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What makes a lullaby a lullaby, and what difference does it make? with Laurel Trainor, PhD Aug 02, 2022 Enhance Life with Music Podcast Episode 137: Our very first social interactions are musical, and the singing of lullabies to babies is universal across cultures. We discuss the common elements of lullabies, benefits of live-sung lullabies to both baby and caregiver, and just how long those benefits extend.
Can music bring us together? Jul 01, 2022 TVO: The Agenda: After two years of lockdowns and social distancing, music festivals and concert halls are back. Laurel Trainor, professor of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour at McMaster University, and Rachael Finnerty, founder of the Music Therapy Academy, join us to discuss how music affects us.
POV Podcast, Episode 20- McMaster University LIVELab featuring Dr. Laurel Trainor Nov 16, 2021 POV Hamilton Podcast: On this POV Hamilton podcast we’re learning all about the LIVELab, a combination concert hall / research lab that is unique in the world for how it can study the physiological and psychological effects of music, dance, and performance on artists and audiences.
The brain's 'prediction machine' anticipates the future when listening to music Aug 19, 2021 Science Daily: We live our lives in real time, watching events unfold moment by moment. To make better sense of the world, however, our brains automatically predict how some events will unfold moments into the future. New research explores the brain's 'prediction machine' capabilities by examining how we experience music.
The key to creativity May 03, 2021 Siminovitch Forum: Join us for a conversation led by some of Canada’s top theatre-makers and scientific minds that will explore what scientists can learn from artists, what artists can learn from scientists and how the union of the two is a key to creativity.
Why should we research the neural correlates of musical interaction? Sep 14, 2020 mBrainTrain: LIVE Talk 4.0 - Music and the Brain - Moderated by Dr. Ivan Gligorijevic, CEO, mBrainTrain with Drs. Stefan Debener, Andrew Chang, Laurel Trainor & Anna Zamm
Music and Mind Live with Renée Fleming Episode 11 Jul 28, 2020 The Kennedy Center: Episode 11- Music: A Super Power for Children with Antonio Damasio, MD, PhD(USC), Assal Habibi, PhD(USC), Nina Kraus, PhD(Northwestern), Laurel Trainor, PhD (McMaster)
The role of music in early development Jun 16, 2020 Carnegie Hall Lullaby Project: Carnegie Hall Lullaby Talk by Dr. Laurel Trainor
Why babies love music Feb 18, 2020 BBC Radio 3: The Listening Service: Why do we seem to love music from the day we're born? Are we born musical? Tom Service and experts reveal how babies interact with all kinds of music.
McMaster University's LIVELab studio can turn thoughts into music Feb 21, 2019 Explain!: by Daryl Keating
Body language could be the secret behind the sweetest music Feb 01, 2019: Non-verbal communication between performers helps provide subtle musical cues
How musicians communicate non-verbally during performance Jan 18, 2019 ScienceDaily: Scientists have discovered a new technique to examine how musicians intuitively coordinate with one another during a performance, silently predicting how each will express the music.
Stepping Up: Meet Canada’s new sources of inspiration and leadership Jan 17, 2019 The Globe and Mail: From students and teachers to executives and artists, The Globe’s Stepping Up series aims to shine a spotlight on Canadians offering inspiration and leadership across the country.
"To Wake the Soul by Tender Strokes of Art"- Bringing the Best of Live Music to Schools in Durham and Beyond Jan 15, 2019 Arts Forum: By John Arkelian, artsforum.ca, January 2019
Gift of music lasts a lifetime Dec 24, 2018 The Ottawa Citizen
How does stage fright affect musicians? Nov 28, 2016 The Hamilton Spectator: Mac researcher uses LIVELab to help find out
Music can help ease your hospital stay Mar 17, 2016 McMaster Optimal Aging Portal: BLOG POST: The latest scientific evidence on this topic was reviewed by the McMaster Optimal Aging team and Dr. Laurel Trainor
Bouncing to music can help babies bond, become more cooperative Nov 09, 2014 TODAY Parents, NBC: Babies enjoying a little "Twist and Shout" have some important lessons to share about bonding and the power of music.
How to bounce your way into a baby's heart Jun 30, 2014 Pacific Standard: Babies provide more help to adults who bounce in-sync with them along to music.
How music may make babies team players Jun 30, 2014 The New York Times: Moving with a partner to the musical beat may make people more cooperative — even babies as young as 14 months.
Bouncing babies strengthens social bonds through music and rhythm Jun 24, 2014 Science World Report: Swaying to music's rhythm may have more of a scientific meaning than meets the eye. Researchers at McMaster University in Canada found that people who move together are also building social bonds. For this study in particular, published in the journal Developmental Science, researchers found that moving together in the same time can affect the social behavior of babies who have barely even learned to walk.
Why music education is good for our children: Guest post by McMaster University's Laurel Trainor Mar 11, 2014 Enable Education: Minds Enabled: Laurel Trainor discusses ways in which the study of music can benefit a child's brain, even at a very early age.
Music offers social and cognitive benefits Jan 15, 2014 Tri-Cities News: Dr. Laurel Trainor, a professor of psychology, neuroscience and behavior at McMaster University, has said young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory compared to children who do not receive musical training.
The emotional baby: How infants respond to music Nov 12, 2013 National Geographic: News Watch: To learn more about how babies respond to music, we interviewed Dr. Laurel Trainor, director of McMaster University’s Institute for Music and the Mind in Hamilton, Ontario.
Kate Einarson winner of the People's Choice Award for her three-minute thesis Aug 01, 2013 Lögberg-Heimskringla Icelandic Newspaper: The people have spoken! The winner of the first-ever People's Choice Award for 3MT [i.e. the 3-minute thesis] is Kate Einarson, whose three-minute thesis, Finding the Beat in Music: The Role of Culture, Cognitive Abilities and Motor Skills, struck a note with online viewers." - McMaster University bulletin.
Music "soothes the savage beast" Aug 01, 2013 Innovation Quest (IQ) Magazine: Brainpower: McMaster's new LIVE Lab will provide researchers with rich sets of data that are not available anywhere else in the world. - McMaster University bulletin.
Want a Less Fussy, Easier-to-Soothe, Kinder Child? Make Music! May 16, 2012 TIME Healthland: The actively-trained infants were less distressed by frustration, showed less anxiety about new experiences, smiled and laughed more and were easier to soothe. The researchers write, the active classes led to more positive parent-infant social interactions compared to the passive classes.
El Sistema and the Transformational Power of Music Jul 05, 2011 The Globe and Mail: People focus so much on cognitive benefits. I think there are some, but I don't think they are as large as people would like them to be," says Laurel Trainor, a scientist at McMaster University in Hamilton who studies music and the developing brain. "I think the social and emotional benefits are just enormous and we are just starting to comprehend that.
The Hidden Agenda of Bedtime Stories Mar 11, 2011 Parent Central: [Young] brains are getting wired to integrate the senses,” says Laurel Trainor, professor and director of the auditory development lab at McMaster University. She has found that even young babies can distinguish the difference between songs sung as lullabies and those used in play.
Musical Babies on CBC Sep 01, 2010 CBC Radio 2's "In Concert": Music educators will tell you, 'don't give [young children] complex rhythms, because it's very very difficult for them to learn. Wait until they're even older before you give them anything that's complicated'. But what we're finding is that young babies can do the complex rhythms, they can hear them perfectly well.... We're showing that what infants are listening to and the particular experiences they're having even before one year of age, is already wiring up their brain in a particular way. And in fact the brain is probably most plastic at these early ages, and so maybe we should be thinking about what kinds of music programs we want to have for very young children.
Expose Your Baby to Music Aug 01, 2010 Parents Canada: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Your child is probably not the next Mozart or even the next Justin Bieber. But don’t turn off the karaoke machine just yet. A musical environment plays an important rolein nurturing brain development, if not a future career.
Secrets to raising smart kids: Play music Jul 01, 2010 BabyCenter: Learning music isn't going to take your child from average to a genius, but it can help her be a better learner," says Laurel Trainor, a professor of psychology, neuroscience, and behavior at McMaster University and director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind in Ontario, Canada. "Learning how to play music actually has an effect on how the brain gets wired when it comes to memory and attention", says Trainor.
Turn On, Tune In, Develop? Nov 06, 2009 Inside Science News Service: For most people music is an enjoyable, although momentary, form of entertainment. But for those who seriously practiced a musical instrument when they young, perhaps when they played in a school orchestra or even a rock band, the musical experience can be something more. Recent research shows that a strong correlation exists between musical training for children and certain other mental abilities.
Can't Get it Out of My Head Jul 13, 2008 The Boston Globe: I've never felt so paralyzed standing before my CD collection as the day I brought my newborn son home from the hospital and decided to play him his very first music. So much was at stake. Should it be modern or Baroque? Orchestral or opera? Would Mozart make him smarter? Would Schoenberg instill in him revolutionary tendencies? Would Wagner make him loathe his Jewish roots?
Melodic Medication Oct 21, 2007 Toronto Star: We instinctively know our favourite song or the perfect piece to fit or change a mood. We pump up volume and tempo to get our adrenaline flowing. We look for slow melodies and easy harmonies to unwind after a stressful day. Could it be that this is the ultimate in psychological self-medication?
Grey cells dig music lessons, scans show Sep 20, 2006 Globe and Mail: Music lessons can help children as young as 4 show advanced brain development and improve their memory, even when it sounds like a budding musician is banging out little more than noise.
Music and the Mind Sep 01, 2006 McMaster Times: Musicians, scientists, and educators come together to discover the role music plays in defining who we are
Born to Boogie Sep 01, 2005 McMaster Times: New research suggests that babies' brains are wired for rhythm
Babies Groove to the Beat Jun 15, 2005 National Post: People tend to think of the senses as distinct- taste, touch, sound, smell. But a new study of babies' responses to music suggests there may be more overlap than we might think.
Parents Can Help Babies Get Rhythm Jun 03, 2005 The New York Times: Gently bounce a baby while you sing, and you'll usually get squeals of glee. But it's not just fun: Feeling the beat helps wire babies' brains to hear rhythm.
We Got the Music In Us Jun 15, 2002 CBC Radio, Quirks & Quarks

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