The
Effects of Music on Speech Disorders
A relatively new field, it has often been questioned why
music affects those with speech disorders, particularly those who stutter.
Recent examples of this include American Idol contestant, Larazo Arbos. Speech
pathologists say there is not yet a scientifically proven answer to the
question, but there are likely a number of physiologic, genetic, environmental
and social variables that play a role. One plausible explanation, said
Krzysztof Izdebski, chairman of the Pacific Voice and Speech Foundation in San
Francisco, is that singing relies mostly on memory. “When you speak, on the
other hand, it’s more of a voluntary activity. There’s planning, thinking,
reaction, et cetera. Singing requires different mechanisms,” he said. People
who stutter may be unable to coordinate all the movements and processes
involved in speech, he explained. “The more automatic the speech is, the less
someone is likely to stutter,” added Karin Wexler, an adjunct associate
professor of speech and language pathology at Columbia University’s Teachers
College in New York. The same goes for reciting a poem. There’s no
real communication involved. One might wonder is singing could be used as a
normal form of communication for those who stutter if it indeed helps so much.
According to the Stuttering Project at the University of Iowa,
however, while people who stutter may be able to sing stutter-free,
singing will rarely produce long-term fluency. Speaking also requires the voice
box to work a lot more because there is repeated starting and stopping, unlike
singing, which is a more continuous flow. “Getting the voice started can
be a problem for someone who stutters,” she said.
The phenomenon could also be due to the differences in
brain activity elicited by singing and speaking. Each is associated with a
different part of the brain, and perhaps the musical signals get routed differently.
It is not just stammering that gets lost when people sing. Accents tend to
disappear as well. Singing is rarely spontaneous, and people learn a song and
will sing it as they heard it. In fact, speaking with a different accent
actually seems to help some stutterers. “If they are speaking in a different
way from their ordinary way of speaking, they may become more fluent.”
Music and Speech Areas of the Brain
Indeed the effects of music on speech disorders,
particularly stuttering, is an amazing topic that presents very little research
because it is a relatively new field of study. The research that has been
produces, however, reveals that music, in fact, has a significant effect on
people with such disorders. The most common thought among researchers is that
words bypass the part of the brain related to speech, the frontal lobe, and
moves immediately to the part of the brain related to music, particularly
rhythm, the cerebellum. The following image reveals these parts of the brain:
The cerebellum can be seen in a completely different area
of the brain than the frontal lobe, which is also a part of the cerebrum.
The cerebellum is located at the back of the
head, below the cerebrum. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke explains that this organ is the second largest in the brain and is a
vital control center for reflex actions, balance, rhythm and coordinating
skeletal muscle movement. The cerebellum helps to
create smooth, flowing and integrated movements when hearing or playing music.
It works in harmony with other parts of the brain to affect rhythmic movement
in the body when moving in response to the music. The cerebellum allows a
performer to move the body in accordance to reading or visualizing music when
playing a musical instrument, as described by the Center for Neuroskills. Researchers have
revealed that the cognitive process of presenting words in one who stutters
allows that the functions are carried out through the cerebellum rather than
the frontal lobe when singing, particularly attributed to the effects of
rhythm.
Singing
Research has shown that
music-making, singing in particular, has a dramatic effect on those who speech
disorders. It is often used, in fact, as a therapeutic tool to aid in the
rehabilitative process for those who have developed such a disorder from
accidents or health issues such as a stroke. “Singing can serve as a valuable
tool because it is a universal form of musical expression that is as natural as
speaking.”
The common problem among those who stutter is the absence of finer tongue
control. Classical vocal music training helps to coordinate the vocal chords
and work on fine tongue control. Singing engages and auditory-motor feedback
loop in the brain more intensely than other music making activities such as
instrumental playing. From a developmental perspective, babies produce
vocalizations that may be regarded as precursors for music and speech
intonation, and by kindergarten age, children can sing a fairly large
repertoire of songs with their performance level being similar to that of
adults. Furthermore, some children even exhibit intermediate vocalizations, a
type of vocal behavior that lies at the boundary between speech and song.
Recent research gives evidence that the therapeutic effects of singing modify
the speech motor symptoms of several neurological disorders.
The following example clearly
presents brain differences in those with singing experience and those without.
According to the image, the professional singer (b) has a more connected right
and left arcuate fasciculus (AF) than the healthy nonmusician (a). In the same
manner, although the left AF is absent because of a hemispheric stroke, the
results of intensive melodic intonation therapy on a patient with Broca’s
aphasia is evident. The right AF appears larger after therapy.
Singing, or the act of producing
musical sounds with the voice, has the potential to treat speech abnormalities
because it directly stimulates the muscles associated with respiration,
phonation, articulation, and resonance. Research has shown that intensive
singing practice can lead to long-lasting changes in both the cardio-vascular
and pulmonary systems.
Recent
research is clear in the results: singing can and does have a drastic positive
effect on those with neurological disorders. With this research being
relatively new to the field, the challenges are great, but so potential for
profound conclusions.
University of Toronto
Study
A recent study at the University of
Toronto clearly reveals that music indeed has a significant effect on
stuttering. The participants included 22 children (14 boys and 8 girls)
studying in various schools from the ages of 7-13. All of the children had
problems with stuttering. The causes of stuttering varied in the participants
of the study. For some, it was emotional disturbance; for some, it was lack of
freedom in expression; for some, it was inadequate vocabulary; and for some, it
was having bilingual parents. It is typically thought that the speech issues in
stuttering may be related to the lack of coordination of certain muscles
implying that the problem is related to finer control of the tongue. As
mentioned earlier, classical vocal music training helps correct this problem.
In this particular study, basic vocal exercises were used (pairs, triple
syllables with twist and speed, etc.). In the study, the music used was
selected on the basis of the following:
1.
Easy to recite
2.
Does not require intricate knowledge of music
3.
Simple to follow
4.
Easy to train oneself
Simple reading
passages were also chosen.
Findings and Conclusions
The general positive effect of music
therapy was evident in all of the participants. In the course of the study, the
problem of stuttering was reduced gradually over the weeks on account of
exposure to music therapy. There was also a corresponding increase in the
fluency of reading among children with speech fluency as the therapy progressed
over the weeks. Four boys and seven girls showed improvement in reading fluency
and speech fluency. For most participants, stuttering began significantly
decreasing from the fourth week of the study onward. However, for one girl,
stuttering disappeared on the tenth day of the study, and reading fluency
improved gradually. Except for two children, speech fluency increased from the
seventh week. These two children, however, gained fluency by the ninth week but
also needed further exposure to therapy sessions, suggesting that there are
individual differences with regard to the improvement gained as a result of
music therapy. All of these results reveal that music indeed has a profound
positive effect on those who stutter.
Conclusion
Although
this field of study is relatively new, it is quite conclusive in its findings.
Music has a significant effect on those with speech disorders. The potential
for significant findings is great. Questions arise as to why music affects
those with speech disorders in such a positive manner, leaving room for more
research and more significant findings.
