Pitch as Communication and Brain Activity.
As a composer of therapeutic music, what
I find interesting is that speech and
music are similar forms of communication.
The way people communicate though
speech or music is by changing the pitch of the sound (Patel, 2008).
By changing the pitch, you change the meaning of what is being communicated (Patel,
2008). For example, people speak differently depending on who they’re
communicating with. For
example, in a study, men would lower their voices and women would raise the
pitch of their voices when talking to a person they consider attractive
(Faletto, 2017).
In terms of how sound relates to the
brain, especially in speech, there are tens of thousands of neurons in the part
of the brain that controls the movement patterns in the lips, tongue, and
larynx. (Watson, 2018). It accomplishes this task because neurons contain cells
within the nervous system that transmit information to other nerve cells,
muscles, or gland cells (The Neuron,
2012). The best way to think of how this system works is to think of how cell phones operate. Cell phones send out
radio waves from one cell phone to another; similar to cell phones neurons generate electrical impulses to
receive or send messages from one neuron to another.
The point being made is that “’Each area that controls a movement is like
playing a chord on the piano’, … and
when all these chords come together, music is made. In a similar way, when different areas of the
sensory motor cortex are activated, fluid speech is made” (Watson, 2018). The
best way to think of how the motor cortex works is that it operates in steps (The
Activation Sequence, 2012). So, if you need to take an elevator, you would
press the up button, step in, wait until you reach the floor, and then walk
out.
In conclusion, the higher the pitch,
the more neural activity in the brain sites occur (Watson, 2018). What happens
is that the higher the pitch, the higher the frequency (sound) which changes
the electromagnetic waves (e.g., electric charge) that circulate currents within the body. I
believe through studying the activity of pitch, we will have a better, more
important understanding of how to use music to stimulate neural networks to
enhance brain activity.
Faletto,
Joanie. February 1, 2017, Your Voice Changes When You Talk to Someone
Attractive.
Patel,
Aniruddh H. (2008), Music, Language and the Brain. New York, Oxford University Press.
The Neuron,
Apr 4, 2012, BrainFacts.org
The
Activation Sequence for the Motor Areas, Apr
4, 2012, BrainFacts.org
Watson,
Sara Kiley (July 27, 2018), How The Brain Helps You Sing Or Say What You Mean;
NPR;
Nuance
Crusaders by Mark R. Baldridge, Thursday, October 3, 2019
#nuance4health,
#health, #brainresearch, #music, #musictherapy, #relax, #relaxataion
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