The fourth chapter, “Music on the Brain: Imagery and Imagination,” covers imagery as it resides in individuals. Sacks brings up his own parents to demonstrate that not every person has equal potential to posses imagery. In this sense, he basically says his father did and his mother did not. But musicians and those skilled within the field, were very talented at this trait. He begins talking about composers and examines how they interpret music. Beethoven’s creative process is used as an example because he is deaf. Due to the fact that he was not able to experience external music, he was forced to be more abstract and use his imagination. Sacks personal relationship is best described as a gift that few are given. He is able to hear music play …show more content…
in his head that he had previously learned in his life. Research was even done that proved this “imagination practice” to be very effective. Sack continues to speak on this cognitive process and how it has given him newfound insight throughout his life and others who are capable. This way of thinking blows my mind. The fact that a human brain is capable of this shows how beneficial music can be for certain people. I only hope to be as passionate for something in my life as Sacks is to music. The fifth chapter, “Brainworms, Sticky Music, and Catchy Tunes,” covers repetition and its relationship with our brains and music.
Sometimes music and melodies can get stuck in our heads for hours to days on end until eventually, they fade away. Earworms are described as “cognitively infectious musical agents.” They are a special type of music that is specifically made to stick in people's brain. Sacks brings up one of his good friends, Nick Younes and explains how the song “Love and Marriage” got stuck in his head for around 10 days until it eventually left his mind. He also mentions Mark Twain's story, “A Literary Nightmare” in which a man gets a repetitive jingle stuck in his mind and starts infecting all the people around him. Sacks is astounded by this topic, but he can't figure out whether it's the simple repetition or something else. He goes on to discuss how the iPod's we use are basically daylong concerts and they change our environments, which make them so entertaining. He draws the conclusion that these catchy tunes our brains remember are neurologically irresistible. I found this chapter very interesting. Not only because it made sense, but more due to the fact that I have experienced this numerous times throughout my life. These facts and stories are opening my eyes wider and wider to the influence of
music. The sixth chapter, “Musical Hallucinations,” covers hallucinations and possible treatments. Sacks starts off the chapter giving example of a “good ear.” People often speak of others as having or not having a good ear, which has to do with accurate perceptions of pitch and rhythm. He then goes into a variety of different cases and treatments. He goes about drawing many connections between the subjects themselves and the issues they were going through. Sacks also brought up his own personal feelings in select ways. Differences were made between certain types of hallucinations, such as those who react soft and those who react loud and intrusive. So far, I found this the least intriguing chapter in the book. As the stories and connections drawn seemed to fit well, they dragged on way too long. I felt that most of these cases had the same type of message, which relied on the brain and the lack of stimuli once a certain function was lost. This chapter wasn't my favorite.
The live theatrical production I chose to see was 9 to 5 The Musical. The production was performed by Fayetteville Technical Community College’s very own Fine Arts Department. The musical is based on the film released by Fox in 1980. Collin Higgins adapted the film from the book 9 to 5 written by Patricia Resnick. It wasn’t until 2008 that the film was adapted to a theatrical production. The production was originally brought to broadway by Robert Greenbait and Dolly Parton wrote the lyrics and the music for the Musical. The run on broadway was very short but the production later toured in other countries around the around the world.
Whether she compares it to illnesses, or images, the earworm is an annoying result of music. “The phenomenon of brainworms seem similar, too, to the way in which people with autism of Tourette’s syndrome or obsessive-compulsive disorder may become hooked by a sound or a word or a noise and repeat it, or echo it, aloud to themselves, for weeks at a time.”(9) Sacks compares the pathological repetition to different illnesses. By doing so, he draws out the idea that a brainworm, or musical image, is a neurological condition. “Some of my correspondents compare brainworms to visual afterimages, and as someone who is prone to both, I feel their similarity too. . .After reading EEGS intently for several hours, I may have to stop because I start seeing EEGS squiggles all over the walls and ceiling. . .And astronauts, returning from a week spent in a near-zero gravity conditions of space, need several days to regain their ‘earth legs’ once again.”(13) Sacks compares the brainworm to repetitive images that stick in your head or even space travel jet lag. He shows contrast by explaining the difference between repetitive music, and an earworm. “Perhaps, therefore, we should not be surprised, should not complain if the balance sometimes shifts too far and our musical sensitivity becomes a vulnerability.”(15) Many of our greatest singers, composers, and poets exert repetition in their
O'Donnell, Laurence. "Music and the Brain." "Brain & Mind" Magazine. 1999. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. .
Lauren Stewart, a reader in psychology at Goldsmiths in London and Dr. Elizabeth Margulis, director of Music Cognition Lab at the University of Arkansas. By using the quotes of these two doctors he is trying to appeal to the ethos. Dr. Lauren Stewart describes the song as an “ earworm” because it is so catchy and gets into your brain. Dr. Elizabeth Margulis explains how the right use of repetition catches the motor circuitry of the brain. She states the song “ pulls you along and makes you feel really happy”.
Music has become increasingly popular in today’s society. When we are listening to music, our brain does much more than just process the sound. Music has been known to be able to affect human emotions and moods. The brain first categorizes sound into music through interactions between the low-level and high-level processing units (“How Our Brains Process Music”). The whole task begins with the auditory cortex in the brain which first receives a signal from the eardrum which in turn activates the cerebellum (“How Our Brains Process Music”). The cerebellum is the part of the brain that assists in coordination, precision, and timing of movement (“How Our Brains Process Music”). The ear and the cerebellum together as the low-level processing units allow the brain to start analyzing the sounds and break down the auditory stimulus into pitch, amplitude, timing of different notes, etc (“How Our Brains Process Music”).
Music and the Brain: Processing and Responding (A General Overview). For any individual who either avidly listens to or performs music, it is understood that many melodies have amazing effects on both our emotions and our perception. To address the effects of music on the brain, it seems most logical to initially map the auditory and neural pathways of sound. In the case of humans, the mechanism responsible for receiving and transmitting sound to the brain is the ears.
Most people are familiar with the word "music", however they barely consider the definition of it. After carefully think, everyone has their own opinions on this term and it is hard to have an uniform criterion of music sounds. According to the text book, Michael B. Bakan states five propositions to define the music. The first one is about the tone and the second one talks about the music is organized in some way. The next two are claims that music is human organized and a product of human intention and perception. The last proposition argues music cannot separate from Western culture. Among these propositions, I think the music is a product of human intention and perception is most interesting and worth to discuss. So I assert that the most
Nearly ninety one percent of all people report having at least one song stuck in their head a week. This is called the earworm effect. Earworms are songs that repeat continually through a person’s mind after the song is no longer playing. The earworm effect is a real part of everyday life that is caused by the brain’s memory and dopaminergic system.
What is it that happens in the brain that causes this annoyance to go on for days? And why does it remain in the head even when it's driving us so crazy that we want to scream in pain? According to research done by Professor James Kellaris at the University of Cincinnati, (1) getting songs stuck in our heads happens to most if not all of us. His theory shows that certain songs create a sort of "cognitive itch" - the mental equivalent of an itchy back. So, the only way to 'scratch' a cognitive itch is to rehearse the responsible tune mentally. The process may start involuntarily, as the brain detects an incongruity or something "exceptional" in the musical stimulus. The ensuing mental repetition may exacerbate the "itch," such that the mental rehearsal becomes largely involuntary, and the individual feels trapped in a cycle from which they seem unable to escape.
Levitin, Daniel J. “This is your Brain on music: The Science of a Human Obsession.” Print
Music was meant to share thoughts or problems about life without revealing names or places. Also, music was meant to be a way for being free. Free from all of the problems that are in the world. But kids nowadays are addicted to music and it holds special place in the heart and minds of young people. And right now, music have affect and enormous influence over their lives. I would like to define music, as vocal or instrumental sound (or both) combined is such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion and furthermore would like to make the statement that music is a form of art. Times have changed and the way music and lyrics are perceived has developed in a violent fashion. According to the article “Violent Music Lyric Increase Aggressive Thoughts and Feelings”, the author makes a
In the article, This Is Your Brain On Music, by Elizabeth Landau, she states that scientists have discovered a link between music and the function of our brain. The article hits on three specific notes. One of these are the health benefits of listening to music. Landau asks “Listening to music feels good, but can that translate into a physiological benefit?” Daniel Levitin, a psychologist at McGill University in Montreal, did a meta-analysis of 400 studies, and came across one that may have answered that question. In this specific study, researchers tested on people who were about to have a surgery. At random, the subjects were put into two groups: those who would listen to music, and those
Listening to music is most of our popular leisure activity. Many young people also have their habits such as listening to music while reading, working or exercising. We can say the music has been an integral part of the lives of each of us. But have we ever wondered: How does the music affect our brains? Then, how does it impact our mood? Let 's discover it.
Music has incredible effects on the brain and body! Ever since the beginning of time, music has been around. It can influence the way a person thinks and behaves, and also social interactions. Teens are more susceptible to this (Revatto 1). Music can be used in therapy by helping people with depression, and can even be a more natural way to heal the body (“How Music...” 1). In some cases, songs and melodies can help or make diseases worse. Music is a powerful thing and can affect your brain and many other things in your body in numerous ways.
In reflection this learning experience was very effective not only for me but for every child in my class. This is because through some way or another my teacher had a way to appeal to our intelligences and learning styles. After researching thoroughly into intelligences it feels hard to self diagnose my strengths in different intelligences, however, due to the recall of the musical demonstration my teacher did I am inclined to feel that I affiliate quite strongly with the musical intelligence as well as the interpersonal intelligence as I really enjoyed working with others to figure out what spectroscopy was through lab work. From the perspective of a pre-service teacher I especially appreciate how the teacher taught the topic using technology