Music Research at the Turn of the Millennium

Tins essay provides a general overview of music research as it appears in /999. Three major topics are addressed: (a) the nature of science as it applies to music research, (b) how to react to music research findings and (c) hrief summaries of findings in four areas of particular contemporary and future interest: (1) basic and human nature, (ii) brain and music, (iii) music and cognitive benefits and (iv) therapeutic uses of music. A major point is that considerable progress has been made hut that good scientific answers require years of sets— tamed effort and a great deal more research is required.

          The millennium is upon us. Whether it technically begins at the instant after midnight on January I ~. 2(300 or 200! (why not celebrate both?), we are indeed at the “turn of the millennium?’ Although history and the scientific study of music (and all else) are not neatly packaged into years, de- cades. centuries or millennia, this is a highly appropriate time to take stock of music research. So in this last, final, ultimate MuSICA Research Notes of the 1900’s (of the Twentieth Century in the minds of most), this issue is devoted to the “big picture” rather than to one of  two selected topics. It is also a propitious time to look at the overall situation because of the current flurry of music research as reported in the media, un- fortunately with a lot of misinformation and confusion. In- deed, lithe flood of statements and questions received by us reflects general beliefs (there is little reason to doubt it), then the need for an overview is particularly great. For example, a writer wrote “1 gave a retarded women a classical music CD to make her smarter hut now some people told me this won’t work. What’s the truth .. will music make her smarter?” The short answer is “It’s not that simple?’ The longer answer is “This is pushing the results of a few studies (none with retarded individuals) far beyond what is reasonable.” The longest answer involves reading the rest of this essay.

The Past and the Future

 

          To reach our goal of looking at music research itself, we need to understand some basics about science and how we should react to research findings. The quotations above are a good starting point. George Santayana. philosopher, poet, and novelist, and Satchel Paige. Hall of Fame baseball pitcher. both with a historical perspective but apparently opposite advice

the professional philosopher telling us to know our history. the “amateur” philosopher, whose “hesitation pitch” could freeze the most proficient batter (which I had the honor to witness on many occasions as a boy in Cleveland), tells us not to look hack but to keep moving forward. Who is right? Both are. Santayana speaks about the large scale of life, across time and place. Satch. the oldest “rookie” in Major League Baseball at the age of 43 (a victim of racial discrimination by the “Big Leagues”). and the oldest player in the Majors (in his final game, Paige pitched three shutout innings for the Kansas City Royals in 1965 at the age of 59!), was concerned with the daily scramble for survival, the chance to ply one’s trade, and the more immediate moment. Let’s see how Santayana and Paige can help us.

Two Things to Remember About Science

All scientific research, including music research, is about asking the best questions (“Hypotheses”), figuring out the best ways of answering them (“Methods”), and then getting some answers (“Results”). Research progress absolutely depends upon “remembering the past,” about knowing which questions have been asked, about understanding how and why certain approaches were used and above all, “remembering” the answers
that resulted. Science has at least two features that allow it to grow as a body of reasonably reliable understanding of the contents of the universe, the nature of the atom, the causes of earthquakes. the diversity of life, why children look like their parents, the chemistry of the brain, the causes of tooth decay, the mating habits of humans, the flight of birds, how to pre- serve a 161 century fresco, why children spontaneously sing and dance ... the list is not mathematically infinite but it might as well be.



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