You ever wonder how does a rapper have the ability to just freestyle from the top of his head? Or how dancers freestyle? Or even musicians and how they spontaneously can make a song in the moment?
I just saw this video on ted.com-Charles Limb: Your brain on improv and it was very interesting! Charles Limb is a surgeon, researcher, musician and an associate professor of otolaryngology that studied with his team how the brain works during improvisation. He was able to track the brain activity through a fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), which creates strong magnetic field to track blood flow through the brain. Limb examined the difference in brain activity when musicians played simple memorized pieces and when they improvised.
He was able to explain to the audience a research that only scientist can understand in a simple and interesting way. He engaged the audience with visuals; humor and facts that made us wonder more about the topic.
He recognized that “artistic creativity is a neurologic product that can be examined using rigorous scientific methods.” So, he placed a musician with an instrument (scientists had to build a special keyboard with no metal parts since metal parts react with the magnetic field) and a rapper into the fMRI. Charles and the team found that the part of the brain and extending to the sides, showed a slowdown in activity during improvised music. Meanwhile, the medial prefrontal cortex, linked to self-expression and activities that showed individuality, saw increased activity.
You’re probably wondering if it’s truly possible to study creativity or improvising scientifically, right? Well Limb already started and says that they don’t have all the answers yet but with technology advancing science needs to catch up with art to figure out how all these amazing ideas come from the brain.
Charles Limb has fascinated me with his research in my field of the entertainment industry because as a dancer I was always put on the spot and improvise with whatever style I was giving to dance to and music. I never really knew how I would come up with the movements to certain rhythms but I did it and still doing it well. I feel that when you practice your art to the point you can master it you’re able to turn off you’re self-conscious and your able to express yourself more because your brain is thinking ahead of all the things you're capable of. I can definitely agree with him when he says “creativity appears to be good for the soul for some unclear reason, that’s why improvisation is one version of spontaneous creativity in the musical domain.”
Creativity is within all of us-let go and let it out!
-Jess!
"Creating Memories, Building Characters."
