Posted on 10/16/2011 6:08:54 PM PDT by decimon
Auditory working memory and attention, for example the ability to hear and then remember instructions while completing a task, are a necessary part of musical ability. But musical ability is also related to verbal memory and literacy in childhood. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Behavioral and Brain Functions shows how auditory working memory and musical aptitude are intrinsically related to reading ability, and provides a biological basis for this link.
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Dr Kraus explained, "Both musical ability and literacy correlated with enhanced electrical signals within the auditory brainstem. Structural equation modeling of the data revealed that music skill, together with how the nervous system responds to regularities in auditory input and auditory memory/attention accounts for about 40% of the difference in reading ability between children. These results add weight to the argument that music and reading are related via common neural and cognitive mechanisms and suggests a mechanism for the improvements in literacy seen with musical training."
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
hunh funny i thought it had something to do with listening.
Amazing how we keep hearing the same research over and over and over again with the same results.
Have these scientists just run out of new stuff to study ???
cool. thanks.
What does your ability to sing have to do with musical aptitude?
I've always been a good reader and had no musical training. What I think is crucial is that parents should read to their children every single day.
They should also take them to the library every few weeks until they can drive themselves.
As an anecdote, I taught myself to read around age 4, was reading at a 12th grade level in 3rd grade, and scored an 800 on the GRE verbal.
I like music but have zero musical ability - played the drums for one year in 5th grade.
What a crock! I played in the exclusive Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra when I was a kid but have dyslexia and reading has always been hard for me.
that’s great. . . . My mom taught me to read around the age of three or four, and read to us daily. I will always be very grateful. I was able to enjoy classic books and understand them at a younger age than most. What a wonderful world opened up to me when I learned to read! But if our mother had neglected this, things would have been so different. She placed a priority on it.
Here's a way-out-there-in-left-field observations... If you've ever wondered (like me) whether or not any other technologically advanced ETs out there (if such exist) have musical traditions, the claim in this article might have implications for it.
I was listening to a program about talented young classical musicians. One was also in a combined MD/PhD program at some Ivy school--at the age of 13.
I’m not sure there’s any known human society which lacked music. Music and speech are obviously related. I always thought Chinese had a “sing-song” quality. That’s because it’s a tonal language, and shifts in pitch convey different meanings. Even in Western languages, vowels are basically sung. Most Western instruments approximate the vocal range of the human voice. E.g. violins: soprano, viola: alto, cello: baritone, double bass: bass.
I have little to no musical ability. I listen to AM radio. For ten years running, by popular demand, I was NOT in the church choir. Next to me, toy pianos have perfect pitch.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
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I have little to no musical ability. I listen to AM radio. For ten years running, by popular demand, I was NOT in the church choir. Next to me, toy pianos have perfect pitch.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
I have a good memory and outstanding reading ability.
Can’t sing or play an instrument to save my life.
That’s completely wrong. I have no musical ability but I’ve been reading since I was 4. When I was in 3rd grade they ran out of spelling words for me. I see words in my head and never forget them. I was a lit major and worked for my professor reading & grading papers. That requires a certain amount of ability, I think.
Cindie
Not only can’t sing, I can’t even strum out a tune on a washboard.
” I can’t even strum out a tune on a washboard.”
Hehe...If you COULD that’d be some trick !
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