TextThe diva withinMusiccan literallychangethe wayyouthink,discoversarchaeologist StevenMithen whenhelearns to sing1 Can anyone learn to sing? It's a question that haunted meas I was writing my most recent book The SingingNeanderthals. My research had persuaded me that musicalityis deeply embedded in thehuman genome, withfar moreancient evolutionary roots than spoken language. Yet here Iwas, unable to carry a tune or match a rhythm. Friends andacademic colleagues claimed this was simply becausel hadbeen"turned off"from musicasa childand if onlyItookafewlessons I would find my voice.Maybe they were right. Sohumiliated was I by music teachers who made me "sing" alonein front of the class that I dropped music at the firstopportunity and haven't participated in anything musical forover 35 years. Perhaps I could learn to sing.Translation
The diva within Music can literally change the way you think, discovers archaeologist Steven Mithen when he learns to sing. 1 Can anyone learn to sing? It's a question that haunted me as I was writing my most recent book The Singing Neanderthals. My research had persuaded me that musicality is deeply embedded in the human genome, with far more ancient evolutionary roots than spoken language. Yet here I was, unable to carry a tune or match a rhythm. Friends and academic colleagues claimed this was simply because I had been "turned off" from music as a child and if only I took a few lessons I would find my voice. Maybe they were right. So humiliated was I by music teachers who made me "sing" alone in front of the class that I dropped music at the first opportunity and haven't participated in anything musical for over 35 years. Perhaps I could learn to sing. Text
福Text2The more I thought about it, the more I realized that herewas an opportunity not to be missed. As well as testingwhether I could improve my tone, pitch and rhythm, perhaps Icould also find out what was happening inside my brain as Itried to learn how to sing. I had recently read an article byresearcher Larry Parsons at the University of Sheffield, UK,entitled "The song systemof the human brain", and then methim at a conference.More...Translation
2 The more I thought about it, the more I realized that here was an opportunity not to be missed. As well as testing whether I could improve my tone, pitch and rhythm, perhaps I could also find out what was happening inside my brain as I tried to learn how to sing. I had recently read an article by researcher Larry Parsons at the University of Sheffield, UK, entitled "The song system of the human brain", and then met him at a conference. Text
TextWith the helpof functional MRl he had begun to identify which areas of thebrain are recruited when we engage with music. Someof these areas are evidently used for both music andotheractivities and some, suchas the planumpolare, in the temporal lobe, appear to bespecializedforprocessing music.I wantedtoknow whether learning to sing could actuallychange the way my brain workedTranslation
With the help of functional MRI he had begun to identify which areas of the brain are recruited when we engage with music. Some of these areas are evidently used for both music and other activities and some, such as the planum polare, in the temporal lobe, appear to be specialized for processing music. I wanted to know whether learning to sing could actually change the way my brain worked. Text
9TextI emailed Larry just before Christmas in 2005,3suggesting we collaborate on an experiment: I wouldhave my brain scanned while singing, then take oneyear of singing lessons before having another scan tosee whether anything had changed. Larry agreed, soI found myself a singing teacher, Pam Chilvers, andthe three of us met early in 2006 to design the study.More...Translation
3 I emailed Larry just before Christmas in 2005, suggesting we collaborate on an experiment: I would have my brain scanned while singing, then take one year of singing lessons before having another scan to see whether anything had changed. Larry agreed, so I found myself a singing teacher, Pam Chilvers, and the three of us met early in 2006 to design the study. Text
TextWe agreed that I would be tested on eight technicalexercises, covering various musical tasks such assustaining a pitch, singing scales and in rhythm. Iwould also learn two songs: A Gaelic Blessinq by JohnRutter and Lascia ch'io pianga by Handel. Listening toPam sing these reminded me about my motivation forwriting my book: Why should evolution have created aspecies that can sing with such remarkable beauty?Translation2
We agreed that I would be tested on eight technical exercises, covering various musical tasks such as sustaining a pitch, singing scales and in rhythm. I would also learn two songs: A Gaelic Blessing by John Rutter and Lascia ch'io pianga by Handel. Listening to Pam sing these reminded me about my motivation for writing my book: Why should evolution have created a species that can sing with such remarkable beauty? Text