The Brain and Reading Music  

by Barbara A. Moir, M. Ed.

          Have you bought any books lately on the brain and music?  I have. Lots of them. And they all have one thing in common. They read as if they are covering the whole topic of music but they never mention the music abilities of composers, conductors, or musicians who read music. Instead, they talk about listening to music, improvising and playing "by ear," imitating, and evaluating music. These are aural skills. But what about visual music skills? Some call them "trained music skills."  After all, we have a whole industry out there for published music in the form of lesson books, solos, and ensemble music. Are we to ignore they exist? 

           So I decided someone should tell the whole story. Music and the brain should be about aural skills and visual skills. I began writing a new book about reading music when I stumbled across a little known neurological study from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The study measured the length of neurons in the brain for lots of activities, including aural music and reading symbols. 

          An voila! Next week, on October 14th, my book is coming out as an e-book, soft cover and hard cover. The Neuroscience of Reading Music: Optimal Brain Development in Children Using Standard Notation.  It will be on Amazon and other websites.

           This is one book that covers everything about the brain and music!

                                                                                                                 Until next time,

                                                                                                                              Barbara