Music -- the Key to Sucess?

This is another cool music psychology article...this one dwelling on the connection of a music background with success in other fields. Lots of quotes and anecdotes from big names *outside of music.*


"...many high achievers told me music opened up the pathways to creative thinking. And their experiences suggest that music training sharpens other qualities: Collaboration. The ability to listen. A way of thinking that weaves together disparate ideas. The power to focus on the present and the future simultaneously...

"...the qualities these high achievers say music has sharpened: collaboration, creativity, discipline and the capacity to reconcile conflicting ideas. All are qualities notably absent from public life. Music may not make you a genius, or rich, or even a better person. But it helps train you to think differently, to process different points of view — and most important, to take pleasure in listening."
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/13/20946912-nyt-opinion-is-music-the-key-to-success?lite

One of my favorite quotes is from Woody Allen (clarinet), “If you want to play at all you have to practice. I have to practice every single day to be as bad as I am.” :D

John,
Great read thinks for sharing.

I remember coming home from kindergarten and having to practice piano before I could go play. I have a sister who is 7 years older than me and she wanted to take piano lessons, I was only 4 but remember asking if I could also. So I took them for 2.5 years, by the end I had learned to completely separate my left hand and fingers from my right hand and my fingers and read music. So music was the first written language I learned to read.

Right hand looking at the treble clef, doing as it says, playing the notes required, as the left hand and fingers look at the bass clef, playing different notes and often a different rhythm as required.
Too, many things going on at the same time to count them all.


Then there are people who have problems patting their head while rubbing their belly and singing a song.
Three main things going on.

“Most” peoples bodies will do multiple things at a time, but it must be taught to. It does not surprise me musician score high.

You may have heard the term neuroplasticity. But so far it has been either misconstrued as a reaction by the brain to trauma or disease to grow new capacity in terms of an actual small volume change but a much higher level of physically grown pathways that result in specific advantages. Only Luminosoty, an internet game sight claims to have exercises that make use of it. But this is such primitive think aboout what is actually the central dynamic of how we either progress or atrophy.

Music doesn't specifically work on overall capacity--the way NP works is that constant self challenge will result in growth of specific tissue which allows a person to be particularly adept at what they keep at with motivation. It has been shown with the dissection of human brains of violinists for instance that all has a an enlarged nob of brain tissue in the same spot--it turned out to be the spot that controls the left hand. Tit is not true that they were born with that physiology by the dynamic called neuroplasticity added to the brain matter they needed to do what they spent most of their life trying to be better at. Personally knowing some brilliant musicians I can say however that while they have surely grown specific "hardware" and extra wiring that allows them to make what looks so hard to everyone as child's play to them, the NP dynamic does not unfortunately change a person's nature--say to be more ambitious to succeed by accepting constructive criticism, or considering that others may have talents they have not recognized and thus they have given up on a friend who may turn out to be the best person to halp then put their work into on creative vision that makes a record just because they don't demonstrate the same discipline for music theory.

Enstein's brain was dissected and preserved and his brain had volume grown in different areas making for a 15% larger volume than the size of brain a man should have for his size. But it did not make him and more socially adept. I have been an education reform activist and instructional designer who favors that there are two fundamentals that should be the main criteria for radical reform--on being knowledge of neuroplastic dynamism and the importance of motivation in making the break through that triggers natures provision. And the other being abandonment of passive one-to-many lecture model with one that formalizes a social development imperative where cooperation is finally give the missing emphasis it needs because competition-heavy education turns out a lot of dismissive and arrogant people who are quite capable but would rather die with their secrets than trust and synergize. There is a series on PBS which follows unfolding understanding of truth in these matters whereas unfortunately institutions are so entrenched in self-righteousness I don't think there can be reform from ideas and knowledge through political processes--it has to be done entrepreneurally whre it can prove itself and people will ultimate have to choose between new function and traditional dysfunction.

This not to say that music can't do what the thread staer asserts, just that it matters what his or her motivations are and if social growth has accompanied the development of musical capacity. Some folks can be motivated more by want of superiority to differentiate themselves in their own minds than to achieve a synergistic dialogue with a lot of other people. And the original music often reflects that--either a display of prowess for self indulgent reasons or the want, say of a Ray Davies, one of the most prolific song writers in history to share the joy of having good character. No offense. I'm an old man and finding out that the world has been wrong about who and what we are motivates me to try to share how and what that might mean if someone gets around to fixing it in this century with new models of education that get more out of and accept no failure where we all actually connect with what we do and know why.

The subject of plasticity and how it affects 'our' music has been also touched upon here;

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36124

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36194&page=1&pp=7