The Amazing Effects of Music on the Brain
Many people would consider music to be the most beautiful form of art there is in the world. Music makes our worst days a bit more joyful and our best days a little bit better. Music truly is a gift to our everyday lives. However, one of the best parts about music is in the amazing ways it affects our brains.
Listening to Music
You do not have to be a musician practicing music everyday to receive the amazing benefits music has on the brain. Simply listening to music can have amazing effects on the brain. Studies have shown that listening to music can relieve pain as it triggers opioids (the body’s natural pain relievers). Listening to music can also help you recall a memory. Perhaps, when memorizing a concept for an exam you had a certain symphony playing in the background. Listening to the same symphony later on could help you recall those concepts you were memorizing. Not only is music fun to listen to, but it can help you study as well.
Look below to check out benefits of listening to music
Playing Music
However, the most amazing benefits of music does come from when you begin learning how to play an instrument.
Musicians experience a greater functioning memory. Learning how to play an instrument and then practicing is a workout for the memory. Just as you go to the gym to workout your muscles, playing music works the brain’s memory. Studies have even shown that musicians’ brains tend to uniquely tag memories with conceptual, emotional, and contextual tags. This helps a person store and then receive these memories at an enhanced rate than a normal person. The relationship between music and memory is amazing.
Playing an instrument is also going to utilize fine motor skills to make the music you’re playing sound good. Continuing to practice those skills will enhance the fine motor portion of your brain to be translated to other tasks.
Then, playing music is the literal equivalent to a full body workout for the brain. Neurologists have discovered that playing music engages the visual, auditory, and motor cortices. It works to power up these brain functions so they can be used for different activities. So even if you do not want to be a professional musician, learning to play a musical instrument will help you in all sorts of activities.
The brain is also separated into two hemispheres, the left and right. The left hemisphere helps with tasks associated with math and science while the right hemisphere is used for creative tasks. Music is especially unique because when a musician is playing music it utilizes both hemispheres of the brain. This causes growth in the corpus callosum, the part of the brain which connects both hemispheres. All of this growth in the brain is going to lead to enhanced problem solving throughout educational, social, and career settings.
At INSPIRE, you will be given all the tools necessary to begin your musical journey. So, if you have ever aspired to learn to play an instrument or how to sing, go for it. Your brain will thank you later.
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