Musicians, you’ve seen them at homecoming, during parades, and almost any other place you can think of, but did you know their training will increase their brain capacity, and its ability to perform? The Northwestern University Director of Auditory Neuroscience and Communication Sciences, Nina Kraus recently compiled a series of research that suggests that those with musical training have better language skills, speaking ability, memory capacity, attention span, and vocal emotion skills.

Musical training helps condition the brain’s ability to focus and differentiate specific tones, rhythms, and sounds (Tremmel, 2010). The brain’s ability to emphasize on relevant sensory information from irrelevant noise is concept known as neuroplasticity, where key experiences, and training influences brain performance.

A musician’s ability to filter sounds strengthens the mind by retrieving wanted information, because the brain isn’t able to process and accept every piece of sensory information it encounters (Tremmel, 2010). Designating a particular musical que or notification can trigger the mind to focus on wanted information, instead of wasting brain capacity on less important information, process that is similar to a violinist separating their notes from the other band members.

Researchers in Canada also completed a study to measure the impact that music has on the brain (Cutler, 2010) . Researches analyzed the brain patterns of a group of musicians, and compared them to those without musical training. Researches began the experiment by playing music while each group completed a word assignment. At the conclusion of the experiment researchers found that the group of musicians had similar brain patterns that enabled them to achieve better results on the exam (Cutler, 2010). On the other hand, those without musical training suffered. After completing additional research, the analysts concluded that musical training stimulates a change in the cognitive process necessary for music perception, which are the same mechanisms used to process language (Cutler, 2010)

The video below shows how musical training can increase the brains ability to learn, and preform more effectively. Musicians complete training that require them to separate ques, simultaneous complete technical processes, that improve all area of brain, more specifically the motor auditory, and visual cortices. I believe the information from the aforementioned studies shows how important musical programs are in schools, especially during early education.

Resources

Cutler, D. (2010, April 5). Are Musicians Truly Important. Retrieved July 29, 2016, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276595.php

Tremmel, P. (2010, April 20). Neuroscience of Music – How Music Enhances Learning Through Neuroplasticity. Retrieved July 29, 2016, from http://neurosciencenews.com/neuroscience-music-enchances-learning-neuroplasticity/