Music to my Ears
"And here's to you Misses Robinson, Jesus loves you more than you will know, whoa whoa whoa." For those of us who listen to eclectic types of music, you might recognize this catchy tune from one of Simon and Garfunkel's hit's "Ms. Robinson." You might wonder why the brain memorizes certain sections of songs or tunes, or why that chorus is stuck in your head all day long even if you don't like it. Scientist's believe that the brain is pre-wired for music.
The use of musical compositions is beneficial for the minds and bodies of many diverse individuals with physical and mental conditions. In addition, music has shown its amazing ability to be used as a therapeutic tool. Al ...view middle of the document...
Music Therapy is particularly useful with autistic children owing in part to the nonverbal, non threatening nature of the music. Similar music activities are designed to support the objectives of the child as observed by the therapist or as indicated by a parent, teacher or other professional. A music therapist might observe, for instance, the child's need to socially interact with others. Musical games like passing a ball back and forth to music or playing sticks and cymbals with another person might be used to foster this interaction. Eye contact might be encouraged with imitative clapping games near the eyes or with activities which focus attention on an instrument played near the face. Preferred music may be used for a wide variety of social behaviors like sitting in a chair or staying with a group of other children in a circle.
Music is a great therapeutic tool to use in any way possible, for example over 40 million Americans suffer from a sleeping disorder that can be cured with music therapy. Insomnia, anxiety and stress related conditions that affect a normal sleeping pattern can all be cured by listening to a specific music pattern composed in works by Stravinsky and Mozart. Most of these famous composers use sixty beats per minute in their symphonies. Scientist's have deciphered that this is the most pleasurable time signature for the brain to listen to. The temporal lobes recognize (music receptors behind the ears) its own familiar rhythm, thus soothing the body to a peaceful slumber. Over 2,500 hospitals have invested in some type of therapeutic remedies in music for its patients. For example 88 percent of children receiving an echocardiogram needed no sedation if a guitarist played soothing tunes. Also, doctors have utilized the harp as a therapeutic tool to calm patients during recovery time after surgery. This type of therapy has saved hospitals over 250,000 dollars in staffing and surgery expenses. Since the patients recover faster after surgery, the hospital doesn't have to apply its budget to pay for extra nurses. And this type of therapy has cut down on the use of sedatives and pain killers, which can become addictive and create problems of their own. Another use of music therapy has been used since man has been able to pick up sticks and hit various objects to create ceremonial beats. Nursing homes have caught onto the music therapy wave and have been using its techniques to aid Alzheimer's patients by means of drum circles. Therapists have used drum circles to stimulate spatial temporal reasoning. The therapist will have a group of patients pick up a pair of drum sticks or maracas and play the rhythm to Yankee Doodle Dandy. Then the patients have to try and memorize the beat they just played and play it on a different instrument. Doctors have seen astonishing results in the patients ability to remember names and numbers after participating in drum circles.
Music and math have been associated with each other since the days...
