Music on the Mind

I've always thought of music as something positive on then mind, because it not only help entertain, but it also helps relax. But I've always wanted to know if its scientifically true that music can help study, or make it hard to study. When I listen to music with lyrics, it tends to be hard to read something, led alone understanding it. But instrumental music like canon in D seems to work better than when there isn't any music.

Well according to Norman M. Weinberger, a PH.D professor of neuroscientists and behavior at the University of California at Irvine, music does indeed play a important role in or brain function and of course our lives. He stated that "infants have excellent musical abilities that cannon be explained by learning", which is why every mother sing to their children; because they can understand music. According to his research, "certain cells in the right hemisphere respond more to melody than to language". Although it is hard to study how exactly music functions, but it might have some connection to the different keys or tones in music. For example, our neurons would learn to "prioritize some sounds", over others. When a certain tone that signal certain important aspect in life, our cell's response to that tone would increase.

And to answer my question, regarding music incoherence to learning, and studying. Professor Weinberger explains that for string players, because they have to learn to use their left hand to generate the various notes and chords; "the cortical representation of digits 2 to 5 on the left hand... is greater than for the right". Thats more of a physical improvement, and a long term one too. Some other long term effect on the brain however might result in "cognitive rewards", such as language skills, reasoning, creativity, and boosts social adjustment.  Music exercise the brain, in activating different brain systems; a reason why some patients who have forgotten many things dude to some illness will still remember how to play music.

So does music work in a short term situation too? The answer is yes, but to an extents. There was a study call the "Mozart Effect", where college students who listen to Mozart for 10 minutes, perform better on spatial temporal tests, like pattern matching. But the believe that kids can get permanently smarter after 10 minute of Mozart is obscured, cause then everyone would be listening to Mozart and becoming the next Einstein, or Bill Gates. And indeed it is an absurd idea, because the Mozart effect seems to only last a few minutes; as tempting as it sounds for people to try on themselves and/or kids.

So as helpful and important as music is to a person, to our society, and future, why is it that alot of school does not have music programs? I remember having music classes when I was going to school upstate NY and in Long Island. I learned the recorder in elementary school and learned music notes to some extent in middle school. But when I moved back to the city, I didn't have any serious music classes. It is believe that music programs are too expensive for public school, but many people believe that to be a shame. Professor Weinberger stated that "Killing music programs deprives child of intellectual, personal and social benefits". And "by failing to foster musicality, our society is wasting its potential". And if more people can learn and accept music's benefits, more public schools would have music programs in their curriculum.