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Musical Imaging |
The relationship between music and the brain is very complex. When humans listen to music, the “music has the ability to activate many different areas of the brain” (Maldonado 1). Some of the regions of the brain that are activated when listening to music include the frontal lobe and temporal cortex of the cerebral hemisphere. The frontal cortex is the part of the brain that is involved in higher level cognitive functioning and learning an instrument “ leads to changes in a child’s brain that make it more likely they will reach their full cognitive and academic growth” (Lyon 3). Music was also proven to be perceived in the cerebral hemisphere because when patients had “damage to the right cerebral hemisphere, both musical perception and imagery were affected” (Maldonado 2). “When the interactions between music and the brain was studied my using brain scans of those listening to music and those not listening to music, it was concluded that “musical imagery contains both motor and auditory elements” (Maldonado 2).
The brain also has an amazing ability to remember music very well. Many studies have concluded that “musical characteristics of a piece, including its tempo, its rhythm, its melodic contours, even its timbre and pitch- tend to be preserved with remarkable accuracy” (Maldonado 1). This is a significant difference between visual memory and musical perception because visual memory can be altered by the mind while musical imagery maintains in accuracy in the brain. When we listen to music, we tend to have a small chunk of the music get stuck in our head. This auditory chunk is frequently referred to as a “brain worm.” This is proof that “The human mind is attracted to repetition, [because] the brain worm is a manifestation of that affinity” (Maldonado 1).