No one knows exactly when jazz (爵士乐) was created or by whom. But it is said that it might begin in the early 1900s. Jazz was a new kind of music, for America and the world, and New Orleans was its birthplace. Who were the jazz pioneers? Most were blacks. This music was not written down, and at first only blacks played it. It was hard for white musicians to learn the new style. But soon they, too, were playing jazz.

If music makes you smarter and exercise helps you to think, surely exercising to music can turn you into an intelligent person.

A team of scientists from Ohio State University did experiments on 33 volunteers who were getting better from heart disease following operation. They found that people who exercised while listening to Italian musician Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” did much better on language ability tests than without music.

“Facts suggest that exercise improve the learning ability of people with heart disease,” said the psychologist(心理学家) Charles Emery, who led the study. “And listening to music is thought to enhance understanding. We just wanted to put the two results together,” he added.

The volunteers said they felt better emotionally after working out with or without the music. But their improvement on the test doubled after listening to music during exercise. Scientists have proved that music can be good for health, education and well-being. It helps reduce stress, sadness and nervousness; encourages relaxation or sleep; wakes up the body and improves memory and thoughts.

In medical fields, music is used widely for patients who have had head hurts before and after operation. “The Four Seasons” was used because of its moderate tempo(舒缓的节拍) and positive results in earlier research. “Exercise seems to cause positive changes in the nervous system and these changes may have a direct result on learning ability,” Emery said.

Scientists have been studying the results of music on understanding since the early 1950s. By 1990, psychologists were using Mozart’s music, especially his violin pieces, to help children with speech disorders. Mozart was chosen because his music is not over-exciting and has clear structures. A study showed students who listened to Mozart went on to score higher marks in an intelligence test. With important exams drawing near, your parents will not probably allow you to listen to music. But perhaps now you have good reasons to argue with them.

Do you have the experience of taking music lessons against your wishes? Perhaps you have complained about it because you thought it took you much playtime. But now you’d better thank your parents for their time and money spent on your musical training. A recent study suggests music lessons can make children have better memories than their peers(同龄人).

The Canadian study showed that after one year of musical training, children did better on a memory test than those who didn’t take music lessons.

The researchers(研究者) made the children aged between 4 and 6 into two groups — one group of children took music lessons outside school, and the other didn’t take any musical training. In one year, they took four tests in different times. The results showed brain(大脑) development changes at least every four months.

The children taking music lessons not only did better in musical listening but also made faster progress in other ways, such as reading, writing, Maths and IQ.

People say music is the good medicine for a broken heart. Now it seems music can also help us to improve our memories. We are sure to find more and more in the wonderful world of music.