A hummingbird making its own vibrant music.
In Sunday’s Concord Monitor, there was a fascinating article on a recent scientific study on how music effects our brains. Listening to music we especially love changes our state of being. This we know from experience. Published in Scientific Reports, the study shows what happens in the brain to create this experience.
The Washington Post reported, “When listening to a preferred genre or a favorite song, the participants had greater connectivity between regions of the brain called the default mode network. The DMN is associated with that switch we can flip between inner and outer thought. When the DMN is active, you’re not focused on what’s happening in the physical world around you – you’re using internal stimuli, like memories and your imagination.”
What’s fascinating is that researchers played music to a person in an MRI and were able to watch what parts of the brain lit up. The implications for music therapy for individual with autism and schizophrenia are vast. But just as great for the rest of us. Researchers found that listening to music we love, regardless of genre, allows us to turn inward with greater self-reflection. This creates a calmer, more centered experience, the chance to re-connect with ourselves at some fundamental level. Connected to ourselves, we can more easily connect to others.
My favorite music these days is a folk tune by Bill Staines, called “Child of Mine.” I play it on the piano, rock myself as I sing the words and think of my adult children, living far away, having the courage to pursue their own musical dreams. When I play this song, it makes me feel more connected to them and reminds me that they will find their way.
What is your favorite music? What does it do for you?
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