Your Brain’s Playlist

By: Tina Davidson

This is me with “Tina” in Germany circa 2000.  Photo Credit: One of my college roommates. 

Music evokes strong emotions and can bring back memories long forgotten.

When I hear the song, “Cotton Eye Joe,” by Rednex, I am transported back to college and I picture myself surrounded by friends dancing under a black light.

I never really thought of my current playlist (Cotton Eye Joe, you didn’t make the cut) as a scientific tool, but now that’s changed.

Read All About It

My mindset has changed thanks to the book, “Your Playlist Can Change Your Life.” It boasts, “10 Proven Ways Your Favorite Music Can Revolutionize Your Health, Memory, Organization, Alertness, and More.”

Now that’s some big claims. I haven’t finished the book yet, but I’m listening to a lot of music and paying better attention to it.

Parental Advisory:  Stick to the songs that bring back good vibes.

Brain Tunes

Chapter 10, “How to Use Your Brain’s Own Music,” intrigued me the most. Music can be made from your brain’s own waves and added to your playlist.

Bonus Track:  Google “Brain Music Therapy” (BMT) and “Galina Mindlin“– once you’ve discovered BMT, there might be a cure for your insomnia after all.

Pump up the Volume

Here’s a few songs from my Summer Playlist:

I may regret my choices later (but all scientists have a work in progress, right?)

• “Shake Shake Shake (Shake Your Booty)”- KC & the Sunshine Band

• “Help”- The Beatles

• “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard”- Blotto

• “Last Night a DJ Saved my Life”- Indeep

• “Obviously 5 Believers”- Old Crow Medicine Show

• “Can’t Stop the Feeling”- The Piano Guys

 

Where’s the Show?

There’s nothing quite like hearing your playlist songs performed live. I doubt I’ll hear any of my summer playlist songs at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center any time soon, but looks like the 2017-2018 season is going to be a good one.

Do you have a favorite local performing arts center? Here’s my top picks of the upcoming Cal Poly Arts shows (wish I could afford to attend them all):

• Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends- Oct 8

• Steep Canyon Rangers- Jan 21

• Improvised Shakespeare- March 16

• Black Violin- Feb 17

• Itzhak Perlman- Jan 16

• Michael Feinstein- Jan 26

• Andrew Bird- Oct 16

• Koresh Dance Company- April 14

• Cameron Carpenter- Feb 26

• Brasil Guitar Duo- Oct 14

I Heard you on the Wireless

Special thanks to Cal Poly DJ, “Jack Funk,” for pouring out the groovy tunes on Wednesday evenings on KCPR (congrats on your graduation). My boys enjoyed listening to your show during our twenty-minute commute to gymnastics.

They’ll never forget that:

“Last night a DJ saved my life with a song.” Lyrics by Indeep

 

Happy listening! Here’s to a happy and healthy brain.

Please share your summer playlist in the comments.

 

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Have you read, “Peak–Secrets from the New Science of Expertise”?

By: Tina Davidson

Did you ever dream of becoming great at something? Maybe it was singing or playing piano?

Well, with enough deliberate practice you might just make your dreams come true.

I’ve been reading,”Peak–Secrets from the New Science of Expertise,” by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool. I recommend you pick up a copy. It is fascinating stuff and I won’t give away too much. Let’s just say I was especially impressed with the memorization skills of London taxi drivers.  I was also quite intrigued with Laszlo Polgar’s experiment–his goal was to raise three genius children. It seems he succeeded.

Here’s my favorite quote from Peak (pg. 179):

“Deliberate practice can open the door to a world of possibilities that you may have been convinced were out of reach. Open that door.”

I hope I’ve shared enough to “peak” your interest about the book.

Let me know what you think!

 

 

Musical Instruments and Your Brain

By: Tina Davidson

Do you have a favorite instrument? Did you know playing a musical instrument is like giving your brain a full-body workout?

In a previous post, I mentioned the brain benefits of playing the ocarina. Recently, I found the following video about how playing an instrument benefits your brain, thanks to one of my favorite blogs, Inside the Brain. It is a TedEd Lesson worth sharing. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Who knew you’d get better executive function skills just by busting out some tunes? Enjoy the video and here’s to many happy hours of practicing! Here’s what I’ll be playing.