This Is Your Brain On Music Notes

from Chapter 2 "Foot Tapping" p.57

..."It is no coincidence that making music requires the coordinated, rhythmic use of our bodies, and that energy be transmitted from body movements to a musical instrument. At a neural level, playing an instrument requires the orchestration [italics mine] of regions in our primitive, reptilian brain - the cerebellum and the brain stem - as well as higher cognitive systems such as the motor cortex (in the parietal lobe) and the planning regions of our frontal lobes, the most advanced region of the brain."

orchestration - a synonym for integration?

Developing Mind Overview

Overview of The Developing Mind, 2nd edition (incomplete)

Mind, Brain, Relationships - introductory 

Definition of Mind:  The mind is an embodied and relational process which regulates the flow of energy and information.

• it is within the brain and between brains
• the mind is an emergent property or process arising from the distributed nervous system and from communication patterns occurring in relationships
• both experiences (especially within relationships) and the genetically programmed maturation of the nervous system determine the structure and function of the developing mind
• the mind is more than the sum of its parts [that suggests something transcendent or at least separate from its parts, yet if it is merely emergent or entirely dependent on the brain/relationships, in what way is it more than those dependencies?]

The Buddhist definition of mind: That which is knowing and clear. Perhaps it could also be defined as wisdom realizing the emptiness of inherent existence, and as far as I understand it that which knows (subject) and those things which are known (objects) are considered to be of one nature (dependently originated with no fixed or findable essence).

After defining the mind, on page 5-6:

"The implications of this definition are significant...One implication is that we don't "own" our minds - that we, our individual "selves", are interdependent on others for the functioning of our minds.  This relational part of the definition makes some people uncomfortable. Yet if you are in a family, or in a one-to-one relationship, you know that your subjective, inner mental life is profoundly influenced by others...And so what we need is a link that connects the social with the synaptic."

Developing Mind 1st edition Notes

from the "Representations" chapter (1st ed, taken 11/13/12 at 11:52am):

p.164 -  modules of the mind create and handle specific kinds of representations:

• sensory
• perceptual
• abstract reasoning
• conceptualization of other minds

-  these different perceptual modules/processes can become linked within a single experience

--> What are the different "modules" which are activated in playing the piano and/or giving/taking a piano lesson?

Sensory (Perceptual includes memories of past sensations)

• sight: 
• the notes on the page 
• the piano keys 
• the room/environment 
• the student/teacher 
• (the "audience")
• hearing 
• environmental and/or "silence" 
• the physical instrument (mechanism/action of piano) 
• fingernails on keys
• pedal noise
• Attack Sustain Decay Release of sound
• frequencies
• timbre
• touch
• fingers on keys
• butt on seat
• feet on pedals/floor
• (smell)
• (taste)

What are the points of convergence/divergence with Buddhist classification of 7 mind types and/or dualities of the mind?

p. 165 - Internal sensations (bodily motion, states of arousal, temperature, muscle tension) are "especially integrated on the right side of the brain"

p.166 - these, I think, would still be considered "symbols" because they are neuronal interpretations of the thing itself

- there are "presymbolic" representations which are closer to thing itself (The Mind Only School in Tibetan Buddhism would have something to say about this)

p.167 - all these would be considered "prelinguistic"

- a concept is also prelinguistic (ex. freedom, justice, categories like "mammals", etc.)

p.168 - Linguistic Representations: how much of these are needed for music/making/learning?

Question: what are the generalized imbalances in our culture today and how can they be described mentally/neurobiologically?

--> knowing these imbalances, and knowing the mental/neurological correlates/substrates of music-making/learning, we can emphasize aspects of the playing/learning process which could correct the imbalance! 

To what extent could the case be made for compulsory musical education? . . .or . . . are there ways to teach compulsory subjects such as reading, writing, and math in more musical and therefore more effective ways?