Music and Your Brain

The New York Times reports on a study showing that children who took music lessons at a young age had advanced development in their brain waves – even if they had discontinued lessons!  This is a neat finding because it shows us that even when a student wanes in their commitment to lessons over the years, and maybe does not end up achieving a sophisticated understanding of their instrument, that just the act of taking lessons has forever improved them!

After recording brain responses, Northwestern University found that “the group of students who reported musical training in childhood had more robust responses — their brains were better able to pick out essential elements, like pitch, in the complex sounds when they were tested.  And this was true even if the lessons had ended years ago.”

It might seem like increasing the brain’s understanding of sound would have little impact on overall development, but actually it directly affects how well a child can decipher language – improving their reading and listening skills.  And when you consider that reading and listening skills are a gateway to all learning, well, you could see how that would have a pretty large impact!

One of the sound advancements for the brain is the ability to decipher sounds in the foreground versus sounds in the background – which can help everyone in focusing on the right sounds in their environment, but also be of help specifically for those with hearing loss.

Brain waves of musicians are obvious to scientists who are looking at them. Ms. Parbery-Clark from Northwestern University remarks ““One of my lab mates can look at the computer and say, ‘Oh, you’re recording from a musician!’ ”

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