Dr. Daniel J. Levitin is a neuroscientist and musician. In his book "This Is Your Brain on Music," he writes: "By better understanding what music is, where it comes from, we can better understand human motivations, fears, desires, memories, and even communication in a broad sense."
The impact of music is diverse. In recent years, scientists have made significant progress in studying the mechanisms of how the brain processes music and how sound affects psychology and the body.
Music can make people smarter.
A study showed that adults who began learning music before age 7 performed significantly better in temporal sequencing tasks than those who lacked early music training.
Researchers inferred that there may be a critical period in early life where learning music significantly promotes the development of brain motor functions.
Neuroscientists, through scanning and monitoring the brain under different activities, have found that the influence of music on the brain is broader than we imagine.
Researchers found that enhancing the auditory central and neurophysiological functions in musicians is positively correlated with the duration of their continuous training and negatively correlated with the age at which they started learning music. That is, the longer the time spent in music learning and the earlier the start of music learning, the greater the possibility of changes in the brain cortex and cognitive neural systems.
The auditory central is the main area of the brain responsible for hearing and processing sound, helping us distinguish different sounds processed by the cochlea. It contains many neurons arranged from low to high, specifically processing specific pitches.
The auditory central can also identify the location of different sound sources in space and can recognize and separate different auditory objects. Then, the data is sent to other parts of the brain and compared with stored sounds (to stay or leave) and emotional responses (like or dislike), stimulating many areas of the brain's two hemispheres.
Neuroscientists believe this is because playing musical instruments is almost associated with every part of the brain, especially areas related to visual, auditory, and motor functions.
Such systematic, organized practice can enhance these brain functions and apply these abilities to other daily activities.
This suggests that music, like food, is one of the most basic human survival needs.
How to cultivate musical literacy?
The world's three most famous music teaching methods are named after music educators Dalcroze, Kodály, and Orff.
The Dalcroze method of music education emphasizes rhythmic movement teaching. It requires students to imagine their bodies as instruments, experiencing the speed, intensity, and rhythmic changes of music through body movements, reproducing the music they hear.
Kodály music education features singing and teaching without relying on any instrumental accompaniment. Children learn breathing and singing techniques through "singing," but, more importantly, various musical knowledge and common sense can also be learned through "singing." To help children understand pitch more clearly, Kodály also introduced a convenient set of gestures.
Orff music education focuses on the development of children's inner worlds. Orff pointed out that students must use their brains, hands, and feet to feel and express music with their whole bodies. So he invented a set of "elementary" Orff instruments - percussion instruments that are easy to master. At the same time, he encouraged children to fully utilize the sounds that various body parts could produce to participate in playing.
In such learning, children do not regard learning music as a burden or utilitarian; they use their bodies, language, and instruments to immerse themselves in music, expressing their inner worlds wholeheartedly, unconsciously accepting comprehensive music training such as pitch, rhythm, listening, and coordination in a joyful atmosphere.
Haydn said: "The true meaning of art is to make people happy, to inspire and empower them." Music can bring us many riches, but most importantly, we sincerely hope it can get you happiness.
