McKeon

Susie McKeon

Mr. Whiteside

2A

April 7, 2016

The Benefits of Playing a Musical Instrument

Playing a musical instrument consists of a very complex chain of

movements, requiring the brain to concentrate on both hands at the same

time. In order to properly conduct these movements, one must have

complete focus on their task at hand. This type of focus comes from

dedication; something playing an instrument helps with as well as

improving learning capacity. Playing an instrument has a wide array of

benefits, from increasing brain connections to improving social

skills and cultivating a sense of creativity.

One way playing an instrument improves brain functioning is by

simultaneously affecting numerous areas of the brain including the areas

that affect information processing. According to Anita Collins, It turns out

that while listening to music engages the brain in some pretty interesting

activities, playing music is the brains equivalent to a full body workout

(Collins). This means that while playing an instrument, a persons brain is

 McKeon

being worked in areas that may not usually be affected by every-day

activities, especially the visual, auditory, and motor cortexes.

Another benefit of playing an instrument is it improves neural

connections. Playing an instrument requires fine motor skills which are

controlled in both hemispheres of the brain. It also combines the linguistic

and mathematical precision in which the left hemisphere is more involved

with the novel and creative content that the right excels in (Collins). This

brain activity also occurs in the corpus callosum, which is the bridge

between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, and the passage of

messages between the two sides of the brain is improved. More activity in

the bridge is linked to more effective problem-solving skills, as well as

better planning and attention to detail. Musicians are also shown to have

better memories because they can efficiently tag each memory with both

auditory and visual cues, like a good search engine. Research has shown

that musicians brains have high functioning in the parts of the brain that

control memory and they actually improve and become much more active.

Since musicians usually have greater working memory capacity than non-

musicians, it doesn't mean they are smarter than anybody else. But it

probably does mean they are smarter than they would be if they were not

musicians.

Receiving music education early in life has a significant effect on the

development of the brain, showing that those who began early had stronger
 McKeon

connections between motor regions, or the parts of the brain that help with

planning and carrying out movements. A study at Concordia University

discovered that the years between ages six and eight are a "sensitive

period" when musical training interacts with normal brain development to

produce long-lasting changes in motor abilities and brain structure

(Concordia University). This study also found that 18 musicians who began

musical training before the age of seven had a more accurate timing and

played better than 18 other musicians that had received the same amount

of instruction, the only difference was that they started later in life. When

comparing brain structure, the musicians who started earlier showed

enhanced white matter in the corpus callosum. The younger a musician

starts, the greater the connections between different nerves that control

motor functioning.

Another advantage of playing an instrument is that it boosts math

scores and helps young children learn the vital skills to be successful in

school. Practicing an instrument helps with problem solving, which is a

major component of mathematics. When children pick up an instrument in

their early elementary school years, they quickly surpass their peers

mathematics ability because music aids childrens understanding of

concepts such as number lines. In a study conducted by Martin F. Gardiner,

the Kodaly method, which involves rhythm games and learning to sing

songs progressing in specific increments toward greater difficulty, positively

 McKeon

affects first and second-graders math skills (Chipongian). According to

Lisa Chipongian, a study conducted by Shaw and Rauscher exposed how

learning to sing and play the keyboard improved the spatial-temporal skills

of preschoolers and this effect lasted more than a day, thus proving that if

children receive music instruction early on, their success in school increases

astronomically.

Playing a musical instrument can also improve many life skills, such

as teamwork, organizational skills, and time management. A good musician

knows that the quality of practice time is more valuable than the quantity.

In order for a musician to progress quicker, he or she will learn how to

organize his or her practice time and plan different activities to work on,

making efficient use of time. Also, if one plays an instrument in, say, a

band, he or she must learn how to cooperate with and listen to others in

order to make music and be successful. As well as all of these skills, it

improves ones reading and comprehension skills because when one sees

notes and chords on a page, they have to recognize what the note name is

and translate that in to a hand position and execute it properly. The ability

to control stress and express oneself better by giving someone the ability to

be as creative as possible by writing music or just experimenting for fun is a

skill that many musicians learn very early on and can help them through

various situations.
 McKeon

Playing an instrument exposes a person to different musical styles

and parts of history that he or she may not have been exposed to before. If

one looks at music from the time of Beethoven and Mozart, they see a

much different style and depth than is around in todays age. If one plays

the piano, they are likely learning classical piano pieces, which have a very

different rhythm and style than modern piano-driven pop songs. If one plays

guitar, they can learn a wide array of songs from early rock-n-roll in the

1960s such as The Beatles to modern rock such as Muse, both of whom

have very different styles and can make a musician more interested in all

types of music.

Musicians are generally very creative and highly motivated. For one to

be able to write songs or merely learn anothers work, they must give the

activity at hand their undivided attention. Learning to play an instrument

will develop creativity not only in music. Learning to play an instrument

stimulates the creative sensors in the brain and makes the mind open up

towards new ideas. Not to mention, how well music always helps emotional

expression! When one begins to have confidence in their playing ability,

they suddenly have discovered another world of self-expression that can

prompt them to be more confident of their skills in different areas of their

life by creating new, exciting ideas and solutions.

Musical training physically helps the brain grow. According to Harvard

neurologist Gottfried Schlaug, the brains of adult professional musicians

 McKeon

had a larger volume of gray matter than the brains of non musicians

(Cole). The reason why musicians brains have this difference from the

brains of everyone else is because the brain has a certain amount of

plasticity, meaning that it can change in response to its environment.

Schlaug and colleagues also found that after only 15 months of musical

training in early childhood, structural brain changes associated with motor

and auditory improvements begin to appear. Musicians brains have been

trained to enhance and build connections quicker than most others.

Playing an instrument also makes one very happy. People's brains

released large amounts of dopamine when they listened to music that gave

them chills (Sohn). Dopamine is the natural chemical released into the

brain that triggers the brains happiness receptors. The findings offer a

biological explanation for why music has been such a major part of major

emotional events in cultures around the world since the beginning of human

history. Through music, the study also offers new insights into how the

human pleasure system works. This effect happens when listening to a song

one likes, but also when they play an instrument and learn one of their

favorite songs or reach that sense of self-worth that comes with mastering a

skill.

In conclusion, the world would be a better place if everyone learned

to play an instrument. As playing an instrument helps with creativity and

motivation, there would be more people who are able to think of ways to
 McKeon

get past hardships and therefore they do better in life. As was stated

numerous times throughout this essay, playing an instrument increases

ones intelligence level; it makes the brain grow, boosts mathematics

scores, increases neural connections between various parts of the brain,

and improves the motor, visual, and auditory cortexes. Therefore, there

would be a greater amount of highly intelligent people, an increase in

creativity, and more mathematicians.

 McKeon

Chipognian, Lisa. Can Music Education Enhance Brain Functioning and

Academic Learning? Brain HQ. Brain Connection, 15 May 2000.

Web. 7 April 2016.

Cole, Diane. Your Aging Brain Will Be in Better Shape If You've Taken Music

Lessons. National Geographic. National Geographic, 3 January 2014.

Web. 14 May 2016.

Collins, Anita. How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain. Teachers of

India, 6 August 2014. Web. 7 April 2016.

Concordia University. "Early music lessons boost brain development."

ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 February 2013. Web. 14 May 2016.

Sohn, Emily. Why Music Makes You Happy. Discovery News. Discovery, 10

January 2011. Web. 15 May 2016.