2. Musicians Are Human Word Processors
The New York Times cited a study back in 2013 from Northwestern University. In the study, a neurosurgeon from Northwestern observed 44 adults between the ages of 55 and 76; these adults were measured for electrical activity in a brain processing speech.
The results were intriguing; adults with at least 14 years of training in music processed speech faster than those with no musical training.
And, this didn’t have to be recent training either. In fact, the majority of the participants with a musical background had not even touched an instrument in 40 years!
Dr. Kraus, the neurosurgeon who led the study, emphasized that this research demonstrated the importance of a childhood music education in developing the brain.
1. Here Are 71+ Studies Saying Music Lessons Are the Best Thing For Your Brain
Every few weeks, a new study is popping up demonstrating the power of music lessons on the psyche of humans. While it seems like the effects are most potent on younger subjects, plenty of studies tell us that music lessons help patients of all ages.
SOURCES: Here is a list of studies, articles, and other media demonstrating how music lessons boost brain power and cognition
Music lessons help dementia patients: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31987062
MIT study links music lessons with better language skills: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180625192827.htm
Adults benefit from childhood music lessons (Northwestern University study): https://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/45/17667.short?sid=c8855982-7781-4f04-ad4b-c8a09bd1ebee
Music Lessons help you process speech faster: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/science/long-term-benefits-of-music-lessons.html
Musicae Scientae journal study says music lessons help you overcome distractions: https://psmag.com/news/another-brain-benefit-of-music-lessons
The Benefits of Playing Music Help Your Brain More Than Any Other Activity: https://www.inc.com/john-rampton/the-benefits-of-playing-music-help-your-brain-more.html
Music protects the brain in later ages: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/1/140103-music-lessons-brain-aging-cognitive-neuroscience/#close
15 study meta-analysis of spatial improvement in students taking music lessons: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3333643?seq=1
Music Lessons Were the Best Thing Your Parents Ever Did For You, According to Science: https://www.mic.com/articles/110628/13-scientific-studies-prove-music-lessons-were-the-best-thing-your-parents-did-for-you
Music lessons raise IQ: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/mp.2011.29.2.185?seq=1
Netherlands study shows music lessons enhance executive functioning:bhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2018.00103/full
Study shows music lessons increase ambition and school grades: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.429221.de/diw_sp0591.pdf
Music therapy helps chemotherapy patients: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32204172
Another music lessons enhances IQ study from University of Toronto Mississauga: https://undark.org/2019/11/04/music-lessons-intelligence/
Harvard reports on a study where music lessons enhance IQ: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/16/03/music-lessons
Neuropsychology gives credence to music lessons providing a boost in brain function: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/04/music-lessons
University of British Columbia study shows that high school students do better with music lessons: https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaamsen/2019/06/25/high-school-students-do-better-in-science-math-and-english-if-they-also-take-music-lessons/#7fc07aed2fda
Playing music lowers blood pressure: https://liverpoolacademyofmusic.com.au/play-an-instrument-relieve-stress/
Stanford study: music makes you pay attention: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2007/07/music-moves-brain-to-pay-attention-stanford-study-finds.html
Musicians can hear the difference between phonological sounds better than non-musicians: https://www.nammfoundation.org/articles/2014-06-01/benefits-learning-and-playing-music-adults
University of Kansas study: music makes grades better: https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/the-benefits-of-music-education
Music boosts academic performance: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432813005093
University of Texas at Arlington: visual memory is better in classical musicians: https://www.mic.com/articles/104586/science-just-showed-something-amazing-about-musicians-brains
University of Texas at Austin: music lessons boost confidence: https://www.gwern.net/docs/dnb/2004-costa-giomi.pdf
Surprise! Playing music makes you more creative: https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/11/25/13music.h33.html
Another study observing the power of music on cognitive performance: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1321103×09344378
Music training enhances spatial-task performance: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2307/3345621Music students do better in math: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10100200
Meta-analysis of 30 studies demonstrate that music helps people read better: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/8755123308322270
Adult choral singers are more likely to be involved in community service: http://www.chorusamerica.org/advocacy-research/americas-performing-art
Scientific American says music lessons makes profound changes in the brain back in 2010: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hearing-the-music-honing/
Classroom keyboard instruction improves memory: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885200600000508
Wall Street Journal – Playing a musical instrument later in life brings significant benefits: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-joy-of-learning-to-play-an-instrument-later-in-life-1492999441
University of Southern California – even just two years of music lessons demonstrates huge cognitive ability https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-11-music-children-brains-decision-making-network.html
Washington Post – music lessons empower emotional growth: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/01/07/music-lessons-spur-emotional-and-behavioral-growth-in-children-new-study-says/?postshare=231446607251961
University of Vermont – playing music helps kids brains: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141223132546.htm
Kids who sing in chorus get better grades than those who do not: https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/images/uploads/content/ImpactStudy09_Report.pdf
Ohio State University – music enhances adolescent achievement: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2009.00598.x
Broader study links arts education to higher high school graduation rates in New York City: https://www.centerforartsed.org/sites/default/files/docs/CAE_Arts_and_Graduation_Report.pdf
4+ years of arts and/or music classes boost SAT scores by an average of 92(!) points https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/reports-and-data/legislation-policy/naappd/arts-facts-sat-scores-and-the-arts-1999-2015
Citing a Northwestern study (different than the previous one cited earlier in this list) about music positively affecting a child’s brain: https://time.com/3634995/study-kids-engaged-music-class-for-benefits-northwestern/
Predictor of IQ: https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun06/iq
National Institutes of Magnetic Health Resonances – music improves motor skills: http://www.newseveryday.com/articles/5953/20150108/http-www-nzherald-co-nz-lifestyle-news-article-cfm-c-id-6-objectid-11383648.htm
Another academic achievement study: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/019263659808259707
Promotes artistic expression: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022429412474826
Quartz Magazine – music lessons make children’s brain development happen faster: https://qz.com/761445/research-shows-taking-music-lessons-can-speed-up-brain-development-in-children/
Sam Houston State University – music has an effect on financial award in later life: https://www.shsu.edu/academics/music/center-for-music-education/praxis/articles/music-lessons-and-scholarship.html
Studying music provides social benefits: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14613808.2013.829428
Music lowers stress and anxiety: https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-power-of-music-to-reduce-stress/
Music education enhances neuro-rehabilitation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4411999/
NPR – Harmony Project in LA suggests music helps with speech: https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/09/10/343681493/this-is-your-brain-this-is-your-brain-on-music
U Penn Medicine – playing music has greater benefits than listening:
Indian children who took music lessons learned more complex vocabulary: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12646-013-0180-3
Musicians experience less age-related auditory processing decline: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21910546
Smithsonian Magazine – it makes you better at listening as an adult: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/playing-music-as-a-child-leads-to-better-listening-as-an-adult-29575073/
Thesis – music improves mathematical learning: https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1276&context=ehd_theses
University College London – music significantly impacts young people https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242560857_The_power_of_music_Its_impact_on_the_intellectual_social_and_personal_development_of_children_and_young_people
Early music lessons reduce hearing loss: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/342/6159/678.2
Children who were musicians showed better cooperation: http://syncproject.co/blog/2015/11/9/music-enhances-social-skills
Music significantly helps depression, anxiety in older adults who play instruments: https://www.mdedge.com/fedprac/article/106295/mental-health/prescription-music-lessons
Music helps patients with Alzheimers and other neurodegenerative disorders: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03444181
Playing in the school band makes you smarter: https://bit.ly/2vZoWBI
Music students have better pitch perception: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30741909Playing music at a younger age helps social skills: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30534096
Playing drums helps working memory in older adults: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2972703
Improved “digit span” after 6 weeks of music lessons in children: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29358927
Singing lessons may treat respiratory problems: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28461167
Students with piano lessons score better in math: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10730700
Improves children’s spatial-temporal skills: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9090630
Voice lessons helped graduate students in speech-language pathology: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7620533
Music lessons improves children’s motor skills: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16597773
Playing didgeridoo helps sleeping disorders: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16377643