The Lessons of Music
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Music is a universal experience. With the recent discovery of a 35,000 year old flute, man now understands that music has been a part of human experience for longer than the age of that flute. Recent research indicates that to process music, humans use nearly every area of the brain. Music practice and performance develops skills which transfer to other activities. These include language skills, math skills, memory skills, motor skills and social skills, among others. Deeper tools of self discovery and learning include the capacity for correction, construction, creation, discipline and determination. Further benefits include the cultivation of emotional intelligence; diligence through practice and persistence; perseverance, perspective, perspicacity, patience, respect, responsibility, reflection, improved time management and others.
The corpus callosum is the connective tissue in the brain, which coordinates the two hemispheres. Musicians grow larger corpus callosum than practitioners of any other discipline. Although still in discussion as to which came first: language or music, the conclusion is certain that they both play an integral role. The average American listens to six hours of music each day. There is no question that the training of playing a musical instrument enhances a persons' life. Students in music programs score 50 points higher on standardized tests, they achieve better grade point averages, and 90% of them go on to courses of higher learning.
Students of music therefore prepare themselves for long term learning of skills on many levels. Neurons in the brain grow slowly for our survival. This preparation takes application on a regular basis for an extended period: six weeks for muscles to learn new movements, nine months for ligaments and tendons to learn new skills and years for maturation. To become a master at anything, one must apply practice for 10,000 hours. At three hours each day, this takes 10 years. At one hour a day, this takes 30 years. It has been thought that our brains fully and finally mature, inclusive of the executive functions, by about age 26. However, new research shows that our brains are plastic. This neuroplasticity occurs at the Quantum level. We understand that changes resulting from our own effort are possible and this translates to observable changes in the brain. Awareness, consciousness, will, mental force: these words signal to us that through practice we can become better at what we do. Music creates immediate feedback for our own decision making process. By listening carefully to what we create; by changing and improving as we do, we learn the most basic and fundamental of skills.
Throughout The Lessons of Music, we use thoughtful technique, established musical methods, and creative encouragement to help students achieve a sense of mastery of these skills, to make for ourselves better happier lives, under our control. These are the goals of Octavemode.