not seem like they're working their critical thinking areas, music is in fact training them and making them more effective. So, if you want to get better at math, it might actually be a good idea to pursue music. Music uses so many parts of the brain that it is like an all-around workout.
Having learned all of these things, I shall present my findings to the Wind Ensemble class tomorrow at Lake Oswego High School. Since it is our first year pursuing this "Google project," I hope that I will be able to learn many things tomorrow. Of course, I was one of the few to choose a more scholarly approach to this project-again, where a person chooses what they want to investigate on their own time. Other people have chosen to use music to stimulate their curiosities (thereby strengthening neural pathways and furthering their intelligence!) by composing and arranging music. It will be interesting to see their products. Hopefully, next year we can repeat this project, as I feel it has been highly successful. Until then, may music touch you and change the way you think!
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