Musical Pathways

Gary Burton, vibraphonist, on formative impact of music education

Burton believes the pleasure of music has a formative impact on the brain. In a sense, entertainment is education. It helps a child grow. At certain early ages, Burton says, the playing of musical instruments can awaken certain neural pathways in the brain to a new level of intelligence and dexterity — physical, emotional, and intellectual. "Musical information is deeply embedded in the brain," he says. "Alzheimer's patients, long after they have forgotten faces and names, can still sing songs they learned as children."

page 36 TED 9 (Technology Entertainment Design), Fast Company, 1999.

And so for day 576
11.07.2008