1
00:00:06,090 --> 00:00:07,508
So, one of the things we do
2
00:00:07,592 --> 00:00:10,094
is we'll just play them
this sound sequence.
3
00:00:10,178 --> 00:00:12,096
[rapid dripping]
4
00:00:12,972 --> 00:00:16,100
And then we ask them to rate
on a scale from one to five... how much it sounded
exactly like environmental sound
5
00:00:20,563 --> 00:00:21,939
or exactly like music.
6
00:00:22,231 --> 00:00:24,233
[rapid dripping]
7
00:00:24,442 --> 00:00:26,986
[Margulis] The first time
it sounds pretty straightforwardly
8
00:00:27,070 --> 00:00:28,529
like environmental sound to them.
9
00:00:28,613 --> 00:00:31,365
It's like three or four repetitions in
and everyone starts laughing.
10
00:00:31,449 --> 00:00:32,867
-[laughter]
-The mean rating just gets higher and higher.
11
00:00:34,452 --> 00:00:36,204
[narrator] Music starts as sound,
12
00:00:36,662 --> 00:00:39,791
but something happens in the brain
and it transforms.
13
00:00:40,833 --> 00:00:43,252
Repetition is one thing
that can flick the switch.
14
00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:45,755
[Margulis] The sound signal's
exactly the same,
15
00:00:45,838 --> 00:00:48,382
yet the experience feels really different.
16
00:00:49,050 --> 00:00:51,636
[narrator] But this is just the start
of the mystery of music.
17
00:00:52,887 --> 00:00:54,889
It can help people relearn how to speak.
18
00:00:54,972 --> 00:00:57,308
[both] ♪ How are you? ♪
19
00:00:57,391 --> 00:00:59,685
[narrator] It can help patients
with movement disorders,
20
00:00:59,769 --> 00:01:00,978
like Parkinson's disease,
21
00:01:01,062 --> 00:01:02,438
move more fluidly.
22
00:01:02,522 --> 00:01:06,526
I just naturally respond to the music.
23
00:01:07,110 --> 00:01:10,196
[narrator] Music behaves like
a powerful drug on the rest of us, too.
24
00:01:10,279 --> 00:01:12,115
[Margulis] Similar areas activated
25
00:01:12,198 --> 00:01:15,785
that are activated
during highly pleasurable experiences
26
00:01:15,868 --> 00:01:19,580
pertaining to food or sex
or illicit drugs.
27
00:01:19,664 --> 00:01:22,250
[narrator] And it has a deep connection
to our feelings.
28
00:01:22,667 --> 00:01:24,043
[squeals]
29
00:01:27,505 --> 00:01:30,758
[Margulis] Music itself, seems
to be a cultural universal.
30
00:01:30,842 --> 00:01:32,552
We don't know
about any known human culture
31
00:01:32,635 --> 00:01:35,638
that doesn't have something
that we think about as music.
32
00:01:35,721 --> 00:01:37,849
[narrator] And we've found
musical instruments
33
00:01:37,932 --> 00:01:40,268
as old as human cave paintings.
34
00:01:41,144 --> 00:01:43,938
Nearly every person
is born with a taste for music.
35
00:01:44,021 --> 00:01:48,484
But, as far as we know, other primates
don't really share our sense of beat.
36
00:01:48,568 --> 00:01:50,820
They just don't seem
to get rhythm the same way we do.
37
00:01:51,070 --> 00:01:53,072
[narrator] So, what is music?
38
00:01:53,656 --> 00:01:55,783
Why is it so universal among humans?
39
00:01:56,242 --> 00:01:58,953
How does sound become something more?
40
00:02:04,834 --> 00:02:06,627
[upbeat music]
41
00:02:40,745 --> 00:02:43,039
[narrator] A world without music
is hard to imagine.
42
00:02:43,331 --> 00:02:44,916
[woman] As we live our lives,
43
00:02:45,750 --> 00:02:46,918
there's always music around us.
44
00:02:47,001 --> 00:02:48,461
[radio] It's very important to us...
45
00:02:49,170 --> 00:02:52,423
[woman] Whether it's something playing
out of someone's car stereo on the street,
46
00:02:52,506 --> 00:02:55,051
the coffee house you're going to,
47
00:02:55,509 --> 00:02:56,969
the mall, the radio...
48
00:02:57,053 --> 00:02:58,387
it's always around us.
49
00:02:58,971 --> 00:03:00,973
It's strange when it doesn't exist at all.
50
00:03:01,057 --> 00:03:05,102
[narrator] Jennifer Lee is a music
producer and DJ known as TOKiMONSTA,
51
00:03:05,186 --> 00:03:08,314
and she's one
of extraordinarily few hearing people
52
00:03:08,397 --> 00:03:10,858
who's ever experienced
a world without music.
53
00:03:11,359 --> 00:03:13,194
I couldn't tell that there was a melody.
54
00:03:13,277 --> 00:03:15,821
It just sounded like... white noise
55
00:03:15,947 --> 00:03:18,574
or like loud, metallic noise.
It was sharp.
56
00:03:18,658 --> 00:03:21,410
If you can't understand music,
it just becomes noise.
57
00:03:21,994 --> 00:03:24,455
[narrator] To understand
why this experience is so rare,
58
00:03:24,705 --> 00:03:26,874
let's go back to before Jen lost music.
59
00:03:27,667 --> 00:03:29,669
[gentle electronic music]
60
00:03:30,127 --> 00:03:32,213
This one
of the most simple songs I've ever made.
61
00:03:32,797 --> 00:03:35,132
[narrator] But hearing a simple song
isn't simple at all.
62
00:03:35,591 --> 00:03:38,219
Listening to music,
and especially making music
63
00:03:38,552 --> 00:03:40,972
draws on all kinds of different faculties.
64
00:03:41,055 --> 00:03:42,056
[narrator] Before we hear it,
65
00:03:42,265 --> 00:03:44,100
all music is just air.
66
00:03:44,642 --> 00:03:45,977
[Patel] Sound starts as air vibrations,
67
00:03:46,060 --> 00:03:47,979
which then move our eardrums
68
00:03:48,062 --> 00:03:50,439
and then little bones
and then finally fluid in the cochlea,
69
00:03:50,523 --> 00:03:52,483
and that triggers hair cells to fire.
70
00:03:52,566 --> 00:03:53,818
It's really wonderfully complicated.
71
00:03:53,901 --> 00:03:55,319
[narrator] And a repeating sound
72
00:03:55,403 --> 00:03:58,656
creates one of the most basic aspects
of music: rhythm.
73
00:03:59,115 --> 00:04:02,493
I had it looping,
and then it created an energy or a vibe.
74
00:04:02,576 --> 00:04:03,953
I was like, "This sounds deep."
75
00:04:04,328 --> 00:04:06,747
Many parts of our auditory system
are very ancient
76
00:04:06,831 --> 00:04:08,582
and are shared
with a lot of other animals.
77
00:04:09,208 --> 00:04:12,336
[narrator] Our reptilian brain,
the brain stem and cerebellum,
78
00:04:12,670 --> 00:04:15,214
help us create
the rhythmic patterns necessary to walk.
79
00:04:15,881 --> 00:04:17,091
That's widespread.
80
00:04:17,675 --> 00:04:19,010
But what's incredibly rare,
81
00:04:19,093 --> 00:04:20,803
is our ability to feel a beat... tempo, beats per minute.
82
00:04:23,264 --> 00:04:26,350
[Jen] It is the most simple,
most basic rhythm in our life.
83
00:04:26,767 --> 00:04:28,019
It is how our heart beats.
84
00:04:28,102 --> 00:04:30,604
Higher BPM songs that are faster
85
00:04:30,855 --> 00:04:32,315
tends to make us move faster,
86
00:04:32,398 --> 00:04:33,607
raises our heartbeat.
87
00:04:33,774 --> 00:04:35,693
Like, it goes back
to the core of who we are.
88
00:04:36,152 --> 00:04:37,361
[narrator] Try tapping along.
89
00:04:37,445 --> 00:04:39,780
[Patel] We predict the timing
of the metronome clicks, right,
90
00:04:39,864 --> 00:04:42,116
where taps are like very close in time
to the metronome.
91
00:04:42,325 --> 00:04:44,118
You can't do that
by waiting for the click.
92
00:04:44,201 --> 00:04:45,494
You'd be reacting. You'd be late.
93
00:04:46,412 --> 00:04:48,914
[narrator] Rhesus monkeys
just can't do it.
94
00:04:49,248 --> 00:04:51,917
With lots of training,
monkeys always seem to still react
95
00:04:52,001 --> 00:04:52,960
rather than predict.
96
00:04:53,502 --> 00:04:56,964
[narrator] Feeling a beat requires strong
connections between parts of the brain,
97
00:04:57,048 --> 00:04:58,966
which are very rare in the animal world.
98
00:04:59,884 --> 00:05:01,677
In fact, scientists weren't sure
99
00:05:01,761 --> 00:05:04,597
that any other animals
could move to a beat like we do...
100
00:05:04,889 --> 00:05:06,599
until 2009.
101
00:05:07,183 --> 00:05:10,019
I was just amazed when I saw this video
102
00:05:10,102 --> 00:05:12,396
of a cockatoo
seeming to move to the beat of music.
103
00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:14,690
[pulsating music] [narrator] Put on the Backstreet Boys
and... bam!
104
00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,111
[pulsating beat]
105
00:05:19,695 --> 00:05:21,572
[audience hums along]
106
00:05:24,241 --> 00:05:26,494
[narrator] So Patel put together
an experiment.
107
00:05:26,577 --> 00:05:29,497
Could Snowball match
the song played at different tempos?
108
00:05:29,580 --> 00:05:31,290
[Patel] And the bottom line was he did.
109
00:05:31,374 --> 00:05:34,001
And this provided
the first experimental evidence
110
00:05:34,085 --> 00:05:36,587
that another animal
could move to the beat of music.
111
00:05:36,879 --> 00:05:38,839
[narrator] And now Snowball isn't alone.
112
00:05:39,590 --> 00:05:41,592
["Boogie Wonderland" playing]
113
00:05:41,884 --> 00:05:43,844
[narrator] Ronin, a sea lion
in California,
114
00:05:44,095 --> 00:05:45,971
is the first non-human mammal
115
00:05:46,055 --> 00:05:48,516
confirmed to really groove
to Earth, Wind & Fire. Bonobos, our close evolutionary cousins,
116
00:05:52,645 --> 00:05:54,021
can tell if there is a beat.
117
00:05:54,605 --> 00:05:57,024
Though the jury's out
if they can synchronize to it.
118
00:05:57,983 --> 00:06:01,237
But the ability to tap out a beat
is only one part of music.
119
00:06:01,779 --> 00:06:03,114
[rapidly increasing beat]
120
00:06:03,197 --> 00:06:05,950
[narrator] If a sound repeats fast enough,
we hear it as pitch.
121
00:06:06,992 --> 00:06:09,161
Sure, many other animals
seem to perceive pitch.
122
00:06:09,245 --> 00:06:10,329
In terms of individual tones,
123
00:06:10,413 --> 00:06:11,789
they probably perceive them like we do.
124
00:06:12,331 --> 00:06:14,375
[narrator] Many species' brains,
including ours,
125
00:06:14,667 --> 00:06:18,421
have neurons that fire at the exact
frequency of the sound coming in.
126
00:06:19,088 --> 00:06:21,715
If you place electrodes
on these three spots on your head
127
00:06:21,799 --> 00:06:22,883
and listen to this...
128
00:06:23,050 --> 00:06:24,593
[rich-toned beat]
129
00:06:24,677 --> 00:06:28,139
the electrical signal from
those electrodes would sound like this.
130
00:06:28,222 --> 00:06:30,224
[duller, tinnier beat]
131
00:06:30,891 --> 00:06:32,643
[narrator] Playing multiple pitches
at the same time
132
00:06:32,726 --> 00:06:35,479
unlocks another feature of music: harmony.
133
00:06:35,771 --> 00:06:37,606
All these kinds of cultures
tend to recognize
134
00:06:37,690 --> 00:06:39,817
that this relationship is special.
135
00:06:40,151 --> 00:06:41,569
[ethereal, quivering notes]
136
00:06:41,694 --> 00:06:43,779
If you ask men and women
to sing in unison,
137
00:06:43,863 --> 00:06:46,240
what typically happens is
they actually sing an octave apart.
138
00:06:46,699 --> 00:06:50,077
[narrator] Octaves are pitches with double
or half the frequency of another.
139
00:06:50,703 --> 00:06:52,663
That kind of sense of equivalence
140
00:06:52,830 --> 00:06:54,206
is very widespread in human culture.
141
00:06:54,290 --> 00:06:56,000
[narrator] And that special relationship
142
00:06:56,083 --> 00:06:58,294
might explain why the opening of this song
143
00:06:58,419 --> 00:06:59,587
is so memorable.
144
00:06:59,962 --> 00:07:04,800
♪ Somewhere over the rainbow... ♪
145
00:07:04,884 --> 00:07:06,802
[narrator] The first two notes
are an octave.
146
00:07:06,886 --> 00:07:08,888
[Judy Garland] ♪ Somewhere... ♪
147
00:07:09,346 --> 00:07:10,806
♪ Somewhere... ♪
148
00:07:10,890 --> 00:07:12,641
[narrator] Intervals like this one
are crucial.
149
00:07:13,017 --> 00:07:16,270
Every culture divides
the space between octaves into scales.
150
00:07:17,521 --> 00:07:20,149
Most of us remember melody
by the relative pitch,
151
00:07:20,483 --> 00:07:22,026
the space in between notes,
152
00:07:22,318 --> 00:07:24,069
like this melody starting on C.
153
00:07:24,361 --> 00:07:26,280
[Anderson .Paak] ♪ My new fire ♪
154
00:07:26,739 --> 00:07:28,699
♪ You ought to come to light me... ♪
155
00:07:28,908 --> 00:07:31,827
[narrator] Starting on an F,
it still sounds like the same melody.
156
00:07:31,911 --> 00:07:33,996
[higher] ♪ My new fire ♪
157
00:07:34,246 --> 00:07:36,248
♪ You ought to come to light me... ♪
158
00:07:36,665 --> 00:07:38,626
[narrator] It's just not like this
for birds.
159
00:07:38,918 --> 00:07:42,004
[Patel] You can train them to recognize
melody A from melody B. No problem.
160
00:07:42,671 --> 00:07:44,840
Transpose those melodies,
move them up or down in pitch,
161
00:07:44,924 --> 00:07:46,300
they have no idea what those things are.
162
00:07:46,467 --> 00:07:48,928
They have to relearn them
as if they're brand new melodies.
163
00:07:49,011 --> 00:07:49,970
They don't recognize them anymore.
164
00:07:50,429 --> 00:07:51,764
[narrator] Then there's timbre,
165
00:07:51,972 --> 00:07:54,099
the quality of sound
that distinguishes pitch
166
00:07:54,350 --> 00:07:56,310
-if played on a bassoon...
-[deep, warm note]
167
00:07:56,393 --> 00:07:57,895
-baritone sax...
-[lighter note]
168
00:07:58,020 --> 00:07:58,979
or a bowl. [ringing note]
169
00:08:00,147 --> 00:08:02,775
[narrator] Most people perceive timbre
like they perceive color.
170
00:08:03,108 --> 00:08:04,276
It's a thing you can name.
171
00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:06,904
[voices harmonize]
172
00:08:08,030 --> 00:08:11,116
[narrator] Lots of animals can process
one or more of these components.
173
00:08:12,034 --> 00:08:15,412
Some types of crabs and fireflies
synchronize with each other,
174
00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:17,665
but only at one tempo.
175
00:08:18,165 --> 00:08:20,668
Some birds, like Snowball,
can feel a beat,
176
00:08:21,126 --> 00:08:23,587
but have no understanding
of relative pitch.
177
00:08:24,547 --> 00:08:27,132
Rhesus monkeys
can understand octave equivalence,
178
00:08:27,383 --> 00:08:28,759
but can't feel a beat.
179
00:08:29,885 --> 00:08:32,137
Combined with our capacity
for language and memory,
180
00:08:32,721 --> 00:08:35,182
only humans
put the entire puzzle together.
181
00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:38,978
♪ And for realla, baby... ♪
182
00:08:42,815 --> 00:08:44,567
[Jen] Give it up
for Anderson .Paak, you guys.
183
00:08:44,650 --> 00:08:46,485
[narrator] How musicians assemble
these pieces
184
00:08:46,569 --> 00:08:47,861
triggers another aspect of music
185
00:08:47,945 --> 00:08:50,948
that's, as far as we know, uniquely human:
186
00:08:51,532 --> 00:08:53,701
its deep connection to our feelings.
187
00:08:54,410 --> 00:08:55,578
Take the song "Frère Jacques."
188
00:08:56,161 --> 00:08:58,455
["Frère Jacques" playing]
189
00:09:02,459 --> 00:09:05,254
[narrator] It's in the major scale,
which, in Western music,
190
00:09:05,337 --> 00:09:07,339
is associated with happy feelings.
191
00:09:07,631 --> 00:09:10,384
Other cultures have their own ways
of expressing those mood differences
192
00:09:10,467 --> 00:09:13,178
that don't map on easily
to our major and minor system.
193
00:09:13,262 --> 00:09:14,972
[narrator] Listen to this Balinese scale.
194
00:09:15,556 --> 00:09:17,558
[gentle chiming]
195
00:09:19,310 --> 00:09:21,770
For a Balinese person,
they will really think that is quite sad.
196
00:09:22,521 --> 00:09:26,442
[narrator] Major meaning happy
and minor meaning sad is not universal.
197
00:09:26,525 --> 00:09:29,153
For a Western ear,
it might sound pretty happy,
198
00:09:29,570 --> 00:09:32,573
but Balinese will associate
that with ceremonial rites
199
00:09:32,656 --> 00:09:34,366
and particularly cremations.
200
00:09:34,742 --> 00:09:38,162
[narrator] But meaning accumulating
based on the scale system of your culture,
201
00:09:38,454 --> 00:09:39,872
that is universal.
202
00:09:40,289 --> 00:09:42,041
And that meaning is built over centuries.
203
00:09:42,124 --> 00:09:44,126
[poignant string music]
204
00:09:45,127 --> 00:09:48,922
[narrator] Monteverdi wrote his
"Lamento della Ninfa" in the 1600s...
205
00:09:49,757 --> 00:09:52,301
with a bass line
simply descending the minor scale.
206
00:09:54,261 --> 00:09:55,846
In the hundreds of years since,
207
00:09:56,138 --> 00:09:59,433
composer after composer
has used the exact same baseline
208
00:09:59,516 --> 00:10:00,643
to express lament.
209
00:10:02,269 --> 00:10:03,354
♪ Hit the road, Jack ♪
210
00:10:03,812 --> 00:10:07,358
♪ And don't you come back
no more, no more, no more, no more... ♪
211
00:10:08,108 --> 00:10:10,611
[narrator] And with each repetition,
its meaning grows.
212
00:10:11,111 --> 00:10:13,864
♪ ...down in New Orleans... ♪
213
00:10:14,323 --> 00:10:15,658
[narrator]
So that whenever you hear it...
214
00:10:16,116 --> 00:10:17,618
it just gets a little more powerful.
215
00:10:17,993 --> 00:10:19,912
♪ ...you know how I feel... ♪
216
00:10:20,788 --> 00:10:24,291
[narrator] There's something familiar
about it, but something surprising, too.
217
00:10:24,750 --> 00:10:27,336
♪ ...the love there that's sleeping... ♪
218
00:10:27,419 --> 00:10:29,254
[narrator] We hear these melodies so often
219
00:10:29,463 --> 00:10:32,174
that the effect
becomes immediate and unconscious.
220
00:10:33,384 --> 00:10:37,221
Music connects so many abilities
that it's very hard to lose.
221
00:10:37,513 --> 00:10:42,643
Only an estimated 1.5% of people are born
having trouble differentiating pitches.
222
00:10:43,060 --> 00:10:45,145
Far fewer have trouble feeling a beat.
223
00:10:45,437 --> 00:10:47,606
And losing music perception altogether...
224
00:10:48,315 --> 00:10:49,525
that's basically unheard of.
225
00:10:51,985 --> 00:10:55,823
In 2015, Jen noticed
her body was behaving strangely.
226
00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,909
I had this weird symptom
where I couldn't feel my foot,
227
00:10:59,451 --> 00:11:01,954
as in it just didn't exist.
It felt like I had a ghost foot.
228
00:11:02,037 --> 00:11:05,958
Ten years prior, there was one neurologist
that thought I could have Moyamoya.
229
00:11:06,792 --> 00:11:08,711
[narrator] Moyamoya
means "a puff of smoke."
230
00:11:09,294 --> 00:11:12,881
It's a very rare condition where
blood flow to the brain is constricted.
231
00:11:14,049 --> 00:11:17,136
Here is the carotid artery...
a little darker.
232
00:11:17,219 --> 00:11:20,222
You see it coming up?
You see how it almost disappears here?
233
00:11:20,431 --> 00:11:22,433
It's almost clotted off completely,
234
00:11:22,516 --> 00:11:25,060
and the artery that branched here is gone.
235
00:11:25,728 --> 00:11:28,021
She's not getting enough blood flow
to her brain.
236
00:11:28,397 --> 00:11:30,065
They didn't know if I would
die the next month
237
00:11:30,232 --> 00:11:32,609
or ten years from that point, so...
238
00:11:32,693 --> 00:11:35,863
I was diagnosed in December of 2015,
239
00:11:35,946 --> 00:11:37,322
and in January of 2016,
240
00:11:37,406 --> 00:11:39,575
I had two brain surgeries
a week apart from each other.
241
00:11:40,117 --> 00:11:41,827
[narrator] Two days
after the first surgery,
242
00:11:42,327 --> 00:11:43,829
Jen noticed something was wrong.
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[Jen] When I woke up,
I couldn't talk anymore.
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I also lost my comprehension of speech,
245
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,336
so I couldn't talk, but also suddenly
couldn't understand anyone else talking.
246
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Imagine being in a foreign country
247
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and not understanding
a word that was being said to you.
248
00:11:58,719 --> 00:12:01,972
I watched Portlandia a bunch
when I was in recovery.
249
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Through that show,
I realized I didn't understand music,
250
00:12:05,184 --> 00:12:06,852
because I couldn't understand
the intro song.
251
00:12:09,938 --> 00:12:11,857
See, cognitively,
I knew that it was a song,
252
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and I knew it was the"Washed Out" song,
a song that I liked.
253
00:12:14,985 --> 00:12:16,987
But it didn't register the same way.
254
00:12:17,070 --> 00:12:18,864
I didn't recognize it as music.
255
00:12:19,865 --> 00:12:21,992
[narrator] To cure Jen's Moyamoya disease,
256
00:12:22,075 --> 00:12:25,412
Doctor Steinberg took an artery
from each side of Jen's scalp
257
00:12:25,829 --> 00:12:28,248
and placed it
on top of each side of Jen's brain.
258
00:12:28,707 --> 00:12:31,335
That piece of artery
that is laying on top of your brain
259
00:12:31,418 --> 00:12:32,795
grows down these roots,
260
00:12:33,170 --> 00:12:37,216
and, essentially, now my brain
is fed from the top... down
261
00:12:37,299 --> 00:12:39,051
instead of from the bottom up.
262
00:12:40,844 --> 00:12:43,597
[narrator] And these roots
would've been growing all over the brain.
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[Steinberg] So, the lower processing
was intact.
264
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The sounds were getting in,
both for music and for language.
265
00:12:51,647 --> 00:12:54,107
[narrator] But the higher levels
of processing
266
00:12:54,191 --> 00:12:55,776
to understand music, to speak,
267
00:12:55,859 --> 00:12:58,070
that require the cortex, were gone.
268
00:12:58,153 --> 00:13:02,115
[Steinberg] Putting together the
higher-level circuits was not possible.
269
00:13:02,282 --> 00:13:04,993
It was very, very disturbing...
270
00:13:05,369 --> 00:13:06,662
and upsetting to her.
271
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[narrator] But far more common
than losing music
272
00:13:09,706 --> 00:13:12,918
is using it to help recover
something else that's been lost.
273
00:13:14,002 --> 00:13:15,879
-What is it?
-Phone?
274
00:13:15,963 --> 00:13:17,756
Good try. This isn't a phone.
275
00:13:18,674 --> 00:13:20,008
This what you tell time with.
276
00:13:20,592 --> 00:13:24,680
[narrator] Former U.S. congresswoman
Gabby Giffords had to relearn how to speak
277
00:13:24,763 --> 00:13:27,516
after a gunshot
tore through the left side of her head.
278
00:13:27,599 --> 00:13:29,184
-With a...
-Watch.
279
00:13:29,268 --> 00:13:31,103
That's it! Nice!
280
00:13:31,186 --> 00:13:33,605
[narrator] Areas critical for speech
are right here...
281
00:13:33,814 --> 00:13:35,440
but even if they're damaged,
282
00:13:35,524 --> 00:13:37,985
it's possible to retrain
the other side of the brain,
283
00:13:38,235 --> 00:13:41,280
where more of musical processing happens,
to take over.
284
00:13:42,239 --> 00:13:45,158
[therapist] All right. Let's warm up
with another little song. Okay?
285
00:13:45,242 --> 00:13:48,412
[Patel] Some of these same patients who
can't get two or three words into a phrase
286
00:13:48,495 --> 00:13:50,038
can sometimes sing songs fluently.
287
00:13:50,122 --> 00:13:52,249
You wouldn't know
there was something wrong with them.
288
00:13:52,332 --> 00:13:56,920
[both] ♪ You make me happy
When skies are gray... ♪
289
00:13:57,296 --> 00:14:00,883
People are taught
to sing words while tapping
290
00:14:01,258 --> 00:14:04,553
and then gradually
kind of piggyback on that ability.
291
00:14:04,636 --> 00:14:06,388
[narrator] And music connects to movement.
292
00:14:06,471 --> 00:14:09,224
We actually register a beat
in our brain's motor system.
293
00:14:09,725 --> 00:14:12,686
That's likely why it can help
people with movement disorders.
294
00:14:12,769 --> 00:14:15,856
[woman] There's something about
hearing the music
295
00:14:15,939 --> 00:14:20,402
that enables me to move in a way
that I wouldn't be able to on my own.
296
00:14:20,611 --> 00:14:23,572
[narrator] These effects make music
seem almost like a superpower.
297
00:14:24,364 --> 00:14:26,950
That's led to some exuberant reporting
about music.
298
00:14:27,034 --> 00:14:30,037
[news anchor 1] Can listening to classical
music make children smarter?
299
00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:32,122
[news anchor 2] Why are hospitals
handing out
300
00:14:32,205 --> 00:14:33,957
a million Mozart recordings a month?
301
00:14:34,041 --> 00:14:37,169
Why not a little Mozart
to add a point or two to the IQ?
302
00:14:37,252 --> 00:14:39,421
[narrator] It doesn't really work
like that.
303
00:14:39,504 --> 00:14:42,215
[Margulis] One of those myths out there
about music perception
304
00:14:42,299 --> 00:14:44,134
is that there's
something magic about Mozart.
305
00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,763
[narrator] But there is something magic
about music's power over our mood.
306
00:14:48,180 --> 00:14:49,806
It doesn't have to be Mozart.
307
00:14:49,890 --> 00:14:52,643
It's been well-documented
that music of any kind
308
00:14:52,726 --> 00:14:54,186
can help get anyone,
309
00:14:54,269 --> 00:14:56,730
including athletes
at the very top of their field,
310
00:14:56,813 --> 00:14:58,857
in the right frame of mind to perform.
311
00:14:59,650 --> 00:15:03,946
And longer-term active participation
in music can have incredible benefits.
312
00:15:04,947 --> 00:15:08,825
Kids who learn to make music early
have advantages learning language.
313
00:15:09,409 --> 00:15:13,997
Our ability to remember music is also
a fabulously effective teaching tool.
314
00:15:14,081 --> 00:15:16,083
[class sings]
315
00:15:19,002 --> 00:15:21,546
[narrator] And our love of synchronizing
with music and each other
316
00:15:21,630 --> 00:15:23,465
confers social benefits.
317
00:15:23,548 --> 00:15:26,885
[Patel] There's a lot of interest in how
music influences social cognition.
318
00:15:26,969 --> 00:15:31,515
[Margulis] When you make music together
with people or listen to music in a group,
319
00:15:31,598 --> 00:15:33,809
then it feels like you have
some kind of understanding
320
00:15:33,892 --> 00:15:36,853
and that you're really together
in some powerful way.
321
00:15:36,937 --> 00:15:39,856
And there's experimental evidence
that people treat each other better.
322
00:15:40,399 --> 00:15:43,735
[narrator] These benefits
and music's universality among humans
323
00:15:43,860 --> 00:15:45,654
raise even bigger questions.
324
00:15:45,779 --> 00:15:48,824
[Patel] Humans groups faced
all kinds of challenges during evolution,
325
00:15:48,907 --> 00:15:52,661
and anything that would help promote
cooperation in the group
326
00:15:52,744 --> 00:15:54,121
could potentially promote survival.
327
00:15:54,246 --> 00:15:57,874
[narrator] Darwin had an evolutionary
explanation for music, too.
328
00:15:57,958 --> 00:15:59,918
Oh, this one. I love this one. Yeah.
329
00:16:00,002 --> 00:16:01,503
"Musical notes and rhythm
were first acquired
330
00:16:01,586 --> 00:16:03,964
for the sake of charming
the opposite sex."
331
00:16:04,589 --> 00:16:06,800
[narrator] Like a peacock,
that beautiful tail
332
00:16:06,883 --> 00:16:08,969
isn't necessarily
helping the bird survive.
333
00:16:09,511 --> 00:16:13,181
But it might have signaled
something like that at first.
334
00:16:13,265 --> 00:16:14,182
[caws]
335
00:16:14,266 --> 00:16:15,892
But often when that's the case,
336
00:16:16,685 --> 00:16:19,938
you can see
some kind of progression of an ability
337
00:16:20,022 --> 00:16:24,568
as you get closer
on the evolutionary tree to humans,
338
00:16:24,651 --> 00:16:27,112
that maybe there'll be
more musical ability.
339
00:16:27,195 --> 00:16:29,906
But that really doesn't seem to be
the case in some clear way.
340
00:16:30,741 --> 00:16:33,577
[narrator] In the animal world,
musicality is all over the map.
341
00:16:34,327 --> 00:16:36,455
We're only just starting to find out
342
00:16:36,538 --> 00:16:39,124
if our love
for rhythm, repetition, and harmony
343
00:16:39,207 --> 00:16:42,210
evolved gradually
through the other primates.
344
00:16:43,128 --> 00:16:47,257
And the search has connected researchers
from an incredibly broad array of fields.
345
00:16:49,134 --> 00:16:52,679
They mostly consider their search
for answers to be in its infancy.
346
00:16:57,809 --> 00:16:59,936
Jen didn't have to live too long
without music.
347
00:17:00,437 --> 00:17:02,856
Within a few weeks, her brain healed.
348
00:17:02,939 --> 00:17:05,067
What we think, in a simplistic way,
349
00:17:05,484 --> 00:17:08,862
is that the circuits
are temporarily inhibited...
350
00:17:09,529 --> 00:17:13,575
and that it takes the brain
some readjusting or some learning.
351
00:17:13,658 --> 00:17:17,162
Once I was back at home,
I could understand music again.
352
00:17:17,245 --> 00:17:20,082
Like, I could hear it,
but I couldn't make music.
353
00:17:22,834 --> 00:17:25,295
Procedurally,
I still knew how to make music,
354
00:17:25,378 --> 00:17:28,965
but I didn't know how to use my ears
to navigate making a song.
355
00:17:29,549 --> 00:17:30,675
I decided I would wait.
356
00:17:31,885 --> 00:17:33,804
Then a couple of weeks later,
I went back in,
357
00:17:33,887 --> 00:17:38,225
overwhelmed with emotion,
and made this song that was amazing.
358
00:17:38,308 --> 00:17:40,352
And it wasn't
that the song was just amazing.
359
00:17:40,435 --> 00:17:42,646
I was able to mix it
and make it sound good, too.
360
00:17:44,147 --> 00:17:46,691
I never worked on a song
for so long in my life.
361
00:17:48,318 --> 00:17:52,489
But within three months, she was
back performing at a very high level
362
00:17:52,572 --> 00:17:54,157
and entertaining and producing.
363
00:17:54,241 --> 00:17:55,742
I wanted to live every moment
364
00:17:55,826 --> 00:17:58,954
like it was the last day
I'd be able to make music again.
365
00:17:59,496 --> 00:18:00,705
[fast, pulsating beat]
366
00:18:05,168 --> 00:18:07,003
[narrator] It's easy to forget
that all of us
367
00:18:07,087 --> 00:18:09,131
have a superpower in having musicality.
368
00:18:09,631 --> 00:18:12,884
We can use it to learn, feel,
remember, and connect.
369
00:18:12,968 --> 00:18:17,889
[Margulis] Just looking at the power
that music does have, the universality,
370
00:18:17,973 --> 00:18:20,559
means that regardless
of its evolutionary history,
371
00:18:20,642 --> 00:18:24,563
we can learn something really important
about what it means to be human.
372
00:18:24,646 --> 00:18:28,483
It still brings back all the joy I have
373
00:18:28,567 --> 00:18:30,652
in being able
to share it with people today.
374
00:18:31,069 --> 00:18:33,613
[narrator] And the trick
to making any sound music:
375
00:18:34,114 --> 00:18:36,116
play it again and listen closer.
376
00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:38,994
[Patel] The fact that music
gives us such intense pleasure
377
00:18:39,744 --> 00:18:41,121
may be telling us something.
378
00:18:41,413 --> 00:18:42,497
Evolution wants us to do this.
379
00:18:43,456 --> 00:18:46,877
Lightning In A Bottle!
I had brain surgery two years ago.
380
00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:48,587
I'm fucking here with you right now.
381
00:18:49,671 --> 00:18:51,089
Let's all be glad to be alive.
382
00:18:52,465 --> 00:18:55,135
♪ I wish I could be better ♪
383
00:18:57,596 --> 00:19:00,223
♪ I wish I could do better ♪
384
00:19:02,517 --> 00:19:05,520
♪ I hope this stays for better ♪