Search Results for: music

Bionic Ear Lab Improves Music Listening for Cochlear Implants

Dr Raymond Goldsworthy, head of the Bionic Ear Lab in the USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, understands the importance of music listening. He lost his hearing at the age of thirteen, just as he was beginning to learn the drums. Like every teenager, he was just beginning his journey into the seemingly limitless world of music, when a bout with spinal meningitis and the ensuing treatment damaged his hearing.

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How Do Humans Perceive Music, Sounds?

When we hear a song that we already know, we can identify it even if it is not an exact version of the original. If it sounds higher or lower, faster or slower, or if the instruments are different from the known version, humans can identify it even if there are these superficial changes to the melody.

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Is Music a Universal Language?

Are we all imagining the same thing when we listen to music, or are our experiences hopelessly subjective? In other words, is music a truly universal language? To investigate those questions, an international team of researchers (including a classical pianist, a rock drummer, and a concert bassist) asked hundreds of people what stories they imagined when listening to instrumental music.

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Loud Live Music Versus Loud Recorded Music

During this time of Covid, we haven’t been able to attend live concerts, symphonies, or opera events. While musicians are just now beginning to perform live for the first time in months, if not years, the question arises about the dynamics (loud/soft features) of loud music.

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What Is the Best Musical Instrument for My Hard-of-Hearing Child? 

From time to time, I am asked about the best musical instrument for someone’s child who is hard of hearing. If this were the 1960s, I may have said drums. However, today that 60-year-old answer would be quite simplistic given the advancement of knowledge (and politics) surrounding hearing loss and hearing aid/cochlear implant technology.

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Mapping the Musical Mind

Researchers in Japan used magnetic resonance imaging to study the brains of secondary school students during a task focused on musical observation. They found that students trained to play music from a young age exhibited certain kinds of brain activity more strongly than other students. The researchers also observed a specific link between musical processing and areas of the brain associated with language processing for the first time.

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Brain Reacts to Music During Quiet

The results collectively reveal how the brain continues responding to music, even when none is playing, and provide new insights into how human sensory predictions work. An article detailing the research appears on the Trinity College Dublin website.

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Three Distinct Hearing Aid Programs for Music?

In preparation for a book that will be (hopefully) published in the spring of 2022 called “Music and Hearing Aids” (Plural Publishing, working title), I conducted a literature review of previous research regarding the programming of hearing aids for music.

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