Science has confirmed that music is a fundamental part of our brains. Research suggests that music could one day help stroke victims or Parkinson’s patients.
Elena Mannes examines the effects of music on different groups of people and how it might play a part in health care.
Mannes studied the evolution of music and human relationships throughout a person’s life. According to Neal Conan, and NPR’s Neal Mannes, studies have shown that infants prefer to hear “consonant intervals,” which are the ones that sound pleasant to Western ears.
Mannes claims babies’ cries at just a few weeks of age contain basic intervals similar to Western music.
Scientists have also found that music stimulates the brain more significantly than any other function. She sees great potential in music’s ability to alter the brain’s functioning.
Mannes believes music can also help those with neurological impairments. She says music can stimulate the verbal functions of stroke patients who have lost their oral part.
Melodic intonation therapy is one technique that uses music to stimulate parts of the brain to take over damaged ones. It can help patients regain their speech ability in some instances.
Mannes believes such techniques may also prove helpful to Alzheimer’s patients because of how we associate music and memories.
Archaeologists discovered ancient flutes that played a scale very similar to the Western scale less recently.
Mannes said that “remarkably,” the flute produces “these amazingly pure tones when played.”
It is a significant discovery as it supports the argument that musical ability was present in early human history.
Excerpt from “The Power Of Music
Many musicians can sense how music interacts with our bodies instinctively. They feel that music has a profound impact on our bodies. Irene Gubrud, an opera singer, says that sound was the first thing she experienced as a child. “I felt whole.”
Daniel Bernard Roumain (a young violinist from cross-genres) believes that music’s power lies in how it penetrates our bodies. My voice is a sound that enters your ear canal and moves your eardrum. It’s an intimate act. You are touching me literally, and I feel you when you speak to me. Then we extend this principle to the sound and vibration of a violin.
Daniel Barenboim, pianist, and conductor, believes that sound’s power is due to its early connection. This is something that we often forget in today’s world. He thinks we are more conscious of what we see and hear because we live in a visual society. He reminds us, however, that scientific evidence has shown that the ear is more active in the womb than the eye. He added, “The ear has an advantage over the eye because it doesn’t see anything until it is out.” You can also control the eye more easily. If you don’t like how I look or don’t want me to see you, close your eyes. I will disappear. If you don’t like my voice and are in the same room as me, you can’t naturally complete your looks. The sound of music penetrates the body.
Humans are attracted to sound from an early age. Between seventeen and nineteen weeks, the fetus develops an auditory system. We are already immersed in sound, rhythm, and vibration. How do we find out what the fetus hears? There were many theories about the fetal hearing system, but they have changed in recent years. Some doctors believed the fetus could only hear specific frequencies, most likely high ones. Before Sheila Woodward’s groundbreaking research, a South African who wanted to learn more about the musical sound of the womb, it was not known if we could hear or respond to music. In the early 1990s, she was a young scientist and was pregnant. She wondered what music her child was listening to before she was born. She studied at the University of Capetown and worked with the Institute of Maritime Technology on an underwater microphone that could be used in the uterus.
The team created a small, waterproof hydrophone that measures two inches in length, which doctors considered safe enough to place inside the womb. This mic was used in Woodward’s research. It was put through the cervix of a pregnant mother and placed next to the unborn baby. The mic recorded what was heard inside the uterus as Woodward sang, played music, and sang. The big question was, “Does music exist in the womb? Is it different from what we hear outside?”
Woodward recorded several mothers during early labor, and we hear the rhythmic sound of blood flowing through their uterine arteries. Woodward says, “Nature allows you to evolve with a rhythm all around you.” Her recordings show that there is a musical landscape surrounding the fetus. Woodward’s normal voice can be heard singing the melody of Mary Had a Little Lamb and the sounds of a Bach Brandenburg Concerto. Recordings show that high frequencies, such as the sharp attack of an instrument, are muffled and attenuated. It’s like listening to music underwater. However, it is possible to tell if the voice is male or female by listening to the sound. The tonal quality of the agent is also evident.
The womb does not necessarily hear music, but it doesn’t mean the fetus will. Woodward’s team measured the “startle reaction” of the fetus and found that music can cause a slight increase in fetal heartbeat. Woodward said that it was evident from the way the fetus responded to music. Studies have shown that even though only the mother hears music, if she is wearing headphones and the music is soothing to her ears, the baby’s heartbeat drops while the mother listens. The baby’s heart rate will rise if the mother finds certain pieces too stressful. The fetus then responds to the music’s quality by echoing her mother.
Woodward believes that music is something we learn about before birth. Woodward points out that even if music cannot penetrate the womb, the fetus can still be surrounded by the body’s natural rhythms, such as heartbeat, pulse, and breath.