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Related links
- Psychology of Music (abstract): Memory stabilization and enhancementfollowing music practice
- Psychology of Music (article pdf): Memory stabilization and enhancementfollowing music practice
- Sarah E. Allen
- Music program at SMU Meadows School of the Arts
- SMU Meadows School of the Arts
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SMU contributes fossils, expertise to new Perot Museum in ongoing scientific collaborationJournalist Matthieu Carlier with Le Huffington Post covered the research of SMU’s Sarah E. Allen, an assistant professor of music education in the Meadows School of the Arts.
Allen’s study examined how the brain learns and retains motor skills, and the findings provide insight into musical skill.
The study found that performance of a musical task improved among pianists whose practice of a new melody was followed by a night of sleep.
Allen’s research is among the first to look at whether sleep enhances the learning process for musicians practicing a new piano melody.
Carlier’s article, “Le sommeil rendrait les musiciens plus efficaces, selon une étude américaine,” was published April 16, 2013.
EXCERPT:
Le dicton selon lequel la nuit porte conseil serait donc exact. Au moins pour les musiciens. Dans une étude portant sur 60 musiciens diplômés, publiée dans la revue Psychology of Music, des chercheurs de la Southern Methodist University ont montré comment dormir les aidait à retenir une mélodie entendue avant d’aller se coucher.
Divisés en plusieurs groupes assignés à des tâches différentes, les musiciens qui avaient appris une mélodie au piano juste avant de dormir étaient les mieux à même de la reproduire le plus fidèlement au réveil. “Le sommeil semble jouer un rôle très important dans la mémorisation,” indique Sarah Allen, professeure en éducation de la musique, “Il renforce les fonctions mémorielles du cerveau.” Mais pas dans tous les cas.
TRANSLATION:
The saying that the night brings counsel is true. At least for musicians. In a study of 60 music students, published in the journal Psychology of Music, researchers at Southern Methodist University have shown how sleep helped to retain a melody played before bedtime.Divided into several different tasks assigned to groups, musicians who learned a piano melody just before sleep were better able to reproduce it faithfully in the morning. “Sleep appears to play a very important role in memory,” said Sarah Allen, professor of music education. “It strengthens the memory functions of the brain.” But not in all cases.
Besides outlets in Canada, Allen’s research has been covered on news blogs around the world:
India — Night’s sleep can enhance musical skills: Study
Iran — Sleep helps musicians play new learned melodies
Ireland — Night’s sleep can enhance musical skills: Study
Italy — Psicologia: cervello rafforza apprendimento durante il sonno
Romania — Somnul îi face pe muzicieni mai eficienţi STUDIU
Spain’s LaFlecha — El cerebro danza con la música y aprende a interpretarla en sueños
EXCERPT:
En el marco de otra investigación reciente sobre música y cerebro, realizada en la Southern Methodist University (SMU) de Dallas, Estados Unidos, un equipo de científicos analizó cómo el cerebro aprende y retiene habilidades motoras para la interpretación musical.
El estudio demostró que pianistas que habían ensayado una nueva melodía y después durmieron durante toda la noche mejoraron su proceso de aprendizaje musical de la pieza, tras el descanso.
Sin embargo, esto no ocurrió cuando los pianistas ensayaron dos melodías similares, una detrás de otra, y luego se durmieron. En este caso, cualquier aumento en la velocidad e interpretación de las piezas alcanzado el día anterior desapareció, explican los investigadores.
TRANSLATION:
In the context of other recent research on music and the brain, held at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, United States, a team of scientists analyzed how the brain learns and retains motor skills in musical interpretation.The study showed that pianists who had tested a new tune and then slept all night improved their musical learning of the piece, after the break.
However, this did not occur when they tested pianists playing two melodies, one after another, who then slept. In this case, any improvement in the speed and performance of the pieces achieved the previous day disappeared, the researchers explained.
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