Music and the Brain

Many people are concerned with the topic of , “Can Music Make Me Smarter?”, and if so, “What Music Should I Listen Too?”. This article should help you more in your quest for the ultimate symphony or songs to stimulate your brain.

To arrive to this question we first need to ask the question…

 

How Does Music Affect The Brain?

Music involvement engages more areas of the brain than any other activity. Experiencing music stimulates the right brain, the analytical and structural elements of music stimulates the left side of the brain and the emotional response to music stimulates the limbic system which is the part of the brain that is concerned with emotion and motivation

Music stimulates various parts of the brain, making it an effective therapeutic or mood-altering tool. Music’s pitch, rhythm, meter and timbre are all processed; rhythm and pitch are primarily left brain hemisphere functions, while timbre and melody are processed primarily in the right hemisphere. Meter is processed in both hemispheres.

There are solid connections between music and the growth of language. Many researchers have examined the connection between musical training and verbal skills and have found that many language processing areas in the brain are also involved in musical processing.

The cerebellum which is believed to be the area that controls motor skills is larger in size in musicians. The cerebellum is known to be the area of the brain that controls tempo and rhythmic synchronization which is very important for musicians
Reference: acda.org

 

What Parts of the Brain are Activated

Listening to music you like and enjoy increases your level of serotonin, a chemical that affects over 50 million brain cells.

Music activates parts of the cerebellum,  which activates the emotions felt by listening to different music.

The forebrain is also activated, which then interprets the meaning of the music that is being heard.

Dopamine is released as a result of listening to music, which is a chemical that makes the body feel “rewarded”.
Reference: www.omharmonics.com

 

What are some Medical Benefits of Music

Due to its effects in changing moods and evoking memories, music has been used to treat

• Alzheimer’s
• stroke recovery
• insomnia
• blood circulation in both hemispheres of the brain

Upbeat dance music boosts your immune system.

If you don’t like a particular type of song or genre, it will actually have the opposite effect than its intended use.

Om-harmonics or “oooohhhhmmmmmm” meditation music helps to quickly create a tranquil meditative state.

Music helps keep you energized and productive, although, trying to keep yourself awake with loud music after long hours is not warranted.

The best music for focus are instrumentals and doesn’t have words or a complex melody, to avoid distraction.

It also helps focus when exercising, keeping your mind on the music instead of aches and pains.

But….

Does Music Really Make you Smarter?

Well lets consider this…

Can we assume that the music faculty in a school or university is smarter than the astrophysicists, the biochemists, the philosophers, or any other faculty group simply because they had heard more Mozart?

Better yet, ask yourself this question. Do you really believe you will become a genius by sitting down one day and listening to Mozart’s and Beethoven’s greatest hits?

Ofcourse not. But to answer the question more thoroughly, music does help with learning and other processes of becoming smarter.

By statistics, studying while having music playing in the background does help with learning and retaining you want. But, this is where Mozart comes into play. Not all music is to help learn. Classical music helps your receptors of learning far greater than the latest hip-hop or heavy metal album.