Sunday 4 July 2010

You can sing even though you can't speak.

It’s a common sense that people who are mute cannot sing because speaking and singing must use the same organ; however, do you believe that the patients who are not able to speak can sing? There is a therapy called “melodic intonation therapy” for stroke patients with brain damage who are not able to speak. I’ve just know that speaking and singing affect different side of brain, so they can sing even if they cannot speak.

From BBC news, “Singing ‘rewires’ damage brain”, Professor Schlaug told that most of the linking between the area of movement and hearing are on left side of the brain, but if the patients learn to speak with melodies, these linking will perform on right side of the brain, which in turn, they can communicate by singing. He tried to use this therapy with stroke patients who are not able to speak simple words, as the consequence, the patients can say the word “I am thirsty” by join each syllable with the melodies. Furthermore, other researchers try to study about the connection between music and brain. They believe that music play an important role in education. Some researchers, Dr. Kraus, found that music can improve the skill to do the task, such as reading.

Before I read this news, I just thought that people listen to music for entertain and relax themselves but I never imagine that music really helpful for human beings. However, I’m wondering if kinds of music affect the brain in the different way. In other words, do hard-core music and classic music result in the same way? In my opinion, if we listen to the wrong kind of music, such as hard-core music for long time, it can be harmful much more than be useful.

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References
Gill, V. (2010, Feb 21). Singing 'rewires' damaged brain. BBC News. Retrieved July 4, 2010 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8526699.stm

8 comments:

  1. When you say that the wrong kind of music " can be harmful much more than be useful", what do you mean exactly?

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  2. I have heard that music has bee used for many kinds of therapies, this one is new for me. I think even for normal people, singing can help to improve speaking skill as well.

    There might be some awful lyrics or music, but I never came across wrong kind of music. This really depends on personal preference. Classical music may annoy some people as Hard-core music may be able to help some people to get rid of their negative emotion.

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  3. That's interesting. I think patients recognize words as sounds, not as words or languages.
    I don't speak Thai, but I can sing some Thai songs. It means, I use the right side of my brain, when I listen or play Thai songs.

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  4. Perhaps, I should sing English song in order that I can articulate clearly !

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  5. Dear Peter, I'm sorry that I unclear about the wrong kind of music. Actually, I mean that some kind of music can be harmful such as hard-core music, or music that has very loud noise. In my point of view, such music will affect your health negatively especially at your ear and your brain.

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  6. Bright,
    Won't too loud classical music also harm your hearing, while softly played hard-core won't?
    I think it's the loudness rather than the type of music that is the danger.

    I sometimes think that pop music destroys brains the way that almost all TV does, but perhaps that's just my prejudice. And I have to admit an enduring nostalgic fondness for Abba and a few other examples of ultra-pop from the past. (My excuse is that I was a young and impressionable teenager.)

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  7. Sometimes, I usually listen to hard-core music or music from other countries that I can't understand the meaning at all. I listen to those musics when I have do to works at night and I need musics to make me more enthusiastic and energetic to fight with drowsiness.
    If you are interested about other countries music, please tell me later I can suggest some for you. Iceland, Scandinavian countries, The Netherlands even for Japan have a lot of intriguing musics , a lot of melodies you have never heard it before.
    Just open your mind. Musics always are not right or wrong. It's only you enjoy it or not.

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  8. This therapy is very helpful. Although they lack function of speaking, they are not deprived of ability to connect with music through singing.
    Personally, I believe any kinds of music have their own advantages. The real point is you should employ it during the right time, in the right place and with the right man. It also depends on occasions and purposes.

    ReplyDelete

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