Neuroscience & Music

The extraordinary recent findings in the neuroscience community have reinforced our conviction that music is a necessary aspect of a child’s development. Studies are showing that the earlier music and language practice begin, the more powerful are the effects.

Joan Koenig has been actively researching this exciting field, meeting Neuroscientists both in France and in the United States. She is finding the scientific backing for what she has been practicing intuitively for 27 years.

Twice monthly Joan will share stories from her Parisian Musical Preschools and interpret cutting edge research from the worldwide neuroscience community.

Find out more: www.joankoenig.com 

These are but some of the exciting findings that FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) can confirm.

Ear training and the development of high-level relative pitch and perfect pitch result in an augmentation of the Corpus Callosum, the bundle of neural fibers that serves as messengers between the left and right hemispheres.

The Hippocampus where several forms of memory is located is simply bigger among musicians; there is a direct correlation between its size, and the number of years and precocity of musical practice. Scientists are now suggesting that development of the Hippocampus in early childhood could reduce the chances of suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in later life

The Prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive decisions, reasoning and judgment is more developed among musicians; there is a direct correlation between the cortex size, and the number of years and precocity of musical practice. The development our Prefrontal Cortex is one of the elements that distinguishes our brains from those of other mammals.

During a musically creative moment, (improvisation) the same prefrontal cortex, the judgmental, self monitoring part of our brains, literally lets go of its control and allows other part of the brain to experiment and create. Musical improvisation concerns multiple regions of the brain, including the Broca area, responsible for language.
Creative musical activity monitored during an FRMI scan show heightened activity in multiple areas of the brain.

Communication (musical dialogue) between two musicians when observed with the FRMI shows heightened activity in the Broca area (language center) of the brain, hence confirming the hypothesis of a link between language and music.

And now, L’Ecole Koenig’s conclusions!
Our schools have now worked with several thousand children, and our results show clearly that:

The majority of children are capable of developing a sophisticated sense of pitch. Even children who only have one class per week can sing and name a note played on the piano, without a reference point.

Children as young as 3 years old demonstrate a stable pulse and can read simple rhythms with understanding and precision.

At the age of five, most children can sight sing a simple melody on a staff, in tune and in rhythm.

Children can improvise at a very early age. Improvisation leads to a desire to learn how music is organized and written.

Children can understand subtle musical concepts such as tonality and nuance as early as 2 years of age.

Many children develop ‘perfect pitch’, given appropriate training and encouragement at an early age.

Music serves as a vehicle for language acquisition. Children learn a second and sometimes a third language effortlessly.

If you would like to read more about Neuroscience and music, the following is a list of books, articles, and you tube links.

Interesting watching:

Charles Limb scans a brain during jazz improvisation:

Antonio Damasio speaks about the function of music versus visual stimulus

Julie Burstein speaks about creativity in general

Must Reads:

Emmanuel Bigand Le Cerveau Mélomane (Paris: Editions Belin 2013)

Bernard Chevalier Le Cerveau de Mozart (Paris: Editions Odile Jacob 2003)

Antonio Damasio Looking for Spinoza – Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain
(New York: 2003 Harcourt )

Daniel J. Levitin This Is Your Brain on Music (New York: Penguin 2006)

Oliver Sacks Musicophilia-Tales of Music and the Brain (New York: Alfred A. Knopf 2007)