Musicians and brain waves

Apparently, musicians who play in unison with others have similar brain activity, according to a new study from researchers of the Max Planck Institute in Germany and the University of Salzburg. The study show that the brain waves of guitarists playing a jazz song together were synchronized.

Eight pairs of guitarists were hooked up to an electroencephalography machine, which measures electrical activity in the brain. The results showed that the more the guitarists played, the more synchronized their brain waves became. Several regions in the brain reflected this synchronicity. The areas where it was the strongest were the frontal and central regions. Other areas affected were the temporal and parietal regions.

BMC Neuroscience, who published this study, suggests that coordinated activities that people do together, like playing music, are preceded and accompanied by brain wave synchronization. The authors say there are many types of activities where two brains coordinate-for example, walking with someone at a set pace, playing sports, dancing or playing music as a group or duet.

To see a video clip of the experiment, visit: www.makingmusicmag.com/vibes/brains.

Interesting study. Wonder the long term implications are of these types of activities? Further thought needed about this as well as research.

New Audiences for the price of a coffee

It seems that some orchestras are trying creative ways to reach audiences. The New World Symphony, a training orchestra in South Beach, Miami is no exception. For $2.50, pocket change that would barely cover the price of the wash and dry cycle at a local laundromat, or a latte at some coffee emporiums, the symphony offered mini concerts in November and April. Wonder why they picked those months?
Each concert ran 20 to 30 minutes and listeners heard a reduced version of the orchestra in the form of a clarinet quintet that played Mozart, Handel and Brahms and Bartok in the symphony's Lincoln Theatre home. Dress was casual, so patrons in flip-flops and shorts could attend a concert without the fear of being turned away or forced to wear a rental jacket.
What a wonderful idea but what does this do for the symphony? Hopefully, it will encourage some of these patrons to reconsider their musical choices.
April's concert brought in more than 900 listeners.
"We intend to lower the threshold for everyone who passes our theater," says Howard Herring, president of the New World Symphony orchestra academy.
Certainly musicians need to look at new ways of reaching audiences. Hope that this works.

Luthier, Linda Manzer

Now, that I am officially retired from teaching, I am looking for other possibilities. One of those possibilities will not be Luthier. Recently, I read an article about people whose careers are outside the norm: fireman, teacher, Indian Chief.
Linda Manzer is a master Luthier who builds guitars for the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Pat Metheny, Carlos Santana and Liona Boyd. Quite the rooster of guitarists. Manzer's reputation has spread world-wide and she builds guitars for a select few. She is so busy that she has closed her public order book and only works for on special projects which keeps her quite busy.
Now that is an interesting career opportunity.

Jellyfish to solve Alzheimer's

Amazing, after 15 years of watching jellyfish protein glow, Mark Underwood is finally seeing the flicker of real progress.
This month, Quincy Bioscience, the Wisconsin company co-founded by Underwood, received a U. S. patent for the jellyfish protein aequorin.
Last month, they released test results that showed the protein does improve memory.
This fall, they're trying for the gold standard: human clinical trials on people with the first stages of Alzheimer's and dementia to see if, finally there is something that works on a disease that destroys millions of aging minds.
Tests reported that people who "had a memory concern" saw better scores in 60 days of taking the jellyfish protein.
What a wonderful thing if this group finds a cure for Alzheimer's. "If we can push Alzheimer's back by five years, we can reduce it by 50 per cent. The challenge is keeping the brain alive."

Music Therapy

Wonderful to read about medical cures that are non-intrusive. I know that this is not always possible but marvellous when it happens. Music Therapy is one of those medical therapies that does not require any actual medical interventions. It is for those who can not be reached any other way or to help patients on their journey. Sometimes, patients have few resources left except to enjoy music and what it can bring to their lives. It is fascinating that music is one of the last skills that leaves us. Drum circles seem to work well with many patients. And sometimes, patients can even work at higher level musical skills. What a wonderful opportunity to be able to help. Read about these therapies in an article: Empowering Souls, Music Therapy unleashes imagination to heal. The article in an older issue of Making Music, July/August 2009.
Perhaps, this is one of the reasons that the Taffanel Wind Ensemble, a group that I am part of enjoys playing at seniors' homes so much. We are able to bring something special to people's lives.
(You can read more about the trio on www.taffanelwindensemble.blogspot.com. )

Laptop launches author at 80

Now that I have more free time, some friends have encouraged me to do more writing. Well, I discovered what might help. A laptop. It seems that author, Liam Dwyer who started on his 80th birthday received the impetus to work on books when he was given a laptop for his 80th birthday. Since then he has written 5 books, mysteries that take place in Muskoka. Apparently, he has sold more than 4,000 copies of the book at Sleuth of Baker Street which is one of my favourite book stores.
As well as selling books, a film company is now looking into filming his books as a television series.
Time to get that laptop.

Problems?

As I reflect on my issues, my problems seem minor to those of some friends. I need to find a roofer and that search is nearly over. We will be picking a roofer on the weekend and then getting the work set. As I look for a roofer, I begin to realize that it is a very competitive field, perhaps because people think that it is easy that they can do it. The margins are similar, with the exception of one company, all the others are coming in at relatively the same amount. The difficult part is to decide which company I feel most comfortable with.
After the roof is painting. Now one company that I am not eager to deal with is one that called me last night and it sounded like they were yelling at me for not calling back after they had told me they were on a cell in the car. Don't yell at a potential customer. It is not their fault that you were in the car and not able to answer your cell. I will certainly pick a company with someone who I can talk to. I understand that things might happen and want to be able to discuss what might have gone wrong or needs extra attention.
After that, I think that it is the fence that needs attention among other things. There are plenty of projects to be dealt with.
This is all easy because I can set time lines. A good friend is experiencing many difficulties which seem to be hitting him one after another. The most recent is that his partner had a car accident when he blacked out. The car was totaled which is a serious problem. The car was old so it is unlikely that they will get much from the insurance company and in fact the insurance company may argue that my friend's partner should not have been driving due to his medical history. This is an issue that he can not deal with right now. His partner is in emergency and has been for two days. There does not seem to be room in the hospital proper at this time. Hopefully today will be a better day.
His partner was driving because he wanted to be part of the search for his brother who went missing a couple days ago with two dogs. One dog turned up and the other has not been seen and the brother has not been seen as well. The searchers did a grid search yesterday and will keep searching today.
This is all much more difficult to deal with. Roofing and painting are simple.