Since this seemedto provide an interesting insight into how we use and form language, I thought it would be something interesting to think about. After all, Broca's area, Wernicke's are, and the frontal cortex, are quite important, but there may be factors there that we are currently unaware of that are also influencing the process. This just goes to show how relatively new Psychological science is, and how little we really know. There is just so much more out there. Who knows? Perhaps music lessons are just as important as the normal subjects we learn in school, if not more They may just have the capability to influence other areas of our lives far more than we realized in ways we didn't think possible.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Rhythm and Language
Ever since the start of this class, I have seen Psychology everywhere. Now that I have started to see the world with this new lens, I don't think it will be possible for me to ever stop. Along with this new view on life, I have developed an interest in knowing about what's new in the world of Psychology. Often, this new information has different ways of relating back to our class. For instance, I just discovered a very interesting tidbit that links the understanding of musical concepts such as rhythm and melody to advanced language processing skills. Musical training may help sharpen the brain's "response to language," and interestingly, it is also common for people with a musical inclination to be linguistically gifted. According to a recent study which focused on this theory (called the Kraus Lab study) it was found that there is a definite connection between the ability to keep a beat, reading ability, and the consistency of the brain's response to sound. This quote from Professor Nina Kraus sums the idea up quite nicely. She states: "Rhythm is inherently a part of music and language. It may be that musical training, with an emphasis on rhythmic skills, exercises the auditory-system, leading to strong sound-to-meaning associations that are so essential in learning to read." It is very probably that musical training may help the brain develop in many important ways, even in skills other than those associated with communication. Research is now underway to see whether this rhythmic perception also effects areas such as beat synchronization, response consistency, and reading skills.
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Emma, I also found this incredibly interesting. Music has always been a big part of the background of my life. In fact, I am listening to music right now. Funny enough, I wonder how connected music skills really are to other functions of the brain. I know that, when I skate, fear of falling often prevents me from doing a jump properly and I wind up falling anyway. My coaches sometimes think I'm crazy, but I need to put on loud music that I can get lost in to distract me from the fear of the move. I also study with music on. Although I have never properly learned how to play a musical instrument, I think it would be great to research how much music actually influences our lives. Saying that it has a greater influence than we would ever think possible is just unsatisfying.
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