Jazz music’s therapeutic effects noted during Innovation Month at JSU

November 12, 2014

Innovation in the psychological effects of jazz and the blues was the topic Tuesday during Innovation Month at Jackson State University.

On Wednesday: Social entrepreneurship

On Thursday: Inventors roundtable; robotics

Speaking at the Dollye M.E. Robinson College of Liberal Arts Building, Dr. David Akombo, assistant professor, director of music education and graduate coordinator in the department of music, outlined various studies on the positive and negative effects of music on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. (Photo by Anissa Hidouk, JSU)
Speaking at the Dollye M.E. Robinson College of Liberal Arts Building, Dr. David Akombo, assistant professor, director of music education and graduate coordinator in the department of music, outlined various studies on the positive and negative effects of music on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. (Photo by Anissa Hidouk, JSU)

Professors on Tuesday from the JSU Music Department gave a presentation on The Academic and Psychological Effects of Engaging Learners in Live Jazz Music Improvisation.

Speaking at the Dollye M.E. Robinson College of Liberal Arts Building, Dr. David Akombo, assistant professor, director of music education and graduate coordinator in the department of music, outlined various studies on the positive and negative effects of music.

He was assisted on a sound mixing system by Andrew Lewis, an adjunct professor of music, to demonstrate various “mixes” of sounds, or chords, from jazz and blues music.
Lewis demonstrated the 12 bar blues format and various scales that are used in jazz/blues music, assisted by music students Selwyn Ware and Craig West, both playing trumpet. Playing “Freddie the Freeloader,” the students demonstrated improvisational skills fitting within the framework of various jazz/blues chords and rhythms.

 

Lewis used an Apple desktop system with iReal Pro which he said he also uses to teach students how to improvise music “with a high level of confidence.” To demonstrate, he had the audience sing along.

“There, you’ve just improvised,” he said, to laughter and applause.

Dr. Taunjah Bell, assistant professor in the psychology department, spoke on an area of her specialty: neurobiological mechanisms underlying emotional control and emotional responses; in this case, to music.

She said that music can help calm anxiety, but that’s not all. “Music is very beneficial on many levels,” she said.

Music affects immune response, cognition and mood, she said. It also helps brain cells communicate and can help Alzheimer’s patients’ memory.

They were followed by Dr. Sumesh Arora, who is vice president of Innovate Mississippi and is the director for Innovate Mississippi’s Strategic Biomass Solutions program. He spoke on Environmental Sustainability in Mississippi.

 

Andrew Lewis (left), an adjunct professor of music, demonstrates chords from jazz and blues music with the help of music students Selwyn Ware (right) and Craig West. (Photo by Anissa Hidouk, JSU)
Andrew Lewis (left), an adjunct professor of music, demonstrates chords from jazz and blues music with the help of music students Selwyn Ware (right) and Craig West. (Photo by Anissa Hidouk, JSU)

Here’s the Innovation schedule:

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

JSU Social Entrepreneurship Business Plan Challenge

College of Business Building, Pittman Auditorium, Room 134

 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

Intellectual Property Primer and Inventors Roundtable Discussion

H.T. Sampson Library, INNOVATE

 

1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Computational Thinking and Technology Robotics Demonstration

Engineering Building, Student Lounge

 

Friday, November 14, 2014

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

Opening Ceremony and Ribbon Cutting of the Trading Room

College of Business Building, Rotunda

 

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

The Innovative Arts in the Creative Economy: Repurposed Art

One University Place, Gallery One

 

1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

The Innovative Arts in the Creative Economy: The Act of Drawing

Johnson Hall, Art Gallery

 

3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Reception Recognizing JSU Social Entrepreneurship Business Plan Winners

Engineering Building, Atrium

 

Monday, November 17 – 19, 2014

Global Entrepreneurship Week (College of Business)

Thursday, November 20, 2014

 

8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

NSF HBCU-UP Outreach Workshop

Engineering Building

www.jsums.edu/research/event/innovationmonth