Does rhythm affect reading?

Chayanin Tongphasook No.2

(http://www.utne.com/mind-and-body/effects-of-reading-zm0z12mazsie.aspx)

                At first, I think this myth can connect to Mozart’s songs. Have you ever heard about the myth that Mozart’s songs can keep children’s mind on something? For reading, readers have to keep their mind on their book. It sounds like the Mozart’s songs case. So I start to search the reason why Mozart’s songs can make concentration and I found it.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart)

                In Mozart for kid series, there is repeat of notes in a pattern in each song and children can predict the next note. Children will enjoy. They can take long time with this activity. Compare with watching TV, pictures in TV change fast. Some picture is shown for less than 1 second. Children cannot process the picture in time and then the picture changes again. It will decrease children’s concentration. Return back to the myth, the Mozart’s songs case cannot be used to explain this myth because it works in only children.

                Well, I start again by specifying about listening to music when reading. First, you should know that our brains have ability to acknowledge only the important stimulant. The important stimulant can be the interesting thing or the unknown thing. For human, they will not survive of they don’t take an interest to the unknown thing to check if it is dangerous. When they know that thing is safe, the brain can ignore them. It is the same case with listening to music when reading. When I listen to some known songs, my brain acknowledges the stimulant but it doesn’t attend them too much. This is because my brain knows it isn’t dangerous. So listening to music when reading doesn’t cause any bad effect to reading. In another view point, it is good for reading because it can add more interest to some boring book. But the songs mustn’t be new. If the song is new, the brain will pay attention to it.

Dr. Emma Grey who is a psychologist has an interesting research about this. She studies about kinds of rhythm which can stimulate brain.

Dr. Emma Grey
(http://www.thebritishcbtcounsellingservice.com/dr-emma-gray/)

1.       Science, Humanities and Language

The important skill for this topic is an ability to manage fact and problem fixing. All of this is under left-side brain. The 50-80 times per minute rhythm can calm down listener’s mind and help their logic. So listener’s brain can learn and remember new things better. For example, Man Down – Rihanna, We Can’t Stop – Miley Cyrus, Halo – Beyonce, Our First Time – Bruno Mars, Wide Awale – Katy Perry, Breaking Up – Gwen Stefani

2.       Mathematics

The rhythm should be 60-70 times per minute. It can increase listener’s memory. Dr. Grey’s statistic shows that Mathematics students who listen to music when studying can get higher score than the average 12% compared with Mathematics students who don’t listen to music when studying. For example, Fur Elise – Ludwig van Beethoven, Waltz In D Flat Major Op. 64 No. 1- Frederic Chopin, Ode to Joy – Ludwig van Beethoven, Swan Lake – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

3.       English, Drama and Art

The right-side brain processes about creativity. The research shows that if students listen the emotional Pop or Rock music, they can increase their art ability. For example, Firework – Katy Perry, Diamonds – Rihanna, Stronger – Kelly Clarkson

In the conclusion, rhythm affects reading but there is not any bad effect.

References

http://th.theasianparent.com/การฟังเพลงระหว่างอ่านหนังสือช่วยให้ลูกฉลาดขึ้น
http://www.unigang.com/Article/3337 

https://pinarat.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/เพลงของ-mozart-ช่วยพัฒนาสมองจ/