Sunday, June 1, 2008

Things I think about when I don't monitor my thoughts

Something else occurred to me after reading about the study where they observed the neural activities of jazz musicians. For those of you who didn't bother to read the whole article, the way they observed said neural activities was to stick the musicians in an MRI scanner, then have them either improvise or perform something they knew. Which means the researchers had to fashion a device that allowed their subjects to play whilst inside.

If I ever need an MRI done, I want them to use THAT scanner. Being able to noodle around on a keyboard would provide a welcome distraction from whatever medical procedure they had to do. It also might yield some provocative creations.

"I love that new piece you composed. It's so full of passion and intensity."

"Thank you! I call it 'AGGGHHHHHH LET ME OUT LET ME OUT!!!'"

2 comments:

Jannie Funster said...

Funny! A song born of true immediate emotion.

I take it's not a full-body encompassing scanner, like an iron lung, so your hands are free to play the keys?

really interesting article, tho.

Maybe tonight I'll dream the lyrics to those melodies and wake up remembering them. Go, brain, go! Flow unedited.

cinderkeys said...

I don't know anything about the different varieties of MRI scanners, so I couldn't tell you. I just know the keyboards had to be shortened so they'd fit in there.

If you find out how to will yourself to dream lyrics, let us know how. :)