Alyssa Finkelstein

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1102-017
October 20, 2015
Finding articles for my topic was a rather easy thing to do. The hardest thing for me was trying
to find information about the author. Although some of the articles I read had information about
the author at the end not all of them did. The first article that I read made me think a little, I did
not originally plan on exploring auditory skills in my paper. That plan changed once I read the
article and saw how this would be a really good aspect to the affect of instrument playing on
people. I liked how the article was not limited to just young children or adults, it mentions both
of them.
Klass, Perri. Early Music Lessons Have Longtime Benefits. (2012) The New York Times. 11
September 2012. Web. 19 October 2015.
Perri Klass, Doctor of Medicine and Director of Carter Journalism Institute, was a student at
the Harvard Medical School in the 1980s and has written many essays that been in The New York
Times. In 1979 Klass received her A.B. from Harvard and got her M.D in 1986 from the Harvard
Medical School. She practiced pediatrics for 12 years in a Boston urban health care clinic. The
target audience for the article could be parents, psychologists, researchers and musicians. I
Klass explains how playing an instrument helps improve ones auditory skills, especially in
younger children. A study done at Northwestern University on college students demonstrated
how students who were musically trained as a child were able to pick out more complex sounds.
This study also showed how the training did not need to be recent; it could have been from many
years ago. The musical training that involves active engagement and discipline has improved the

brains ability to determine pitch, timing and timbre. Professor Nina Kraus, Director of the
Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University, said that reading abilities are
strengthened from active concentration to playing an instrument. Klass reminds us about the
other affects that playing an instrument has on a person with a quote by Alexandra ParberyClark, If you get a kid who is maybe 3 or 4 years old and youre teaching them to attend,
theyre not only working on their auditory skills, but also working on their attention skills and
their memory skills- which can translate into scholastic learning. Individual gain an endless
amount of skills from playing an instrument and they last a lifetime.
Analysis: The article brings a different perspective of playing an instrument. It is a pretty easy
read; the article was self-explanatory and explained the test in a general way that most people
should be able to understand. I could use the test and facts I learned in this article for my thesis. I
think I might make one paragraph just about music performance in relation to auditory affects.
I think as a reader this article was quite interesting, it was not overloaded with facts that would
make someone confused. It had some psychological tests that backed up the topic and explained
some people who may be interested in this topic.
Quotes I may use in my thesis:

We want music to be recognized for what it can be in a persons life, not necessarily,

Oh, we want you to have better cognitive skills, so were going to put you in music,.
This kind of musical training improves the brains ability to discern the components of

sound the pitch, the timing and the timbre.

The older adults who are musically trained perform better on speech in noise tests it
involves the brain rather than the peripheral hearing system.

Alyssa Finkelstein

UWRT 1102-017
Mrs. Thomas
October 20, 2015
This article was a lot of fun to find. I had to use the library database and search in the library to
get the book. While searching for the book I found a ton of others that I considered using for my
thesis, but did not end up using them. I enjoyed this article the most because it had two
experiments done within it. I thought the results from the article were quite interesting. I did not
think that the children would respond the same besides for one thing.
Marin, Manuela M. Effects of Early Musical Training on Musical and Linguistic Syntactic
Abilities The Neurosciences and Music III Disorder and Plasticity (2009). Volume 1169:
187-190. Print
Manuela Marin, member of the University of Vienna, Department of Basic Psychological
Research and Research methods. Marin has a Masters degree in Systematic Musicology. She is
currently getting her PhD in Experimental Psychology at the University of Vienna. The target
audience for this article was researchers, psychologists, and neuroscientist. The terminology is
definitely a lot more advance, so the only people who would understand is are ones that have
done this kind of research before or learned about it.
Marin starts off the article by explaining the relationship between language and music.
Although there have been different opinions about whether instrumental playing has an affect on
ones language abilities, in this study it has shown that it does help. There were two studies
mentioned in Marins article. The first one was conducted on young children, and compared the
effect of one year of musical training. The childrens auditory cortical-evoked field showed
changes when someone did a melody and rhythm discrimination task after only one year of

musical training. This means that they were able to distinguish the difference between the two
and reacted because of it. The other study was done on 31 German-speaking children, 13 of the
children had musical training while the others did not. All the children responded about the same
during priming and no-priming when the piano and trumpet was played. Priming is a memory
effect; when someone is exposed to one stimulus they react to it and that reaction will respond to
another stimulus. The children with musical training however, were able to distinguish timbre
faster and accurately. Marin claims, These children [ones with musical training] also performed
better in the language development test, particularly in morphologic rule formation and memory
for words. In simple terms, morphological rule formation is just the rule of the states the
formation of words.
Analysis: The article was not the easiest one for me to read. Taking a research method class in
college has allowed me to understand the terminology better than an average person, but I still
had to read it multiple times to understand what I was exactly reading. I could use this article in
my thesis as an example of how musician have better auditory skills and language skills
compared to a non-musician. I thought as a reader that the article was okay; it did involve a lot of
statistical factors to it, which took me a little longer to understand.
Additional quote I may use in my thesis:

In children, musical training has been positively associated with prosodic and
pronunciation abilities, phonological awareness, reading, and mathematical skills as well
as general IQ.

Alyssa Finkelstein
UWRT 1102-017

Mrs. Thomas
October 22, 2015
This time searching for an article was rather difficult. I looked a numerous articles and didnt
feel like any of them were really what I wanted to talk about in my thesis. I think looking for
scholarly articles is a lot harder than looking for regular articles that I can find off of Google.
I originally hoped to find an article that discuss the effect music performance has on children
development, but ended up finding an article about emotional and motor skills of instrument
playing. The article was pretty long, I had to figure out what was useful to me and what stuff I
did not need to worry about. I decided to focus on a few topics in the article that I thought were
really necessary and leave out the stuff that was extra knowledge that did not quite answer my
question.
Palmer, Caroline. Music Performance Annual Review of Psychology. 1997. Web. 20 October
2015.
Caroline Palmer, Ph.D., professor at Ohio State University and has a Music Cognition
Lab and a Cognitive Psychologist, researches about people remembering long sequences of
speech and music and how they make these sequences. The target audience for this article is
psychologists, researchers and psychology students. Palmer mentions a lot of psychological
studies and cognitive terms. It explains the terms in very simple forms, but the concept might be
harder for a regular everyday person to understand.
Palmer explains how playing music is not just a simple task, the performer puts a lot into
it such as emotion, speed, articulation and etc. The range of emotions one can feel from listening
or performing different style pieces. She also explains how each performs interprets the music
differently from another. Music performance involves a lot of memory; one has to memorize

pitch, chords, key, the structure of the music and how to play the actual instrument. Palmer also
discusses the difference between how music performance studies have expanded over time.
Palmer claims Musical experience enhances both performs use of expression to emphasize
interpretations and listeners ability to identify interpretation and expressive aspect of
performance. This quote shows the impact music has on the listener and the performer, they go
hand in hand when it comes to interpretation. Without interpretation the music would all sound
the same and monotone. Interpretation brings it alive and shows emotional value.
Analysis: The article gave me so much information about music performance. I plan on using
this article to explain my thesis; by showing the emotional impact music performance has on a
person. I thought the read overall was a medium read, it had some moments where the reader
might be confused if they had no prior musical or psychological education, but nothing too
severe. This is applicable to my question because it explores the different aspect of music
playing that I want to discuss with my reader. I want them to understand the emotional aspect of
it, the memorization skills and the motor skills it takes to be a musician.
Quotes I may use in my thesis:

Speaking, typing, and performing music are among the most complex forms of skilled
serial action produced by human beings.

Planning and memory retrieval processes in music performance reflect multidimensional relationships among melodic, harmonic, and diatonic elements

Alyssa Finkelstein
UWRT 1102-017

Mrs. Thomas
October 24, 2015
As I go through the research process it gets easier to find articles, books and videos for my topic.
I also been trying to find articles that either explain some other topics in my details or new
topics that I have yet to discover. I think the annotated bibliography has also been getting easier
for me to write. The first one took me awhile because I was not completely sure about what to
write about.
Brown Laura Lewis. The Benefits of Music Education PBS. n.d. Web. 24. October 2015.
Laura Lewis Brown, writer and editor, adjunct professor of English at the University of
Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Baltimore. The target audience for Browns
article is parents of children. It explains why parents should allow their child to learn an
instrument. It is broken up to show the main points of the impact instrumental playing has on an
individual.
Brown advocated the positive benefits of instrumental playing, such as brain working
harder, language development and etc. Brown broke the article up into seven subtopics that
explain different aspects of the impact of playing an instrument on children. One particular thing
that Brown mentions is language development. Playing an instrument develops the left side of
the brain, which is where processing languages happen. Dr. Kyle Pruett suggests, Language
competence is at the root of social competence. Musical experience, strengths the capacity to be
verbally competent. Music abilities and language go together, in order to read music one must
be able to read words. Playing an instrument enhances the ability to decode different sound and
words. Dr. Eric Rasmussen claims, When youre a musician and youre playing an instrument,
you have to be using more of your brain. Playing an instrument hits every aspect of the brain;

one will have a larger growth of neural activity from it. Ellen Winner had a study that showed
that students who received musician instruction were able to distinguish sounds better and had
better fine motor skills.
Analysis: The article was very informational and it showed how musical abilities can make a big
impact on development especially at a young age. I thought the read overall was an easy read; it
did not have overly complicated concepts. A normal everyday person should be able to
understand the article without prior knowledge about the brain and cognition. This is applicable
to my question because it explains the benefits of instrumental playing. The article will allow me
to explain to my reader about the impact music playing has on the brain more specifically with
everyday examples.
Quotes I may use in my thesis:

Making music involves more than the voice or fingers playing an instrument; a child

learning about music has to tap into multiple skill sets, often simultaneously.
Formal training in music is also associated with other cognitive strengths such as verbal

recall proficiency
People who have had formal musical training tend to be pretty good at remembering
verbal information stored in memory.

Alyssa Finkelstein
UWRT 1102-017
Mrs. Thomas

October 23, 2015

I decided this time that I wanted to find a source that was not an article. I found a Ted-Ed video
when I first started to look at my thesis in depth. I took the advice my fellow classmates told me,
which was to reduce the amount of information about the author I put and explore a different
aspect of music performance. This time I decided that I wanted to explore what happens inside
the brain while playing an instrument.
Collins, Anita. How playing an instrument benefits your brain Online video clip. Ted-Ed.
YouTube. 22, July 2014. Web. 23. October 2015.
Anita Collins, educator for primary and secondary school in both Australia and England
and a musician, an Assistant Professor of Music and Arts Education at the University of
Canberra. Collin got involved with TED.com in 2014 and has made a couple different films with
them. She has her PhD and her focus is on neuroscience and music education. The video was
exciting and creative. It seemed like it was meant for students, educators, psychologists and
neuroscientists.
Collins explains in the video how our brain works specifically about how it works when
someone is playing an instrument. When a person listens to music the brain reacts to it, their
brain waves light up when they are connected to an fMRI and PET scanner. When a person plays
an instrument the whole brain is stimulated, Collins compares it to a full- body workout. Collin
claims that, playing a musical instrument engages practically every area of the brain at once,
especially the visual, auditory and motor cortices. A persons fine motor skills are involved
when they are playing an instrument, which are controlled in both hemispheres of the brain.
Playing an instrument also involves understanding the message or emotional factor of the piece.
That simulates both the cognitive and emotional aspect of the brain. Collins mentioned studies

that have stated that musicians use their highly connected brain to give tags to each memory they
have, an example of the tag could be emotional, audio, and etc.
Analysis: The video was easy to understand and explained each aspect very well. It did have
some terms such as brain parts that one would not understand unless they had some previous
knowledge. Collins video is applicable to my question because it explains how our brain works
when we play an instrument. This was one of the main topics that I wanted to explore with my
thesis. I want my reader to understand how the brain responses to music performing such as how
much of the brain it uses and how it uses the parts together.
Quotes I may use in my thesis:

As with any other workout, disciplined, structured practice in playing music strengthens

those brain functions, allowing us to apply that strength to other activities.

For the reasons, playing music has been found to increase the volume and activity in the
brain's corpus callosum, the bridge between the two hemispheres, allowing message to

get across the brain faster and through more diverse routes.
Because making music also involves crafting and understanding its emotional content
and message, musicians often have higher levels of executive function, a category of
interlinked tasks that includes planning, strategizing, and attention to detail and requires
simultaneous analysis of both cognitive and emotional aspects.

Alyssa Finkelstein
UWRT 1102-017
Mrs. Thomas

November 6, 2015
When I was thinking about my thesis I remembered that I wanted to write a little bit about the
history of the instrument. I found this article when I first did my research and forgot to make it
one of my annotated bibliographies until recently. I thought this would be a cool random fact
that people would find interesting. I wanted to explain some historical facts about musical
playing and thought that the first instrument would be something that could help my thesis. I
plan on using this fact in my introduction when I start to explain what my topic really is to my
reader.
Wilford, John Noble. Flutes Revised Age Dates the Sound of Music Earlier The New York
Times. 29 May 2012. Web. 6 November 2015.
John Noble Wilford, writer, journalist, retired senior science correspondent for The New
York Times. Wilford won the Pulitzer Prize twice, worked at The Wall Street Journal and Time
magazine, and written some books. The target audience for the article is an everyday person; it
does not have any hard terms or anything. Musicians, historians and archaeologists may read it
more often, but is meant for anyone.
Wilford explains the historical fact about the first known instrument to be made which is
a flute. It was made from bird bone and mammoth ivory. The one that was recently found is at
least 42,000 years old and it was found in the Geissenklostele Cave. Thomas Higham, who is
from the University of Oxford in England, led the research about the oldest flute. To determine
the age of the flute they found, Dr. Higham used bones that were found around the bone flute and
did an improved radiocarbon test. Dr. Higham claims, that animal bones found with the flutes
were 42,00 to 43,00 years old. This is close to the time when the first anatomically modern
humans were spreading into Central Europe, presumable along the Danube River valley.

Wilford explains some of the early test that was done on some flutes and other artifacts found in
different caves. The recent finding was not the first ever bone flute discovered, but is supposedly
the oldest.
Analysis: I thought the read was simple and nothing complex. It was a rather short article, so the
annotated bibliography took me a little while to write. It could be read by anyone at anytime.
This article relates to my thesis because it tells the history of the flute instrument made.
Instruments have been around for centuries; they were not made in the past few decades. I
thought that this would be something good to put in my thesis, the root of my topic the first
instrument. It also brings a different perspective since all my other articles have been about what
playing an instrument impacts a person. I did wish the article was a little longer, there was not
an additional quotes due to the shortness.

Alyssa Finkelstein
UWRT 1102-017

Mrs. Thomas
November 5, 2015
For my last annotated bibliography I thought I would show the perspective of someone who does
not believe musical training should be enforced. This is taken from the standpoint of a parent,
but has some claims that I could use in my thesis. I plan on using this as my counterargument in
my thesis. I did not think about the other side of my argument, well at the beginning I did not
think that many people were opposed to musical training, until class not too long ago. This
article took me a long time to find considering most people think of musical training as a
beneficial to an everyday person.
Oppenheimer, Mark. Stop Forcing Your Kids to Learn a Musical Instrument New Republic.
16, September 2013. Web. 5 November 2015.
Mark Oppenheimer, writer for The New York Times, The Believer, Salon, Slate, Mother
Jones, The Nation and The New Republic and has written a few books. He has a Ph.D. in
American religious history and teaches a class at Yale. The target audience for his article is
mainly parents, throughout the article it mentions different things that parents do that believe will
benefit their children in the future.
Oppenheimer explains how in the past few centuries there has been some emphasize on
children learning to do things such as playing an instrument or dance. He claims that most of the
children are taking classes such as violin and ballet because the parents believe will teach them
lifelong skills and etiquette. Oppenheimer also explains how these activities that parents want
their children to know is not the only way the child can learn those skills. He claims that, The
classes are not a bad thing. Studying music or dance over a long time teaches perseverance and
can build self- confidence. But then again, studying anything over a long time teaches

perseverance and can bring self- confidence. Oppenheimer brings some historical facts in his
article saying that before the 20th century there was a good reason for everyone to learn how to
play an instrument. There was no music, besides what others played for you. Ergo, many people
learned how to play an instrument to entertain their families as well as the people in their
communities since transportation was also not a big thing that they had in those times.
Analysis: I felt that the article was a pretty easy read, it was not too lengthy and went straight to
Oppenheimers points about how there should not be an emphasizes on some activities. It was
definitely meant for an everyday person to read. I think the article is applicable to my question
because it is the counterargument to what I am trying to show. I am showing the benefits that
playing an instrument has on someone. Oppenheimer mentions how these skills that people learn
from musical training can be found in many other ways.
Quotes I may use in my thesis:

Before the twentieth century, there was a good reason for anyone to study music: If you

couldnt make the music yourself, then you would rarely hear it.
We just need to sign them up for classes that make more sense, given that its 2013, not

1860, and that I dont need a violin-playing daughter to cement my class status.
More than anything, I want children to find pursuits, whether useful or not, that they can
take with them into adulthood.