Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Music Makers & Brain Function

In just about all of the articles about music and the brain, one of the points being made is that music engages and coordinates activities in multiple areas of the brain. If there is a human activity that uses as many, or more, areas of the brain, it hasn't been mentioned in any of the articles.

One of the underlying principles of music therapy is working to find the best way for each individual to go about learning how to make music and then how to improve their music making. Individuals are going to have variations of strengths and weaknesses (and individual characteristics) in the various areas of the brain involved.
 
The more we learn about these different areas and their involvement in making music, I think it will help us better tailor learning strategies for individuals. The better, and more complete, the evaluation of the client, the more effective the therapist can be. We need to improve our working understanding of what the different parts of the brain are up to and how that plays out in individuals.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Lyle,
    It's nice to run across your blog and your writings! I'm a board-certified music therapist and use research-based interventions to elicit positive change in the medical, corporate, enrichment, and wellness settings. I certainly agree with you that assessment in treatment planning is essential. Thank you for sharing your perspective. I'd be honored if you perused through my blog. Best wishes to you, Kat

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  2. Kat - Thanks so much for the comment. You're the first music therapist to do so here, so that's a milestone for me. Knowing there's an actual music therapist out there who might be reading some of the posts is great.

    Clicking over to your blog now.

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