Today’s lesson, former students of Deming Schools, is about MUSIC, which, as you know, is a frequent theme of mine here on RiDW ….. I want to pass along what I learned overnight about our brain’s role when we hear music. But first. Like most of you, I have a habit of listening to the radio when I go to bed at night. I picked up this habit growing up in Deming in the 50’s and 60’s, listening to KOMA and Wolfman Jack. Except now I listen to SIRIUS/XM Satellite radio. When I go to bed now-a-days I listen to Old Time Radio programs from the 40’s and 50’s like Gunsmoke, The Shadow (“Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of man? The Shadow knows!”), Fiber McGee & Molly, Dragnet, etc. If nothing interests me here I listen at Willie’s Roadhouse, Outlaw Country, B. B. King’s Bluesville, 50’s on 5, or one of three comedy channels. Then, around 4 am I wake up and have to pee. When I get back in bed, I usually listen to interviews by Bob Edwards, formerly of National Public Radio. This morning’s interview was with Daniel Levitin who is a neuroscientist and wrote a book named “This is Your Brain on Music”. He also worked for ten years as a session musician, commercial recording engineer, live sound engineer, and record producer for countless rock groups as a sound engineer in music studios. Here is a short summary of the book which was the subject of Edward’s interview: “Think of a song that resonates deep down in your being. Now imagine sitting down with someone who was there when the song was recorded and can tell you how that series of sounds was committed to tape, and who can also explain why that particular combination of rhythms, timbres and pitches has lodged in your memory, making your pulse race and your heart swell every time you hear it. Remarkably, Levitin does all this and more, interrogating the basic nature of hearing and of music making (this is likely the only book whose jacket sports blurbs from both Oliver Sacks and Stevie Wonder), without losing an affectionate appreciation for the songs hes reducing to neural impulses.” I learned what goes into making music: rhythm, meter, tempo, syncopation, harmony, pitch, timbre, melody, “key”, and I’m sure there are others. Once the ears sense all this, the brain takes over and interprets it all. Of particular interest to me is that major chords are associated with happy and positive feelings while minor chords are associated with melancholy and sadness. Most ROCK&ROLL is made up of only 3 chords and they are all major chords. “That’ll Be the Day“ by Buddy Holly was unique because Holly sang “ahead’ of the beat while Sinatra’s sound was mellow and cool because he sang “behind” the beat. Stevie Wonder was a drummer at first and played the drums in his rendition of “Superstition” and his performance included things never heard before plus Stevie has done many unique and unusual things with his music. I think Linda E. Brown (Linda Wilder DHS 65) was a percussionist. Also, music education has many benefits and is important to all of us and especially children because: 1) Increases attention span; 2) Develops listening skills; 3) Develops language skills; 4) Develops math skills; 5) Relieves stress; 6) Encourages physical response (since ancient times, music’s main purpose was for dance); 7) Encourages emotional response; 8) Music is fun; 10) Music is for life. Music education makes me think of Rebecca Seybert (Becky Cain DHS 67) I know nothing about making music but I love listening to what I like. I envy anyone who knows how to read music and play an instrument. But this entire interview was a warm, fuzzy feeling for my left-brain / engineering mind – just thinking about all the details and complexities involved. Then this leads to me to think about the best engineer and the best engineering mind I know: Jack Little DHS 63. Jack is also a talented musician. He was the Arizona State Fiddle Champion over 20 years ago. In addition to the fiddle, he plays the mandolin and the guitar; plus he is an accomplished pool shark – which just goes to show the tie between an analytical mind and music. “That’ll Be the Day” by Buddy Holly is a favorite of mine, but I like Linda Ronstadt’s version better. Speaking of Buddy Holly, I will be posting about his death and “The Day the Music Died” about a week from now. youtu.be/V0j4h9ajtgg
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 03:58:04 +0000
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