Improvisation: The Most Complex Human Ability?

What goes on in the brains of jazz musicians at work? "When Melody Takes a Detour, the Science Begins," a New York Times story by Pam Belluck, captures the thoughts of musicians and scholars who are looking at the importance of music in human development, cognition and communication. One of the ways music touches us, apparently, is by its tonal and rhythmic patterns. We like familiar and predictable patterns, but we also like a certain amount of surprise. Brain imaging studies [...]