Music exercises the brain in a unique way.

Learning and performing music actually exercises the brain… by strengthening the synapses between brain cells. Brain scans taken during music performances show that virtually the entire cerebral cortex is active while musicians are playing.¹

Studies show that a musician’s hippocampus²; and corpus callosum³ are more developed than non-musicians. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that plays an important role in the consolidation of information from short-term to long-term memory, as well as spatial navigation. The corpus callosum is a flat bundle of neural fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres and facilitates interhemispheric communication.

Research Studies

• The Effects of Musical Training on Structural Brain Development
• Effects of Music Training on the Child’s Brain and Cognitive Development
• NPR: This is Your Brain on Music – “Musical training doesn’t just improve your ear for music, it helps your ear for speech.”

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References

1. Weinberger, Norman M., The music in our minds: Education leadership, 56(3).
2. Sluming, V.A., et al., Increased hippocampal volumes and enhanced visual memory in musicians. International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2005. 13.
3. Schlaug, G., et al., Increased corpus callosum size in musicians. Neuropsychologia, 1995. 33(8): p. 1047-55.