A pair of Johns Hopkins and government scientists have discovered that when jazz musicians improvise, their brains turn off areas linked to self-censoring and inhibition, and turn on those that let self-expression flow.
"When jazz musicians are engaged in the highly creative and spontaneous activity known as improvisation, a large region of the brain involved in monitoring one's performance is shut down, while a small region involved in organizing self-initiated thoughts and behaviours is highly activated." (Vancouver Sun 01-03-2008)
"When jazz musicians improvise, they often play with eyes closed in a distinctive, personal style that transcends traditional rules of melody and rhythm," says Charles J. Limb, M.D. at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a trained jazz saxophonist himself. "It's a remarkable frame of mind, during which, all of a sudden, the musician is generating music that has never been heard, thought, practiced or played before. What comes out is completely spontaneous."
With the technology that is available today, you don't need to know how to sing to be a famous singer. Today's recording technology can turn your out-of-tune chirping into perfectly pitched purring. And the technology to do this is cheap--so cheap in fact that it's free.
Most non-musicians are not aware of the technological tweaking that is done to turn those pop tunes you hear on the radio into the most-downloaded files on the planet.
It started with a little software program called Antares Autotune. This magic code reads the notes you sing into it and "corrects" the pitch of the notes. If you're a little flat, it will boost your pitch. And if your pitch trembles, it can flatten your voice.
Thanks to Steven Duncan of "The Drive is Alive blog" for creating this video of Leonard and the Lab Rats at the End Cafe last night. The video features us playing "Black Magic Woman" with the remarkable Natalie von Rotsburg singing.
A pair of Johns Hopkins and government scientists have discovered that when jazz musicians improvise, their brains turn off areas linked to self-censoring and inhibition, and turn on those that let self-expression flow.
With the technology that is available today, you don't need to know how to sing to be a famous singer. Today's recording technology can turn your out-of-tune chirping into perfectly pitched purring. And the technology to do this is cheap--so cheap in fact that it's 
Leonard and the Lab Rats - 