In a study published in Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, a group of researchers have been examining a condition called “Inattentional deafness.” The group from University College London examined study participants’ ability to detect a sound while focusing intently on a task.

When subjects did a simple version of the computer based task, most recalled hearing a soft tone (that they were not expecting) in their headphones. A very difficult task caused most participants to become totally unaware of that same stimulus.

Although the study may fuel excuses the next time you are accused of not listening, it has more serious implications as well. While a frenetic pace of life puts a premium on people who can “multitask,” this study emphasizes that multitasking is not something the brain has limitless capacity for. Texting, having conversations, or just daydreaming while we are driving, are all instances of things that rob us of our ability to focus. Having any kind of inattentional deafness or blindness may does not necessarily have to cause the level of impairment that alcohol may bring, but may still cost precious seconds of reaction time that could mean the difference between avoiding an accident, or causing one.

While this is a very focused study, it is clear from a variety of scientific findings that music education is an essential and indispensible component of childhood education in general. Findings from Dr. Kraus’ lab have also indicated that the areas of the brain that are enhanced by musical training are the same areas found deficient in cases of dyslexia.

How many students with possible attention deficits, dyslexia, or other developmental difficulties could be helped by music education? Yet these programs are often the first to be cut when school budgets are tightened.

I’ve often wondered how professional musicians are so wonderfully educated, given the enormous amount of time they have to dedicate to their craft. But when you think about how music could help students better hear and comprehend sounds even in a complex aural environment (e.g. a classroom), it is not surprising given that in music, you are in a real sense listening to perhaps a half a dozen or more conversations or more. In an orchestra, you have to listen to yourself, your section, and all the other instruments in order to play correctly. As a skilled listener, every note is an important component of the piece, and you are easily disturbed (and perhaps later delighted) when you first listen to another recording of your favorite work to find some notes emphasized, diminished, or seemingly eliminated.

The Mozart effect (or at least the over-hyped media and commercialization of it) notwithstanding, music is more than entertaining, it can be educational.

Check out this youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmWRttCo7lo ) of one of my favorite (educated) musicians, Mistko Uchida, as she explains the Schoenberg Piano Concerto (a personal favorite). I love her explanations of what you are hearing, especially at around 5:20 in this particular clip. To the uninitiated some “classical” music sounds like a jumble, but there is really so much beneath the surface. Look and listen to her play in this clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct47T9_liOU) for a good brain workout.