Neurobiology of

Music Composition
Tyler DeFriece
Honors 394 D

Path of Inquiry
How much do we know about the
neural circuitry involved in musicmakingespecially improvisation?
What is the brain doing when it
translates ideas into music?
Is musical creativity innate to the
brain or learned?

Neural Circuits: The

Basics
The brain as an input/output system
Neurons have the ability to extract and analyze
different pieces of information based on:
Individual structure
Collective structure
Inter-connectivity

It is thought that information is

processed/transformed with each additional
neuron in a given circuit!
Modern goal: Connect gross morphology to
cellular mechanisms

Neural Components of
Music

Pitch
Melody
Harmony

Emotion
Memory

Rhythm

Imagery

Timbre

Body
movements

Sound intensity

Subjective
experience

Input Pathways to
Musical Emotions
Brain injuries that impaired musical memory
Perception of musical emotion still intact
In some cases, emotion could trigger memory!

Suggests existence of subcortical network for

emotion processing that also requires cortical
mediation
Two-Stage Model (Juslin, 2001):
1. Musical perception occurs in superior temporal
gyri
2. Percepts relayed in parallel to limbic system
AND
frontal cortex

Neural Components of
Creative Behaviors
Composition (Bengston et al.)
Music perception, conscious planning and
decision-making

Improvisation
A complex phenomenon, involving
spontaneous decision-making, motor
sequencing, memory, emotion, planning,
attention, and countless other cognitive
processes. (Berkowitz and Ansari)

Creative Neuroanatomy at a
Glance
Frontal Lobe
Role in emotional
component of music
Decision-making
Areas for spontaneous and
long-term

Motor planning

Temporal lobe
Music perception

The Creative Process

Spectrum of strategies from non-conscious
to conscious
Spontaneous emergence of initial ideas
(either sudden flash or over time),
followed by reproduction from memory
(Mozart)
Uncontrolled improvisation, followed by
conscious refinement (Warlock)
Entirely conscious, reasoned acts of
deduction (Stuckey)

Bogdanovic calls music composition an

Inspiration
The uninitiated imagine that one must await
inspiration in order to create. That is a mistake
[Inspiration] is found as a driving force in every
kind of human activity, and is in no wise peculiar
to artists. But that force is only brought into
action by effort, and that effort is work.
-Igor Stravinsky

In his studies of creativity, Wiggins prefers the

objective term Spontaneous Creativity

Improvisational Process
Musical eloquence is every bit as challenging
as verbal eloquence. (Jourdain, 1997)
Improvisers tend to follow a plot line
Rely on memory of patterns of pitches &
rhythms Characters
Employ formula for repetition and development
Subplots and Mood

Bogdanovic calls improvisation A spontaneous

act from impulse in the present.

Creative Neuroanatomy:
Overview
Composition:
Posterior region of Left Superior Temporal
Gyrus
Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
Dorsal Premotor Cortex

Improvisation:
Inferior Frontal Gyrus/Ventral Premotor
Cortex
Anterior Cingulate Cortex
Dorsal Premotor Cortex

Limitations of Research
Every brain is different
Example: lateralization differences

Issues with understanding music itself!

Mozart debate
Conclusion: Process of music
composition/appreciation is ineffable

Jung et al. in 2010 paper: Neuroanatomy of

Creativity
Copious psychometric research on creativity
Lack of brain-focused research
A construct as complex as creativity will never
be localized in the brain.

(Distant) Futures of
Musical Creativity
Deep brain stimulation (DBS)

What Makes a
Musician?
Studies with identical twins suggest there
is a genetic component to musicality
Contributing factors:
Musical memory
Emotional communication
Physical dexterity

Still question whether these skills

contribute to musicianship or vice versa

Emphasis that expert musicians must also

have personality traits including: diligence,
patience, and motivation

Personal Realm of
Knowing
https://soundcloud.com/circusinmycircuits/hi
lary-bdaysong

Bibliography
Bengtsson, S., Cskszentmihlyi, M., & Ulln, F. (n.d.). Cortical Regions Involved in the Generation of
Musical Structures
during Improvisation in Pianists. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19(5), 830842.
Berkowitz, A. (2010). The improvising mind: Cognition and creativity in the musical moment. New York:
Oxford University
Press.
Bogdanovic, D. (2006). Ex ovo: A guide for perplexed composers and improvisers. (2006). Saint-Nicolas,
Qubec:
Doberman- Yppan.
Jourdain, R. (1997). Music, the brain, and ecstasy: How music captures our imagination. New York: W.
Morrow.
Jung, R., Segall, J., Jeremy Bockholt, H., Flores, R., Smith, S., Chavez, R., & Haier, R. (2010).
Neuroanatomy Of Creativity. Human Brain Mapping, 31, 398-409.
Juslin, P. (2001). Music and emotion: Theory and research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Levitin, D. (2006). This is your brain on music: The science of a human obsession. New York, N.Y.: Dutton.
Roehmann, F. (1988). The Biology of music making: Proceedings of the 1984 Denver conference. St.
Louis, Mo., USA: MMB Music.
Summer, L., & Summer, J. (1996). The Art of Composition. In Music: The New Age elixir. Amherst, N.Y.:
Prometheus
Books.
Wiggins, G. (2013). Defining Inspiration? Modelling the Non-conscious Creative Process. In D. Collins
(Ed.),The act
of musical composition studies in the creative process. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.