Music Scores
Got music? Learning to play music is linked to improved academic test scores.
More than 200 second graders were studied. Some were trained on piano
keyboard and math software. Others used only the software. After six months,
the piano players scored higher on math tests. It seems that making music
taps into parts of the brain involved with reasoning, say researchers.
Musical middle and high school students score well too. The College Entrance
Examination Board compared students with no music background to student
musicians. Students in music programs scored 63 points higher on verbal and
44 points higher on math.
UCLA examined the test scores of 25,000 students in grades 8 to 12 over a
period of 10 years. Researchers found that students with a high interest in
instrumental music scored higher in math knowhow than did others.
Can’t Get that Song Out of My Head
Do you "want some baby back ribs"? Is it "a small world after all"? "Gimme a
break." Some advertising jingles and songs really stick with you. The sheer
repetition of the words and music has something to do with it. But musicians
are even more likely to have a hard time getting a tune out of their heads.
Doctors say that’s because musicians’ brains are hooked up in a special way.
Some people are really wired for sound. Psychologists have even identified a
condition in which people experience "musical hallucinations." These
hallucinations cause people to hear songs playing in their heads. Many times
the tunes are familiar; other times, they’re new. Composers report
experiencing "piped-in" sound before creating their masterpieces. The parts of
the mind that are busy when listening to music are the same that become
active when hearing your own private song. So it could be that regions of the
brain search for a song—and make their own when none is available.
Operation Song
You see super cool TV surgeons cranking the tunes while they work. Did you
ever wonder if the music had any effect on patients? Researchers wondered,
so they put patients and music to the test.
A team of researchers studied groups of surgery patients. All patients had
parts of their bodies numbed. They were all given a device to control the
amount of pain-relieving sedative they received. All were awake through the
process.
The patients were divided into three categories.
One group brought their favorite CDs and listened through headphones.
The second group heard "white noise," or background noise meant to
drown out other sounds.
The last group heard only operating-room noise.
The result? Patients who listened to music used less sedation. Those who
listened to their favorite songs were calmer. The effect may be because the
music blocked out the noises of the operating room, say doctors.
1.
Which parts of the brain does making music tap into?
A. the parts involved with advertising
B. the parts involved with reasoning
C. the parts involved with moving
D. the parts involved with sleeping
Answer
2.
What is a possible effect of learning to play music?
A. wanting some baby back ribs
B. having parts of your body numbed
C. getting a tune out of your head
D. improving your academic test scores
Answer
3.
Playing music most likely has an impact on a person’s brain. What
evidence from the text supports this conclusion?
A. “[M]usicians are even more likely to have a hard time getting a tune
out of their heads. Doctors say that’s because musicians’ brains are
hooked up in a special way.”
B. “The College Entrance Examination Board compared students with no
music background to student musicians.”
C. “In the absence of music, some people hear songs playing in their
heads. Many times the tunes are familiar; other times, they’re
new.”
D. “Did you ever wonder if the music had any effect on patients [in
surgery]? Researchers wondered, so they put patients and music to
the test.”
Answer
4.
What is one positive effect that listening to music may have on
people?
A. It may help students perform better on social studies exams.
B. It may help students perform better on physical tasks.
C. It may help patients in surgery stay calmer or use less sedation.
D. It may help surgeons perform difficult operations more quickly.
Answer
5.
What is the main idea of this text?
A. Playing and listening to music can affect a person in many ways.
B. More than 200 second graders were trained to play the piano.
C. A team of researchers studied groups of surgery patients.
D. Some people hear songs playing in their heads, even in the absence
of music.
Answer
6.
Read these sentences from the text.
"UCLA examined the test scores of 25,000 students in grades 8 to 12 over
a period of 10 years. Researchers found that students with a high interest
in instrumental music scored higher in math knowhow than did others."
Based on these sentences, what does the word “examine” mean?
A. to change or adjust slightly
B. to copy or imitate
C. to study closely and carefully
D. to increase or improve
Answer
7.
Choose the answer that best completes the sentence.
The parts of the brain that are busy when listening to music are the same
parts that become active when hearing one’s own private song. ________,
it is possible that these regions of the brain make up those private songs
when none are available.
A. Although
B. Therefore
C. Unless
D. Despite
Answer
8.
What do some people hear when they experience “musical
hallucinations”?
(written answer)
Answer These hallucinations cause people to hear songs playing in their
heads. Many times the tunes are familiar; other times, they’re new.
Composers report experiencing "piped-in" sound before creating their
masterpieces.
9.
The College Entrance Examination Board compared the test scores of
students with no music background to the scores of student musicians.
What did they find out about the test scores of these students?
(written answer)
Answer Students in music programs scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44
points higher on math.
10.
How might a musician experience life differently than someone who does
not play or listen to music?
Support your answer with evidence from the text.
Answer: Someone who does not listen or play music might have a different life
as doctors say that
