Shane ole buddy ole pal! Good to hear from ya! Whatcha doin tonight? Give me a call ok? Lets go drink a whacka brewskies and talk fullashitty fullosophy eh?

Bill please go right ahead and VENT about whatever u like. No holds barred on this thread! Besides, you can't pull the wool over my eyes y'know. I've seen you do other things well. Like speaking from the heart. Only very special philosophers can do that    ;-)

Researching this topic over last couple days, I find myself very confused. There's such contradictory evidence out there, for example, from the BBC Jan 30th
Music is as vital as the three R's

Learning to play an instrument boosts intelligence and general well-being and should be a central part of the school curriculum, a study says.

Professor Susan Hallam at the University of London's Institute of Education said playing music together also taught children to work as a team.


Sounds good huh? HA!! Don't be fooled. Just check this out --- Evil music blamed for suicide

The father of a heavy metal rock singer who killed himself has blamed the band's "dark and evil" music for his suicide.

Gareth Bonetto, 29, was known as Mad Eddie Richards in his role as singer with Pontypridd band Blood Retch.

He hanged himself in March after weeks of hospital psychiatric treatment.

His father Lawrence told an inquest in Merthyr Tydfil it was as though his son was "two different people" when he was in the band ... "His music was dark and evil and it did for him."


But then again, here's a study hot off the press at the University of Toronto, indicating that even just a couple months of private music lessons boosts children's IQ and enhances performance in all areas of life:

Music Lessons Enhance IQ (pdf file)

Music lessons involve long periods of focused attention, daily practice, reading musical notation, memorization of extended musical passages, learning about a variety of musical structures (eg. intevals, scales, chords, chord progressions) and progressive mastery of technical (ie., fine motor) skills and the conventions governing the expression of emotions in performance. THis combination of experiences could have a positive effect on cognition, particularly during the childhood years, when brain development is highly plastic and subject to environmental influence.

... Music lessons cause small increases in IQ but comparable nonmusical activities do not ... by contrast, drama lessons had favorable effects on social behavior that were not evident in the music groups.

See?!? Music students do not excel in social skills! Makes 'em smart but gives no heart, huh? THat's it --- do the whole human race a favour. Repent thy evil ways! Throw away all your instruments, smash your CD players and abolish music once and for all I say!