Music, Sounds, and the Brain Kenny Harris Ben Helman Megan Mitchell Danielle Morin Elleka Watts

The Basics: Music Music is an art that expresses ideas and emotions through sound. Music is found in every culture in the world today. Different types of music cause the body to react in different ways. Music engages both sides of the brain at once, which makes it an effective tool for memory.

The Basics: Language All cultures in the world have used some form of language to communicate. As humanity has become more sophisticated, so has language. The system within the brain that enables language is very complex. Evidence has shown that functions of the brain (namely, language) are not necessarily fixed at birth, but shaped by experience and learning.

“Singing in the Brain” It is fairly obvious that things are easier to remember when put to a melody. Scientists have discovered that multiple parts of the brain are utilized in order to fully experience music. While sensory parts of the brain are obviously utilized when listening to music, so are memory-storing parts of the brain. This is different from language, which does not evoke memories in the same way that music does.

“Music and Language Processed By Same Brain Systems” Language and music depend on common processes in the mind. They also depend on the same two memory systems in the brain. The two different aspects of music (rules and memorized melodies) depend on two different brain systems in the same way that rules and memorized information in language do.

Language and music are both sounds which we learn to recognize while still in the womb. They are both tied to the same brain systems and processes that enable us to remember speech patterns and melodies of music. These things help us to recognize when music is off key or someone’s speech violates common rules of grammar.

Discussion Questions Could it be there was some sort of gene mutation that may allow a musical savant (a person who may not have language skills, but have superior musical ability) to develop in some autistic people? If language and music are connected or developed in the same area of the brain, how do they have one and not the other?

Discussion Questions (con’t) The first article talks a lot about how humans are the only species that have evolved to the point of creating music. Is this true? Or is it that maybe we just don't understand the music of the animal world? Could animal noises be the early evolution of music in their world?

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