Music Cognitive Development

Music is a considerable part of life in today’s society. It seems to always be audible, whether in the car, in the store, in the elevator, and nearly everywhere else. Music is pleasing to the ear, and releases endorphins, which improves people’s moods. There are many different genres of music, some genres appealing to certain people, and other genres satisfying others. Various types of music can affect the brain in positive ways, such as improving cognitive skills, refining motor and reasoning skills, and ameliorating performance in nearly every task. Listening to various types of music can enhance cognitive skills immensely. According to a study on music relating to the distraction or facilitation of cognitive tasks, “ Hallman, Price, and

For example, Gottfried Schlaug, a man who studies the cognitive effects of training in music, is said to have “found a correlation between early-childhood training in music and enhanced motor and auditory skills as well as improvements in verbal ability and nonverbal reasoning” (Schewe 1). This shows that those who have had music training since they were young have a better chance of having well-developed responsive skills, reasoning, and speaking skills. This is a reason for parents to typically urge their children to play musical instruments as a motive to make them more adept at life skills. In an investigation on the effects of musical training on the brain, it was discovered that “instrumental music training may enhance auditory discrimination, fine motor skills, vocabulary, and nonverbal reasoning” (Foregard 1). Those with musical training have more developed brain skills, because they have to use a different part of their brains, associated with fine motor skills and processing the difference between two sounds, much more than a person who has not been musically trained. Instrumental music training benefits people by making them have more developed thinking skills and speaking skills, and allows them to “dig deeper” with their thoughts and words. Another example of a study done on the brains of musically trained people contrasted with non-musically trained people is an investigation where “fifty kids, aged [five] to [seven] years, began the study with no prior music training. Before starting music lessons, these kids were given brain scans and cognitive tests to establish baselines. Researchers are also following a control group, matched for age, socioeconomic status and verbal IQ. Fifteen months into the study, the musically-trained kids showed greater improvement in finger motor skills and auditory discrimination skills” (Dewer 1). This study proves that children who are trained in a musical instrument are more