Rock Your Brain!
Listening or creating - benefits abound
Rock Your Brain!
A band is busy pumping out classic rock in a small tavern. Familiar music fills the small club and patrons fill the dance floor. The guitarist steps on a yellow pedal that elevates his guitar sound. He is totally engaged – bending strings to coax just the right notes during his solo. The dancers whoop with joy and move to the beat.
Much more is going on here than a rock band blasting away in a tavern. Communication, therapy, community, and joy are being experienced.
Playing Music Improves Brain Health
As a long time guitarist, I have noted that following a performance or a rehearsal, it takes me a bit of time to get over the feeling of being “jazzed up.” Sometimes it takes me an hour or two to “decompress.
Engrossed in playing, my brain releases dopamine, causing me to feel joy - and to want more of this feeling. This “feel-good” hormone enhances feelings of pleasure.
This hormone is also released by the brain when listening to or dancing to music. Calming music may also release endorphins, which are hormones that help the body reduce stress or pain.
The Benefits of Playing A Musical Instrument
Playing a musical instrument may be one of the best ways to keep the brain healthy.
“Every major part of the central nervous system is engaged,” said John Fani, PhD. Fani is chair of Neuroscience at The University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.
Playing an instrument taps into both the left and right sides of the brain. For example, playing a violin or a guitar, like many instruments, requires the right hand to do something different than the left. The peripheral nervous system is engaged, which controls movement of the fingers as well as fine and gross motor skills.
The brain’s executive function – the part that plans and makes decisions – comes into play as the musician plays one part but keeps focus on what comes next.
Combined with the total sensory input – visual, auditory, and emotional factors, all at the same time – it becomes a” total brain workout.”
And here’s some additional good news: Learning to play an instrument as a child brings life-long benefits to the brain. But taking music lessons in your 60s – or older – can significantly boost brain health as well.
Results of a study of people who began playing piano between ages 60 and 85 showed some interesting results.
“After six months, those receiving piano lessons showed more robust gains in memory and verbal fluency. Improvements were also noted in the speed of processing information, planning ability, and other cognitive functions compared to those who had not received lessons.”
(A study conducted by Harvard Health Publishing)
Therapy Without A Therapist
Humanity has known about the therapeutic effects of music for centuries.
David played the harp to soothe the soul of King Saul.
More recently, music therapy has been used successfully with both war veterans and abuse victims with PTSD (Smith and Nobel).
Music is processed in both hemispheres of the brain. This encourages the transfer of information from one hemisphere to the other. (Foran)
The bonding effect of music has the ability to bond groups of people together. It creates space for people to gather together with a shared goal. And the effects of that are powerful. It builds community.
Our favorite songs arouse emotions, memories, and even physiological responses like dilated pupils and increased pulse and blood pressure. There is also increased activity in the cerebellum, the region of the brain associated with movement. Interestingly, these intense reactions occur just before our favorite parts of songs, in the so-called “anticipatory phase.” It’s conjectured that this build-up of anticipation, along with subverted expectations in musical patterns, is what primarily heightens our enjoyment and engages our brains.(Article from Levine Music in Washington, D.C.)
How does your favorite song get from your ears to your brain? Here are the basics:
Sound waves from an instrument or a sound system reach the outer ear.
In the middle ear, the sound waves cause the eardrum and tiny bones to vibrate.
The middle ear passes these vibrations to the inner ear.
The inner ear includes the snail-shaped cochlea. Inside the fluid-filled cochlea are 20,000–30,000 tiny hair cells. These hair cells are of different sizes that react to different tones and pitches.
The inner ear translates vibrations into electrical signals.
The electronic signals are carried into the brain by nerve cells called neurons via the cochlear nerve system.
The signals travel along the cochlear nerve system to the brain’s cerebral cortex. Like a supercomputer, this part of the brain.
Other areas of the brain add their power to analyze different elements within the music, such as rhythm, pitch, and dynamics.
(From a Kennedy Center article – The Science of Hearing by Douglas L. Oliver)
The feeling I get while making music with other people is like no other. I’ve always been fascinated by the interpersonal dynamics of a band or a jam session. Listening, anticipating, adding a personal flourish at just the right time, and just bonding with other musicians is one of the best things ever. Even a song that’s been played a million times can be different and exciting.
That’s just part of the reason I enjoy playing music – the other part is the gear and equipment needed to make music. Guitars, amps, effects pedals, microphones, speakers, and all the stuff required to connect it all.
That’s a discussion for another time to be covered in greater detail.
My Music Pick
My music pick is the Grammy-award winning (Best Contemporary Blues Album) album Blood Harmony by Larkin Poe.
Larkin Poe features the amazingly talented Lovell sisters, Rebecca (guitar, mandolin, lead vocals) and Megan (slide/lap steel guitar, vocals).
I would occasionally see Larkin Poe videos on my Facebook page. It was always the sisters, performing a cover song in their own style. I liked everything I saw from them.
One day, I realized I had not seen anything from Larkin Poe in a while. So I did a Google search. That led me to amazing concert footage from Rockpalast in Koln, Germany. Do your own Larkin Poe Google search. You’ll be amazed!
Blood Harmony is more than “Contemporary Blues” in scope. There’s southern rock combined with bluesy and bluegrassy elements that speak to the Lovell sisters background. There is not a bad song on this album. No filler. No crap. Just great blues/rock music.
The opening track “Deep Stays Down” is Larkin Poe in a nutshell. The song tip-toes in with a sweet slide guitar blues lick. Rebecca’s soulful, powerful voice gives the song an earthy, southern flavor. Megan’s fine harmony is on display at the end of each chorus. At the 2:25 mark, Larkin Poe explodes! It all comes to the fore – Rebecca’s vocal power and crunchy guitar, Megan’s soaring lap steel, and the rest of the band propelling the song to surprising muscular heights.
Following the explosive display of power, the final verse is Rebecca – just Rebecca. What a voice!
This is “meat and potatoes” music – solid, satisfying, and nothing gone to waste. Grab a copy – you’ll be on the Larkin Poe bandwagon as well!