Scientific studies of music and language have
always gone hand in hand. There are only a handful of species that are truly “musical,”
and most of these seem to use music as a primary method of communication, so it
is natural that we should wonder about the connection between them. The
connection between music, language, and the brain was a major topic of the
recent Association for Psychological Sciences conference held in Chicago in
early June, according to an article published by CNN around that time. Several
researchers presented findings in topics varying from “ear worms” (a name for
bits of songs that stay stuck in your head) to music’s ability to cause
emotional responses.
One of the more controversial subjects
covered at the conference was the evolution of music. Daniel Levitin, a
neuroscientist who advocates that the behavior of creating music, like many
other behaviors, exists today because it has been sexually selected for, made
the statement that “The structures that respond to music in the brain evolved earlier than
the structures that respond to language.” While this claim fits nicely
with his evolutionary theories, it has been shown to be fairly inaccurate by
neuroscientist and author Gary Marcus in his novel Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning. Marcus
points out first of all that the “structures that respond to music in the brain”
are the same structures as those that
respond to language – they are simply utilized in unique combinations to carry
out different tasks (i.e. responding to a question vs. improvising a jazz
solo).
Marcus also provides several lines of evidence in his book which
indicate that the entire premise of music being selected for evolutionarily is inaccurate.
For one thing, the average musician is not necessarily at an advantage reproduction-wise,
and never really has been (think court jesters in medieval times, for example).
Sure, there is the occasional Jimmy Hendrix or Mick Jagger, but most musicians
struggle to make enough money to get buy, working jobs that most would not
qualify as “sexy.” There is also ample evidence showing that the areas of the
brain responsible for music actually evolved long before music arrived on the scene, and it’s pretty hard to imagine
something being selected for before it exists. Scientists like Levitin often
argue that music evolved because of its ability to bring humans together and
helped us bond, but this is also flawed logic, according to Marcus: music did
not always have to social role it enjoys today, and there are many other
conventions in modern society (like drinking alcohol) that help us be more
social without ever having played a role in our evolution as a species.
Another fascinating speaker at
the conference was Victor Wooten, the highly regarded bassist of Béla Fleck and
the Flecktones. While not a scientist by any means, he touched on another key
concept from Marcus’ novel: how the most effective teachers teach. Wooten first
asked an essential question: if music and language are so closely related, why
do we teach one (music) in a vacuum only during specific periods and with
specific instruments, while the other (language) is taught through total
immersion? Almost all children learn to speak fluently, so why can’t the same
be true for music, if taught the right way? He also made the key observation a
child learning a language is never aware that they are a beginner, never
reminded that they are not following the rules. This description bears a
striking resemblance to a teacher that Marcus describes as “the single most
gifted” that he had ever encountered. One of her secrets? Never use negativity
in any way to teach children music. By only using positive feedback, she is
able to let children “grow” into learning their craft, without feeling hopeless
or giving up. Similarly, Wooten has founded music camps where children are
allowed to learn music in a positive way, without rigid formulaic lessons and
reminders that they are not yet adequate musicians.
Neuroscientists will likely always
be interested in how music and language developed and how they relate. The
history and interaction between the two appears to be complex enough to allow
for many different lines of investigation, from how the two developed and
continue to evolve, to how we can use lessons from one to better teach the
other. The answers promise to change the way we look at song, speech, and the
brain itself.
Sources:
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