Spring Break
Musical improvisation illuminates how we make decisions
Issue date: 10/29/09
After hearing an extraordinary musical piece, you might wish to share the talent of the genius behind the work. Inadvertently, you are asking to share the unique function of his brain.
In a recent study, Aaron Berkowitz and Daniel Ansari collaborated to explore the differences between the brains of musical experts and individuals who have had little to no musical training. Berkowitz is affiliated with the Hopkins School of Medicine and the Department of Music at Harvard University.
Subjects participating in the study were 12 classically trained undergraduate pianists from the Dartmouth College Music Department, whose average training time was 13.5 years.
The other 12 subjects were general Dartmouth students.
The criterion for their recruitment was less than three years of learning and/or playing an instrument. Eight of these subjects had no previous training whatsoever, and the average playing time for the rest was 0.67 years.
Each subject was asked to complete four tasks on a piano with five keys. In the first test, called Patterns/Metronome, subjects listened to seven melodies with simple note sequences like CCCCC, or CDEFG. They were instructed to choose one of the sequences and play one note per beat based on a two-beat-per-second metronome.
The second test was called Melodic Improvisation/Metronome. In this test, the subjects created original melodies to the rhythm of the metronome.
In the third test, Patterns/Rhythmic Improvisation, subjects played one of the five simple melodies from the first test, while inventing their own rhythms.
Finally, in the fourth test, Melodic Improvisation/Rhythmic Improvisation, subjects invented melodies (as in the second test) without a metronome (as in the third test). In this test, subjects were allowed both melodic and rhythmic freedom.
The tests each lasted 40 seconds, and subjects were allotted a 30-second rest time in between tests. The results were processed using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. An fMRI is a subset of an MRI scan, and measures the change in blood flow in relation to neural activity in the brain.
In a recent study, Aaron Berkowitz and Daniel Ansari collaborated to explore the differences between the brains of musical experts and individuals who have had little to no musical training. Berkowitz is affiliated with the Hopkins School of Medicine and the Department of Music at Harvard University.
Subjects participating in the study were 12 classically trained undergraduate pianists from the Dartmouth College Music Department, whose average training time was 13.5 years.
The other 12 subjects were general Dartmouth students.
The criterion for their recruitment was less than three years of learning and/or playing an instrument. Eight of these subjects had no previous training whatsoever, and the average playing time for the rest was 0.67 years.
Each subject was asked to complete four tasks on a piano with five keys. In the first test, called Patterns/Metronome, subjects listened to seven melodies with simple note sequences like CCCCC, or CDEFG. They were instructed to choose one of the sequences and play one note per beat based on a two-beat-per-second metronome.
The second test was called Melodic Improvisation/Metronome. In this test, the subjects created original melodies to the rhythm of the metronome.
In the third test, Patterns/Rhythmic Improvisation, subjects played one of the five simple melodies from the first test, while inventing their own rhythms.
Finally, in the fourth test, Melodic Improvisation/Rhythmic Improvisation, subjects invented melodies (as in the second test) without a metronome (as in the third test). In this test, subjects were allowed both melodic and rhythmic freedom.
The tests each lasted 40 seconds, and subjects were allotted a 30-second rest time in between tests. The results were processed using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. An fMRI is a subset of an MRI scan, and measures the change in blood flow in relation to neural activity in the brain.
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