Music Education and Brain Research Music education in the public schools has been under attack for decades. Although parents and teachers have advocated for more and better music programs, having
Healthy Brains Need Stimulation and Variety It seems that the field of neuroscience is exploding with research about how we learn, what our brains need to stay sharp, and how
Is Grit the Secret to Success In Music? I first heard about Angela Duckworth and her research on “grit” on a Freakonomics podcast. Duckworth talks about how persistence, not talent,
New practice research suggests ways to make learning more efficient. Thanks to cognitive researchers we are understanding more and more about how the brain processes information. A practice research study published in
Musical Neurons A recent study at MIT shows that there may be specialized neurons in the brain for processing music. These “musical neurons” are different than similar ones used to
I just finished reading How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens by Benedict Carey, 2014. From a musician’s perspective, it has obvious applications for practice.
Music is essential for being human. Scientists are learning a lot about how music effects the brain, how it changes our cognition (see blog posts Better Brains and Brain Imaging). But
As brain imaging technology improves, so does our understanding of music’s effects on the brain. Listening to music makes the whole brain light up. Playing music causes the neurons to