Award Sounds

I've been writing the series of articles on Musical Creativity and how to overcome composer's block for a while now and I'm always curious about the creativity part of it. No matter how well I prepare a composition, some of the best compositions become better by improvising a new melody.

Dr Charles Limb's research into the brain's activity during jamming and improvisation is enlightening.

There are few elements I'd like to take away and remember from that article:

1. Musicians hear music differently than others "almost like a second language"
2. Jazz musicians turn off areas of the brain "linked to self-censoring and inhibition"
3. The brain patterns are similar whatever the complexity of the improvisation
4. The musician attains a heightened state of awareness during improvisation
5. The brain patterns during improvisation are similar to those found during REM sleep

I hope there's more to come.