The Cognitive Benefits of Learning Music
Music isn’t just art—it’s one of the best medicines for your brain. While we might be a bit biased, the science is undeniable. Researchers have spent decades mapping how musical training reshapes the human mind, uncovering some truly remarkable benefits. Here is a look at what they discovered.
Key Findings
Better Executive Functioning
Musicians often demonstrate greater levels of higher-order cognitive processes, including planning, multitasking, and self-regulation. The “air traffic control” nature of playing—reading notation while coordinating movements—strengthens the brain’s ability to switch between tasks and stay organized.
Stronger Memory
Music lessons significantly boost verbal memory (recall of spoken/written information) and working memory (holding and manipulating information in real-time). This is largely due to the need to memorize patterns, rhythms, and complex fingerings.
More Focused
Practicing an instrument demands sustained concentration and the ability to filter out distractions to maintain tempo and dynamics. This improved focus frequently translates to better performance in non-musical daily tasks. They younger you start, the better the results.
Improved Reading Skills
Music education is often linked to faster brain development in areas responsible for sound processing, reading, and literacy. It improves aural discrimination, helping learners distinguish speech sounds more accurately, which aids in vocabulary acquisition and second language learning. This is part of why we suggest starting musical training at age five.
Biological Findings
Bilateral Connectivity
Learning an instrument strengthens the bridge between the brain’s left and right hemispheres. This leads to faster and clearer communication across the entire brain.
Gray Matter
Musicians frequently have higher density in areas responsible for motor control, auditory processing, and visuospatial skills.
Decreased Future Risk
Childhood lessons can create a “buffer” against age-related decline, potentially lowering the risk of dementia later in life by keeping neural pathways resilient. This goes for people who start playing young and pick up an instrument later in life. In fact, older adults who play an instrument have shown up to a 64% lower likelihood of developing dementia.
Practical Findings
Better at Math
By mastering rhythm and scales, students inherently learn concepts of fractions, ratios, and pattern recognition.
Better GPA
Students highly engaged in music can be academically ahead of their peers by over a year, often seeing higher grades and improved test scores.
Better Emotional and Social Intelligence
Lessons can improve self-confidence, patience, and resilience through public performance and group collaboration.
Becoming a musician is a full-body workout for your brain, even if you’re not sore with a headache after practice. Sticking your kids in music lessons while they’re young will help them thrive in their current environments while simultaneously protecting them from possible mental decline later in life. We aren’t trying to convince you to sign your kids up for lessons with us, but how could you not after reading all the benefits! Click here to learn about our lessons. Tune in each week for a new post about all things music by subscribing below, and don’t forget to follow us on social media for updates on our music school and tips for how to be the best musician you can be.
As an institution that is a beat above the rest, Breaking the Barrier School of Music provides quality music lessons in a family atmosphere to students of all ages and skillsets. For more articles like these or information on our school, visit btbschoolofmusic.com or contact us at btbschoolofmusic@gmail.com
Sources
PMC – National Institutes of Health: Detailed review of how musical training affects cognitive development and brain plasticity.
Creyos Health: Analysis of the science behind cognitive advantages, including dementia prevention and memory.
AARP: Information on the brain health benefits of learning an instrument later in life.
Merit School of Music: Overview of neuroplasticity and the “full-brain workout” provided by music.
Harvard Health Publishing: Recent study findings on musical engagement and its link to lower dementia risk.
American Psychological Association: Study results showing how childhood music lessons provide a lifelong boost in brain health.
Lone Star Neurology: Research on how music impacts childhood development and lifelong brain health
Harvard Graduate School of Education: Study on the link between music lessons and executive function.
