Music and the human brain

Not sure this thread is in the right place, but, hey, who am i to talk? Nice idea and it'd be interesting to hear from some people with a strong scientific background on this. In my own very amateurish way i always wondered about the nature of the correlation between rhythmic pulsations which are natural to the body and what seems to be a pretty universal human interest in rhythm and melody.

Y'all should read Music, the Brain, and Ecstacy. Great book.

RootyTootoot said:

....... In my own very amateurish way i always wondered about the nature of the correlation between rhythmic pulsations .....

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Rhythmic pulsations suggests to me, in my very amateurish way also, the fact that since one uses only one side of their brain at any one precise time, that a rhythm is created from or by this back and forth (inter)action. Furthermore your mind, or an overseeing cognitive perspective, could contribute to this rhythmic pulsation. Maybe this is my/one's subconscious working, I dunno.

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---Thread moved to a better location (i think)... better suggestion? Plz tell away. Anyhow, interesting topic! ---

Where did you hide it?

that guy talks too much my attention span is only 7 seconds.. anyway back to playing xbox 360

read "This is your Brain on Music" It addresses this exact question.

"Rhythmic pulsations suggests to me, in my very amateurish way also, the fact that since one uses only one side of their brain at any one precise time"

Sounds good, but this is a myth. Not only are both sides of the brain fully active at once, but that stuff about some people being left- or right-brained is mythology too. If only one side of the brain were active at once, you could only move one side of your body at a time - a disadvantage to many sax players.

JazzItUp said:

that guy talks too much my attention span is only 7 seconds.. anyway back to playing xbox 360

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Dear Jazzy Itup,

I think I may have just the thing for you. I am developing a most interesting piece of software. It is a work in progress but my...[take a break here]

..[resume]..working title is "Seven Second Sax Man". Would you be interested in doing some testing when the software is ready? [another 7 second break]

I have a version for X Box.

Yours sincerely.
RootyTootoot.

"This Is Your Brain on Music," as Robenco15 mentioned, is great for this discussion. The author started out as a professional sax player, then went back to school to become a neuroscientist. He explains that the elements of music like harmony and melody are all relative. He compares music to grammar; how you interpret it depends on what you are used to hearing and what feels right. Very interesting topic.