How much do we still have to learn about music's profound impact on the brain? It's already well known that music affects our heart rate- doctors often use soothing music to subconsciously lower patients blood pressure and beats per minute during recovery- but what other secret connections are waiting to be discovered?
Bach or Mozart can make a delightful atmosphere while studying for an exam, but who would be able to concentrate if the radio blasted the Macarena? As curious onlookers of our own reality, is this a difference we can take for granted?
Allow me a to propose a more specific scenario: Let's say you are writing a paper in order to give a presentation in the morning, but your roommate just began practicing the flute. She plays one passage over and over, rather than a full song.
I wouldn't be able to concentrate in such a setting. My own mind would be stuck replaying one thought over and over in concert with the flute playing it's own passage over and over.
It's just like when you are eating dinner at a fancy restaurant with a live band. The band can play all night long while guests carry on in boisterous conversation, never giving much attention to the source of the music. However, If that band were to stop playing abruptly, in the middle of a song, the entire room might drop their conversations at once and look around for the source of the disturbance!
I believe this is caused by a deep subconscious connection to music in the brain.
I like to imagine a time when brains were developing in early organisms. At what point did nerves obtain the ability to think creatively rather than just reacting and responding to external stimuli?
Has music played a role in this development? Did the ability to detect rhythm, engage with it, respond to it, and experience it along with others expedite the formation of communication and language?
Playing music is actually very neurologically complicated. It requires analytical and creative thinking to listen along or to play it with others. This action bridges both hemispheres of the brain, yet we hardly notice anything happening when enjoying a nice dinner!
Has anyone else noticed similar examples in their lives? I'd be delighted to hear different perspectives.
This is an original post for Steemit by @CosmicVibration on 28 October 2018
