Not a simple one to one relationship

• Behaviors and music by bylowk@gosaints.com, 2/5/98
  
  

There is a great deal of difficulty involved in separating the various elements of music into constituent parts. For example, many researchers have noted the affects of music upon autistic individuals. There are articles on the internet that address drumming as a method of addressing some of the stress involved with the syndrome. Autistics often respond positively to music, and, insome cases, to white noise. There are indicators that the sensory input of autistics are flawed so that they have a great degree of difficulty in separating noise from information.

In another vein, one of the religious leaders from times past decreed that hymns in a minor key be rewritten in major keys because he wanted his hymns to sound happy. Indeed, if you teach children to listen for happy or sad chords at slow tempi, you can quickly teach them to discriminate between simple minor and major keys. At very fast tempi; however, you will find that minor keys work very well for quick dance steps.

Additionally, marches used to move soldiers on the parade ground are around 120 beats per minute. This is perhaps the most effective tempo for long marches. Maximum distance can be attained with minimum effort.

Music of slower tempos also are highly useful for relaxation. One often used example is Pachabel's Canon in D.

Finally, if one considers the brain generates electrical waves, one must also consider the possibility that music may generate resonances that can enhance learning through the frequency of the waves its sensation produces. Add this to the electromagnetic pulsations of the earth at 1 second intervals and another at 7.83 HZ and you have many areas to explore. This is just the tip of a very large and relatively unexplored iceberg.

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