Our blog/article and Radio Show asks, “Why are medical schools recruiting musicians to train as physicians?”
The new school year is also a wonderful opportunity to start learning a musical instrument to learn discipline, cooperation, teamwork, motivation, concentration and self-esteem. Studying a musical instrument develops millions of new connections, synapses, between nerve cells in the brain. Many of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, mathematicians, engineers, teachers, dentists, CPAs, and others have studied and played musical instruments since they were children. These eminent individuals have integrated music into their thinking process.
Also included are four articles on how studying a musical instrument can improve students’ academic skills in school and how listening to classical music in the background can improve your student’s concentration and focus at school, at home or in the office. Our article of the month is “5 Simple Strategies for Raising Awesome Kids” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.
Radio Show Feature Question for September 2019: Why are medical schools recruiting musicians to train as physicians?”
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/one-minute-radio-show-2019/
“Why are medical schools recruiting musicians to train as physicians?”
Dr. Stephen Nicholas, MD is a pediatric Aids expert and former head of the Admissions department at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons for nine years. He says, “We have one highest desire: to find people who will make great doctors. The question facing all medical schools is, ‘How do you find those individuals?’ Some schools use metrics; some look at undergraduate majors. Those things are important, but they’re not what make this place tick. We think there are a lot of surrogate measures that can help students become the sort of doctors who will be passionate, who will be “listeners”. Music is one of them.”
Dr. Nicolas’ studied under “One of the great pediatricians of our time, T. Berry Brazelton who taught him “the importance of shutting up and listening.”
“If you’re a musician, you’ve got to listen, you’ve got to watch, you’ve got to be very involved and observant. These traits matter. If you’re attuned to what other people are doing, you’re probably going to be a better doctor.Then there are traits like compassion and selflessness. We have a sacred relationship with patients: we hear their secrets, we invade their bodies to make them better. It’s all part of an agreement. So, we certainly want people who have an ability to feel.”
https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/hippocratic-overture
Peter Jackson wrote in his article, “From musician to physician: Why medical schools are recruiting for musical ability”. He interviewed three highly skilled musicians that are in medical school. These skilled musicians bring to Medical School their “manual dexterity” in playing their instrument, being prepared, and “constant, continual improvement”. Meaning they avoid complacency.
Mr. Jackson interviewed “Andrew Dunsmore, Dr. Doug Angel and Jessa Vokey all completed a degree in music before deciding to move into medicine.”
Doug Angel is a 35 years old pianist and medical doctor, Today he will be “in an operating theater. His instruments are not a piano, but the tools for reconstructive surgeries of the head and neck.” From his many years of playing the piano he developed his manual dexterity skills for his surgical practice.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/medicine-music-connection-1.4770372
Dr. Martina Kelly, MD says, “What has music to do with being a doctor? For me, it’s about that total engagement with another in a moment. We talk a lot in medicine about listening to the content of people’s speech; but what about tone, timbre, pauses, silence, breath, associated body movement, eye contact, touch, and smell, which are vital to how we interact with each other? Listening is not content, it is ‘intense presence’. To develop the analogy, before I see someone, I like to pause, to just focus on the person. That pause doesn’t even take a moment, but It’s like gathering oneself before the start of the performance. When I am with a patient I try to pay attention to everything; what they say, how they say it, what they don’t say, sometimes anticipating. I try to follow their tune and react. Even if it’s a well-rehearsed encounter, it is never quite the same. There is a movement to the interaction; something about ‘the live performance’ that resonates with how, as doctors, we interact with patients.”
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=195921
“5 Simple Strategies for Raising Awesome Kids” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.
Do you remember the friends you had in high school who were given a car with no expectation of responsibility vs. those friends who had to work for their car?
I’m sure you noticed the same difference that I did, regarding the level of care and appreciation they had for their vehicles.
When my kids were that age and a classmate was given a car, they got in trouble. The kids that had to work for the car appreciated it!
When you don’t earn the things you want, you don’t appreciate them.
Doing chores as a child teaches children to be accountable, responsible, and disciplined. This also builds a “proper work ethic” for their future?
Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker and author, was the tenth of twelve children. He was born in “LA,” (that’s lower Alabama), and raised in Yazoo City, Mississippi. His Mom had a fifth-grade education, and his father died when he was 5 years old during the Depression.
Zig said,” mom was a wise woman. We were all hard workers, because we had three milk cows and a large garden, and we survived despite of all the difficulties.” As a child Zig Ziglar’s chore was to weed their big garden. When he told his Mom, he was done weeding the garden she would check to see how it was done. His Mother said, “For someone else’s boy the job was done alright but for my boy you can do a better job!” He went and weeded that garden again and she rechecked it!
Ziglar said, “We all experienced a wonderful childhood.”
Ziglar said: “Well, first of all, my mother a very wise woman, despite her limited education. She taught us with (one) sentence sermonettes. She taught us, ‘Tell the truth/Tell it ever/Cost us what it will/For he who hides the wrong he did/Does the wrong thing still,’ and ‘When a task is once begun/You leave it not until it’s done/And be a matter great or small/You do it well or not at all.’ “Ziglar agreed that this was poetry. “She was a very wise, very disciplined, very loving lady, and those Biblical principles, that is what they are, is what we were raised on.”
Dr. John Maxwell, #1 leadership guru, coach, and one of my mentors says, as a child he was given a list of chores to do at the beginning of the week.
If he had not finished his chores, he would not be allowed to go to the restaurant or the movies with his family. Instead he would stay at home and finish his chores. He learned after that to do his chores on time.
What is the greatest gift you can give your children?
The greatest gift you can give your children is to teach them a good work ethic by giving them chores to do to earn the things they want and need.
Chores taught us how to work hard, to be accountable, responsible, and respectful giving us a good foundation for our future.
So, what are the 5 simple strategies for raising awesome kids?
1) Give them appropriate chores for their ages. Start to help them learn a good work ethic at a young age so they will become accountable, responsible, and caring adults.
2) Every morning and evening when your child wakes up and goes to sleep tell them with a smile how much you love and care for them, say something loving to them and give them a kiss on their cheek. Ask them during dinner about their day. Remember you are there to help your children solve their problems and make good choices in a kind caring atmosphere.
If your child has a learning disorder find the best teaching method to help them learn and grow. Do not demean or disparage them. Help your child find a place for them to learn with patience and encouragement.
Remember what Benjamin Franklin asked himself each morning, “what good will I do today?” And every evening Franklin asked himself, “What good have I done today?’
3) Take time from your busy schedule to attend your child’s sports games, their dance recitals, orchestra or band concerts. Attend with a smile and be proud of these small moments for them. Show you care and love them. Give them your TIME, your patience, your kindness, and your encouragement!
Turn your cellphone off and leave it in the car!
4) Praise all the good things they do so they will keep doing it. Correct the bad, but don’t be afraid to let your kids fail! If they do something wrong tell them in private not in front of their friends or in front of other family members
5) Show your children daily that their parents love each other and respect each other. Never disparage a spouse in front of your children. Only say loving words giving, hugs, kisses, and friendship. If there is a problem meet privately to discuss the problem or issue!
By following these 5 simple strategies you will raise awesome kids too! © 2019 Madeline Frank
If you need a speaker contact Madeline at: [email protected]
“Playing a Musical Instrument Improves Audio-motor Connectivity in the. Brain…” (July 27, 2017) from Science Daily.
“Playing a musical instrument throughout life improves the connection between the hearing area and the motor zone, as revealed by the study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex by researchers from the Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging group of the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) and the McGill University of Canada. The research, performed through the analysis of the brain of musicians and non-musicians in resting state using functional magnetic resonance, has also revealed that musicians who play an instrument that requires both hands have greater autonomy between them.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170727105218.htm
“Every Brain Needs Music” by Dr. Larry Sherman
“What happens when the brain plays music?”“Playing a musical instrument involves multiple components of the central (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral (nerves outside the brain and spinal cord) nervous systems. As a musician plays an instrument, motor systems in the brain control both gross and fine movements needed to produce sound. The sound is processed by auditory circuitry, which in turn can adjust signaling by the motor control centers. In addition, sensory information from the fingers, hands and arms is sent to the brain for processing. If the musician is reading music, visual information is sent to the brain for processing and interpreting commands for the motor centers. And of course, the brain processes emotional responses to the music as well! “
http://portlandchamberorchestra.org/every-brain-needs-music/
“Never Too Young for Bach: Music for Kids Brain Dev’t” (May 19, 2019) by Pocholo Concepcion from the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“Musikgarten, is a school for children in the Philippines which follows an early music and movement program to enable language development, self-expression, memory skills, concentration, social interaction, among others, all in a fun setting.”
https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/335680/never-too-young-for-bach-music-for-kids-brain-devt/
“Smarter People Listen to Instrumental Music… Study Finds” (May 23, 2019) by Peter Loyd for Mailonline.
“Those with a musical preference for Mozart and Bach may be more intelligent than people who prefer words in their music. That’s according to scientists who say they’ve found a link between brain power and instrumental music, such as classical and jazz.”
“The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is available in book form, and newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook:
com(Kindle)
Barnes and Noble(Nook)
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/the-secret-of-teaching-science-and-math-through-music/
“Musical Notes On Math” by Dr. Madeline Frank teaches your child fractions and decimals, the fun easy way, through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award is available in book form, newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook.
com(Kindle)
Barnes and Noble(Nook)
Tips on how to use “Musical Notes On Math”
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/musical-notes-on-math/
Madeline’s Midnight Melodies- Music From around the World”. This CD complements her books with a blend of dance music, gigues, tangos, ballet and favorites including “Danny Boy”, Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro”, Debussy’s “Claire De Lune” and others. “Madeline’s Midnight Melodies” is music to relax by and to move by for music therapy. “Madeline’s Midnight Melodies” CD is now available for purchase by downloading a song, downloading the album, or by CD by clicking below:
Download Your Copy Today!
Dr. Madeline Frank’s book “Leadership on a Shoestring Budget” is available through amazon. To order your copy of “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget” as an e-book on Kindle click on the following link:
Wishing you and your family a safe September, Labor Day Holiday, from Your Non-Invasive Medicine Music Expert, Madeline
For over 30 years, Dr. Madeline Frank has helped children and adults overcome problems through Classical music. Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM is an award-winning teacher, author, researcher, speaker, conductor, and concert artist. She has found a scientific link between studying and/or listening to musical instruments and academic and societal success. Madeline Frank earned her Bachelor and Master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music. Her education has included scholarships at the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the University of Cincinnati and she has a violin performance diploma from the North Carolina School of the Arts. (C) 2019 Madeline Frank.