research

Music and the Brain

I have been teaching interdisciplinary courses on the Creative Process for ten years.   One of the most interesting aspects in learning about creativity is to become aware of different kinds of "thinking," the analytical, fact-based kind of thought that is usually associated with the left hemisphere of the brain, and the more intuitive, imaginative kind of thought usually associated with the right hemisphere.   Both kinds of thought are essential to creativity. My fascination with these different modes of thought and how they might impact on the study and performance of music has led me to study the neuroscience of music and what that means to us as performers and teachers.  

Current research in the neuroscience of music confirms that it is a highly complex activity, produced by dedicated neural networks throughout the entire brain.   Further, the two specialized hemispheres of the brain appear to facilitate different musical functions, with the processing of pitch, big picture tonal patterns, timbre imagery, harmony, and imagined music, for example, being processed in the right hemisphere; and rhythm, single tones, and the details of musical analysis activating the left.

Conference Presentations

• Neuroscience 2006, October 2006, Atlanta, GA  
• Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), March 2006, Austin, TX
• Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association (PMTA), November 2006, New Wilmington, PA

Organization Presentations

• Bucks County Association of Piano Teachers, October 2006, Willow Grove, PA
• Philadelphia Association of Piano Teachers, October 2006, Philadelphia PA

Forthcoming

• Music Educators National Conference (MENC), March 2007, Hartford, CT