Favorite Artists?

[BSBDrakeTyler]

Ambi,

I think you confused my reference to old classic vs. classical music. I was referring to the classics of the 50's, 60's, 70's etc. I am still a lover of classical music and have posted many videos of such. While I enjoy listening from time to time songs from that period of time, I prefer to listen these days to young artists such as Cody Simpson, Maroon 5, One Direction and many others.

I do enjoy Maroon 5's style of music as well as Adam Levine.. He has such a distinguished, appreciable voice!

 

[Beth]

I did not know that Seamus Heaney said that about Eminem. That was a very good article!!

& about the classical music & Bach, It is majestic, awe-inspiring, and just peaceful.. I usually listen to that kind of music when I am writing a paper. Very relaxing...

Classical music is actually proven to be excellent to listen to while doing math; the pattern in the music can be expressed in numbers and the rhythm allows for maximum focus. I used to put it on while my students did their math work. While writing papers Drake, try Native American chants. It is also shown to help deepen thought processes and create a better work.

 

[Ambivalent]

I did not know that Seamus Heaney said that about Eminem. That was a very good article!!

& about the classical music & Bach, It is majestic, awe-inspiring, and just peaceful.. I usually listen to that kind of music when I am writing a paper. Very relaxing...

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Drake,

Glad you liked the article about Seamus Heaney and Eminem. There is a real verbal inventiveness about Eminem, that is quite awe-inspiring, for anyone who loves words. And I respect that. Personally, I didn't grow up with rap, but my b/f Mr. K. loves it, so I am interested to keep learning more, about it.

As far as music and its effect on studies and intellectual performance, Drake, there is some evidence to suggest that classical music may give one's capacity for study and creative thought a slight boost. This insight came out of a few studies, almost 30 years ago, which found that college students were able to perform slightly better on various spatial and intellectual tasks, for a short time after listening to Mozart. Of course, the Internet went crazy (because the Internet is not really about SCIENCE) - and dubbed this the "Mozart effect." And thousands of parents went out and bought Mozart College Dudes's, in the hope of improving their infants' intellectual capacity.

Since then, these studies have been the subject of great controversy in the academic community. Some psychologists were able to replicate the (modest) results of the original studies; others were not. If you are interested, here is a detailed synopsis of the research that has been done on this subject, both "pro" and "contra": http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/lerch1/edpsy/mozart_effect.html

Interestingly, though, there have been other studies which suggest that listening to Mozart has particular benefits for epileptics, reducing the occurrence of seizures, by a significant percentage. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21689988 ; https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/treatment/effects-of-other-things-on-treatment/mozart-effect

Unlike Beth, I am not very conversant with the music of North American Indigenous people, and its possible effects on cognition and learning. I do know there have been a number of studies that suggest that Buddhist, Hindu, and Gregorian chants do have an impact in terms of lowering blood-pressure and heart-rate, and inducing calm. However, I think studies of these effects are very much in their infancy, and, it is possible (as some psychologists suggest) that the salutary health-effects come into play chiefly when the listener has a prior, learned, cultural or emotional, connection to the music.

As a student, Drake, one thing you should DEFINITELY be aware of, is the (well-attested) phenomenon of "state-dependent learning." Simply put, there is quite a bit of research out there to suggest that human recall is at its peak when (during the time when the information is to be called up) the body is in the same physical and emotional state, as when the learning first took place. This is most evident with drugs like caffeine, but apparently also can come into play with issues like ambient music. The idea is, if you studied for a big exam while drinking lots and lots of coffee. . . if coffee isn't available in the exam-room, one's natural recall won't work as well. The same is thought to be true of things like listening to music, while studying. . . the idea being, that if one forged mnemonic connections while listening to music, recall will not be as good in an exam-room, which is silent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-dependent_memory

My psychology profs were quite keen on this theory, and always urged it upon me. Consequently, both when I was a student, and later when I was teaching university students, would have (or encourage) recourse to music, when writing papers, and one-off assignments like that: but NEVER WHEN STUDYING for EXAMINATIONS. I think it is best, when studying for an exam, always to try and replicate the conditions you will be experiencing, in the exam-room. (And I would recommend that practice to you, as well.)

Before leaving this (to me, very interesting) topic, I will share one odd little story, with you. About fifteen years ago, I lived in an apartment-building, with a young family living in the apartment directly above me. They had a disconsolate, constantly colicky, baby - which would cry and cry and cry - day and night.

I had a very big stereo, and I love music of all sorts - mostly classical and jazz, but also some rock and pop - and I would play all sorts of music, all the time. (Never at awful volumes, but always aloud from the speakers - earphones and ear-buds are very detrimental to one's hearing, you know.)

It was fascinating to me, Drake, that I could be playing Giuseppe Verdi, Patsy Cline, or Led Zeppelin. . . and that baby would just keep on crying, and crying, and crying. But, whenever I played anything by Mozart, but especially the Mozart piano concertos. . . the baby always STOPPED crying. IMMEDIATELY. And didn't begin crying again, until an hour or two after the Mozart had STOPPED. And this was not just a one-time occurrence. It happened the same way, HUNDREDS of times, over the course of three full years. This still intrigues me.

At any rate, Drake, I don't listen to Mozart for any therapeutic, or intellectual benefit. I listen to Mozart because his music is sublime. And his music is (I believe) the only proof we have, in the modern age. . . that God exists ;-)))

Cheers, and all the best in your studies!
"A" XOXOXOXOXOXOXO