CARRYING A TUNE Richard J B Willis
It has been said of some people that they could not carry a tune even if it was in a bucket! Research shows that we all carry 'tunes', and not just particular favourites but every piece of music that we have ever heard.
When ever we are exposed to music virtually every part of our brain plays some part in its perception, appreciation (or otherwise), and its storage as a musical memory. Following the transmission of music to the primary auditory areas in the temporal lobes of the brain, other parts of the brain process the pitch, rhythm, metre, melody, timbre and familiarity of the music before storing it as memory along the front edge of the temporal lobes.
There are individual and ethnic differences in the way music is perceived and processed in the brain. For some reason (for example) Japanese folk music is processed predominantly in the left hemisphere of the brain whilst Westerners listening to the same pieces process its appreciation in the right hemisphere. Processing differences are also to be found in the brains of musically trained people in comparison with those of non-musicians.
Disease in any part of the brain can affect parts of the processing. Musical hallucinations occur in some people either as a result of brain damage or epilepsy as these conditions alter the brain chemistry and/or excite the areas where musical memory is stored. It is believed that infants have absolute pitch which, for the majority, changes as they age to relative pitch.
The effect of music on body as well as mind is fairly well documented. Music is said to 'soothe the troubled breast', and so is often featured as a background in areas where anxiety is high such as dental surgeries and hospitals as well as being used therapeutically. Studies show that playing Mozart's music has enhanced IQ; helped people with Alzheimer's disease to function more effectively; and reduce the severity of epileptic fits.
Music also: masks unpleasant sounds and feelings; affects respiration, heartbeat, pulse-rate and blood-pressure; reduces muscle tension, improves body movement and co-ordination; affects body temperature, increases endorphin and regulates stress-related hormone levels; boosts immune function; fosters endurance and productivity; may be erotically stimulating; and changes perceptions of time and space.
Different types and speeds of music affect people in different ways, and this is not related to musical tastes. Motorists were warned last year that what is played on the car stereo can either lull or kill, the former by putting the driver off to sleep, the latter by raising the pulse-rate and incidentally by raising risk-taking rates!
Since music has profound emotional and physical effects what we play and hear, and where such effects can be appropriately catered for, becomes an important issue. Not least music has a spiritual dimension, so there are times and places where some of the physiological effects of music would be completely out of place and be destructive rather than conducive to the reverential awe of worship.