Your Brain on Jazz

When jazz musicians improvise, their brains turn on those areas that let self-expression flow, and turn off areas linked to self-censoring and inhibition. In fact, spinning off an improvised melody's like entering another world. And, a few people experience this phenomenon at work... Perhaps you're jazzed on the job...

Do you problem solve on the fly or keep retuning to areas of high interest that bring lots of excitement? Serial entrepreneur, Guy Kawasaki's, a great improviser according to David Armano. Businesses like Apple would not thrive without employees like Guy who are able to tap into deep creativity and self expression... Armano claims we are in an age of improvisation. Would you agree?

We're learning much more about composing in the moment during performance ... Dr. Charles J. Limb, himself a jazz saxophonist, describes this phenomenon...

“When jazz musicians improvise, they often play with eyes closed in a distinctive, personal style that transcends traditional rules of melody and rhythm,” Limb says. “It’s a remarkable frame of mind,” he adds, “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.”

Limb was intrigued by what parts of the brain are activated during improvisation as the music's composed. Here're his findings...

The scientists found that a region of the brain known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a broad portion of the front of the brain that extends to the sides, showed a slowdown in activity during improvisation. This area has been linked to planned actions and self-censoring, such as carefully deciding what words you might say at a job interview. Shutting down this area could lead to lowered inhibitions, Limb suggests.

The researchers also saw increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, which sits in the center of the brain’s frontal lobe. This area has been linked with self-expression and activities that convey individuality, such as telling a story about yourself.

And, the implications relate to Kawasaki, Armano, you and I as we invent and problem solve on the job...

“Jazz is often described as being an extremely individualistic art form. You can figure out which jazz musician is playing because one person’s improvisation sounds only like him or her,” says Limb. “What we think is happening is when you’re telling your own musical story, you’re shutting down impulses that might impede the flow of novel ideas.”

Limb notes that people are continually improvising words in conversations and improvising solutions to problems on the spot. “Without this type of creativity," he exclaims, "humans wouldn’t have advanced as a species. It’s an integral part of who we are.”

Is your work richly rewarding because you create new melodies on the fly?

Pictured above is Oscar Peterson, one of Canada's foremost jazz pianists.