The talent of musicians can be enjoyed on many levels. In this case we are not talking about performance quality or musical genre, but about the visualization of what happens inside the musicians' bodies as they make music. This is possible thanks to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology.

Since the invention of the first MRI machine in 1972, medicine has made use of this technique for the detection of different pathologies and a wide variety of tissue conditions. The information obtained is processed by computers and transformed into images for analysis.

Magnetic resonance imaging allows us to observe fascinating processes in the human body of musicians in action.

On the other hand, the instrument of the human voice is highly appreciated and its interpreters continue to surprise with its range and nuances. So the opportunity to see a professional singer beatboxing in action is fascinating.

Thus, the first video corresponds to the baritone Michael Volle who was invited to the Medical Center of the University of Freiburg to undergo a magnetic resonance tomography while interpreting a work. It is known that he was initially supposed to perform the aria from Mozart's Don Giovanni, although this turned out to be inappropriate due to the singer's many movements to perform it; so what we see and hear is the "Song to the Evening Star" from Wagner's Tannhäuser.  

Brass instruments
Then we have the trumpeter Sarah Williswho is part of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; she participated with the Max Planck Institute in Göttingen (Lower Saxony, Germany) to observe the body's reaction while playing a brass instrument. Social Musik explains that the intention of the experiment is due to an interest in the processes that occur when a musician plays his instrument. Also, the conclusions found were that the quality of interpretation is not only due to the rehearsals and the psychological disposition, but that the physical aspect plays a very important role in this process.

Soprano, beatbox and more
Finally, we can also enjoy other IMRs that show everything that happens when a soprano sings and when a beat boxer is in full action. Other videos show the internal movements when different pronunciations are made. So, as we can see, the applications of IMR are many and the result is fascinating.

Music and the brain
In other occasions we talked in Hipertextual about the many benefits that music brings to all of us who practice it or simply enjoy it. The effects and benefits are many and worth keeping in mind. In a very simple way, we can say that scientists have found that musicians develop their brain plasticity, increase their fine motor skills and many other effects.

On the other hand, enjoying music is no less fascinating. Listening to music that pleases us triggers a whole series of processes within us: it regulates the level of stress-related hormones, strengthens memory and learning, affects the speed of brain waves and recreates memories. So we can see that music is no small thing both in its effects when listened to and when performed, and the hypnotic magnetic resonance imaging proves it.