Taking music from gigs to gigabytes

A recent study in the Netherlands, supported by the ministry of research and education, shows that the students who were provided theoretical and practical music lessons not only academically outperformed those students that were not part of the study but, at the same time, their planning, organisational, task completion, and memory skills were also a lot sharper than other students.

I am amazed to read how much of music-related news appears in the media every day. In a blink and miss news item, featured barely a fortnight ago, there was reference to how "Music lessons may help kids get better grades".

While there is little denying that music education, if available at all within the Indian school system, has given way to conventional academics — after all, I let go learning/playing the piano, during my school days, for that very reason — as the opportunity of learning an instrument is certainly considered a luxury in comparison to the necessity of taking tuitions. However, researchers in Netherlands — supported by the Ministry of Research and Education — studied 147 students across multiple primary schools in the country for two and a half years who, besides their regular curriculum, were provided theoretical and practical music lessons. Not surprisingly, these students not only academically outperformed those students that were not part of the study but, at the same time, their planning, organisational, task completion, and memory skills were also a lot sharper than the others.

A music concert

While one hopes that this study is widely publicised in India to ensure that schools that had music as one of its electives is returned to its original ranks and, those schools that had not considered music at all as a prospective subject, decide to introduce it into their academic system, there is no denying that additional opportunities for children to support their musical talents often occur outside school. Nevertheless, what is also worrying is the dearth of physical product available in the market.

While the cost of purchasing CDs remains competitive — ranging from Rs 149 to Rs 165 - what is shocking are the limited choices available. I managed to observe that a name that was once synonymous with nursery rhymes in India, Preeti Sagar, has just two products under her name falling within the price range quoted, namely, Nursery Rhymes and Fun Times Rhymes. In fact, one of the products that my son grew up to, Happy Day by Ritika [Sahni] and Varsha, apparently does not exist anymore. This is more intriguing when you consider that several parents are hesitant in sharing their mobile phones for digital consumption by toddlers for innumerable reasons ranging from potential damage to the handheld devices if dropped/misused to the impact on the child's eyesight, and from potential radiation. Further, with the existence of FM radio pan-India, I wonder why there is no dedicated channel catering exclusively to children?

Ritika Sahni

Meanwhile, among other science studies supporting the usage of music to make life better, is the concept of music therapy. With the support of professionals certified in this science, the usage of music therapy not only assists the very skills highlighted in the previously referred study in the Netherlands but, medically, studies have shown how this form of therapy has lowered blood pressure, improved breathing, reduced stress, and controlled anger, among other upsides. My learnings of music therapy occurred through a qualified practicing therapist by the name of Samay Ajmera, who also happens to be a guitarist. "After assessing the patient during an initial interaction," he explained, "I devise a treatment plan that determines the course of the clinical sessions. My basic technique consists of playing musical instruments and recreating experiences by engaging in activities with a musical base."

Similarly, a recent behavioural science study published last week concluded that attending concerts on a regular basis is good for your well-being, and may extend gig-goers lives by up to nine years! The study, commissioned by a well-known U.K.-based cell phone network, claimed that 20 minutes at a concert is better than spending the same amount of time doing yoga or pet-walking. The research calculated that a 20-minute taste of live music increased people's sense of well-being by 21 percent, compared with ten percent for yoga, and seven percent for dog-walking.

Preeti Sagar

London-based Goldsmith University's Associate Lecturer Patrick Fagan, who led the investigation, said: "Our research showcases the profound impact gigs have on feelings of health, happiness, and well-being - with fortnightly or regular attendance being the key." Simply listening to recorded music at home was no "quick-fix", the report added, claiming that "the shared experience, which performed so strongly in the research, is key to increasing well-being."

Nevertheless, whether we accept it or not, we all are now living in, and are part of, the millennial generation for the tech-savvy and, hence, it appears only a matter of time before toddlers ask their parents whether they were born through a download!

The writer has been part of the media and entertainment business for over 23 years. He continues to pursue his hobby and earns an income out of it.