A Brain on Music Jennifer is a junior in high school. She is taking multiple difficult classes, and with her work schedule, it is very difficult to finish all of the homework that is given her. One day, she decides to listen to the radio while doing her homework. She tuned in to her favorite pop/rap station and began working. She found, to her dismay, that she was continually being distracted by the lyrics of the songs. Her mood grew depressed as she listened to the songs about violence and sex. She couldn’t finish her homework while listening to the radio. Then, she pulled out her IPod and played some classical music, as she had read somewhere that it can help during homework. She sat back down to finish her work, began to feel more focused and finished her homework quickly.
Jennifer’s idea that classical music helps the focus and concentration is correct. It is scientifically proven that this kind of music stimulates the brain. What about the other genres of music, one may ask? Not all are as helpful and uplifting as the classical genre. The music of today, while being catchy in tune, has
…show more content…
There are, of course, the few exceptions, but these exceptions don’t brighten the overall effect of negativity that most lyrics have. These negative topics can range from suicide to sex or rape to unstable relationships to hate. There are so many songs with negative meanings that it’s difficult to turn on the radio and not hear one of them. Most people are more caught up by the beat and not the lyrics, but they still hear the words subconsciously and it may affect their mood. According to Mamiverse writers, country music is “linked to depression and even suicide” (15 Music Genres, 2014). They also mention rap and heavy metal, saying, “Rap songs often promote anger, misogyny and violence” and “[The] typically aggressive lyrics and melodies [of heavy metal] can certainly have certain negative effects on your
I listen to music everyday. No matter where I go theres always music playing; the stores, church, car, etc. Music is a part of my daily life. It motivates me to do and finsih things. I can’t do my homework without listening to music otherwise I begin to procastinate. “A Stanford study shows that music engages areas of the brain which are involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating events in our
We all want to be more productive because an increase in productivity leads to better grades. Now who doesn’t want better grades? According to the New York Times, many people use music to make a repetitive job more interesting or energetic. Some of the more melodious music out there can help release much higher amounts of dopamine which is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers. By rewarding the mind we allow our mind to be happy which increases our focus and keeps us in the present moment. Business Insider tells us which songs help us the most. Many different songs have the power of benefitting us such as songs we enjoy and even music without lyrics. Songs that we enjoy make us feel better and like mentioned before, when we feel good we have more of a tendency to finish our work more efficiently. Music without any lyrics help us because the absence of words is less distracting. According to a Cambridge study, “speech distracts about 48% of office workers”. So next time you get off track or distracted, try listening to some music.
There have been a number of tests and surveys on this very topic. Classical music improves the concentration and performance of the people that listen to it regularly. It helps develop better learning habits to improve the overall learning experience. When somebody sits down and tries to watch an interesting television show, and do homework, it is very hard to concentrate, and not a lot gets done. When somebody listens to classical music regularly, it improves their learning strategies, or the way they learn things. Background music has been known to increase worker productivity, and performance. When people are able to get in the rhythm of the music they are listening to, they can increase output, and therefore focusing comes much easier for longer periods of time. Some music elicits stress in people. Other music makes people feel more relaxed and more readily able to focus, especially on a high stress
Music has also been scientifically proven to lower stress and depression and improve one’s health.1 It is also scientifically proven that children who engage in music become more intelligent since music improves one’s memory and learning abilities. There are also
Music is composed of sounds intertwined with melody and rhythm that can have powerful effects on a person. It can help people focus on tasks or calm the mind. Research has shown that music has beneficial effects on the mind, body, and health of a person. A journal article by Rastogi, Solanki, and Zafar (2013) refers, on the contrary, to:
No one knows all the ways music can benefit the body but, it is known that music can affect brain waves, brain circulation, and stress hormones. Students who take music lessons have improved IQ levels and show improvement in nonmusical abilities as well. Listening to music composed by Mozart produces a short-term improvement in tasks that use spatial abilities. Studies of brain circulation have shown that people listening to Mozart have more activity in certain areas of the brain, which is called the Mozart effect. Although the reasons for this are not clear, this kind of information supports the idea that music can be used in many helpful ways. In general, music therapy done under the care of a professionally-trained therapist has a helpful effect, and is considered safe when used with standard treatment.
Music helps me focus, unless it has a video to go along with it or something. Ever since I‘ve started playing an instrument, I’ve felt calmer and less chaotic (I think). I feel more relaxed and generally more happy. Participating in music class helped me understand actually how music works and how to read it. Academically, I feel like I’ve been getting better grades (except in history, I’m terrible at history). Listening to music while studying helps me a lot. Music helps me to be a better person overall (that’s what I want to think at
Mental Machine Music was not created to make a profit like a regular album, it was created because Reed needed to produce one more album with his record company, ACR Records. This is not the only reason why the album was released, the album was mostly produced for the critics and to induce a reaction from them, even to this day doing a simple google search every music ranking site gives Mental Machine Music one out of five stars every single site, this of course still remains in the realm of the music industry. The album was widely consisted to be a joke in the music industry, and is partially still to this day. Reed lost his credibility as a recording artist for a while, yet Mental Machine Music opened up doors for this more of his experimental
In recent years it’s become noticeable that students are using all different forms of music to help them while studying or doing homework. When listening to music one may notice how that person may tap their foot or drum their fingers, even though they appear to be focused on the task in front of them. The rhythm of the piece, whether it is fast or slow, causes the listener’s heartbeat to synch with it (How Music Affects Our Mood, 2014). The question however is which music to listen to. In some studies, test subjects show that the louder the music the more distracted the subjects became (Manthei, 2014). Doctor Emma Gray, a clinical psychologist in Britain, says, “If you choose the right music for the topic you are
By employing the use of background music in a classroom, the attention and learning abilities of children can be positively affected to a significant degree. (Davidson C; Powell L, 2001) By playing a selection of “easy-listening music” (using a more classical theme with strings and wind instruments) in the classroom, children showed superior “time-on-task” (TOT) while the music was playing, and when the music was removed, they regressed to their prior behaviors. Davidson and Powell’s results concluded that simply playing the easy-listening music in a classroom setting could positively influence the work tendencies of children.
Scientists at the University of Helsinki have discovered that listening to classical music alters the function of our genes. In a study, scientists took blood samples from participants before and after listening to one of Mozart’s Violin Concertos. They found that the music directly affects human RNA1. This suggests that listening to classical music has many surprising health benefits. Listening to classical music positively affects your body by lowering blood pressure, increasing mental alertness and memory, and reducing stress. Listening to classical music benefits your health.
Does classical music really help you study better? Many recent research studies show that music idoes in fact improve cognitive thinking. In 1993, researchers at the University of California at Irvine discovered the so-called Mozart Effect - that college students “who listened to ten minutes of Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D major K448 before taking an IQ test scored nine points higher” than when they had sat in silence or listened to relaxation tapes. Other studies have also indicated that it doesn’t matter the artist; people retain information better if they hear classical or baroque music while studying.
Music. It’s different to everyone, even if everyone happened to be listening to the same thing. There are health and emotional benefits that come with playing an instrument. It’s so important that every student gets a musical education because knowing an instrument is comparable to you exercising a muscle; music is exercising the brain! The auditory cortex is working hard to process the sound, while the nucleus accumbers, amygdala, and cerebellum are working hard to make you feel. Oh, and you know when you know your favorite part of the song is coming up? Well, that’s when your prefrontal cortex is being activated and is getting anxious (“This is Your Brain on Music” by Knowing Neurons). Being involved in music helps students do better in other subjects. Our brain works harder when we play music, and it increases IQ and improves spatial-temporal skills, which is when students can see elements that should go together, which improves math skills (PBS Parents, “The Benefits of Music Education”). Music affects everyone, reading this might help you realize the beauty of music, learn how it affected me meticulously, and other things about music education.
Music has been apart of society for thousands of years and an outlet for people's stress and other problems they may be facing. It helps the brain function and understand conditions better by breaking it down and trying to comprehend it. Music has made and is still making an impact on the lives of people all around the world. Because of its impact on peoples lives neuroscientist wanted to get to the source and have been looking at the brain to determine the exact effects of music and they can now answer the question, what effects does music have on the brain? Listening to music can send pleasure to your mind, decide your emotions, lower stress, and improve learning.
The mind is greatly impacted by music by showing healthful changes (www.bellaonline.com/articles/). Doctors now use music for their patients’ treatments in order to help them stay healthy (www.bellaonline.com/articles/). Heart patients acquired the same benefits from listening to classical music for thirty minutes as they did from anti-anxiety medication (www.bellaonline.com/articles/). Musical therapy has been used to help people with heart problems, which worked quite effectively. (www.bellaonline.com/articles/). People who have had migraines frequently, were trained to use music and relaxing procedures to reduce their headaches. Studies have also shown that music helps students with their intelligence levels (www.bellaonline.com/articles/). A majority of students had higher test scores than others because they listened to Mozart before their exam. People who listened to classical music for an hour and a half while revising manuscripts increased their accuracy by 21% (www.bellaonline.com/articles) (Mish 725.).