Want to make your parents happy but live with someone who doesn’t “get” you? Marry a doctor. Want someone who understands what you’re feeling but piss off your parents? Marry a musician. So goes the gist of a recent article on PhysOrg.com.
According to the European Journal of Neuroscience, musical training enhances a person’s ability to pick up on subtle auditory cues to another’s emotional state. The earlier the musical training starts, the more-highly developed this ability becomes.
The study reports that researchers measured the brainstem processing of three acoustic correlates (pitch, timing and timbre) in musicians and non-musicians to a scientifically-validated emotion sound. The musicians were able to pick up on the emotional state as fast as fifty milliseconds, as opposed to the non-musicians, who I suppose continued watching the game and muttering “Yes, dear.” Musicians can focus their “neural resources” more economically and more quickly on the important, emotional aspect of sound. Investigators believe that these findings can be extrapolated into other non-auditory, yet emotionally-significant, situations.
Autism and Asberger’s syndrome are disorders where emotional perception is impaired. One of the researchers suggests that musical training might promote emotion processing in these populations. Frankly, considering the worldwide inability for just about everyone to perceive emotional intent and meaning, here’s hoping that music education isn’t first on the block in the upcoming budget cutting frenzy.
So…if you’re special someone, who happens to be a world-class clarinet player, asks, “You sound upset. Is everything OK?” don’t just say “I’m fine,” because they already knew the correct answer fifty milliseconds after you opened your mouth.
The American Response
Angel Santos of Alkali, New Mexico, took a deep drag off her cigarette before commenting bitterly, “My boyfriend, Colt, played guitar in a Molly Hatchet cover band for twelve years, and now he can’t hear a damned thing I say. He couldn’t pick out my emotion if I yelled ‘F*** you!’ in his ear for an hour straight. I know, ’cause I’ve done that. Hell, for Valentine’s Day he gave me a twofer coupon to Arby’s and a cassette of 38 Special’s greatest hits. I hate him.” She thoughtfully considered the findings reported in the European Journal. “Nahh. Them orchestra boys are all pussies. I’d just wind up kicking their asses anyway.”
Tags: Music, psychology, Science, Science of the Weird
