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Music, what is it? Well, many would have you believe it is simply the movement
of sound waves through the air, brought about by the changing shapes and keys on an
instrument, but then why all the fuss? For nearly two decades the rising trend has been
to advance early childhood music education, making your babies smarter, they promise,
while adults behind the trend are left in the dust. Music has a high branching potential
no matter what age for emotional responses and even physical changes within the
brain. Plato even addressed the boundless effect of music, stating that, Music is a
moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the imagination, and charm and gaiety
to life and to everything. Putting it mildly, yet the overall statement rings true, that music
can be appreciated in many different and profound ways, and it affects every one of us.
Affects everyone because music is for everyone, no matter what age, no matter what
background, no matter what prior experience.
Starting with the youngest musicians, music is believed to have a profound effect
on children, putting them ahead in school, but what does music really do for the
developing minds? For one it can change the very structure of a growing mind,
especially with training in early childhood. It also facilitates the promoting of several
improvements in different motor and auditory skills (What Happens When the Brain
Plays a Musical Instrument). These changes are due to the fact that playing in itself,
learning the different positions for notes and how they should sound versus what might
actually come out of the instrument is a very large part of how those changes are made.
One of the major reasons to have a child educated in music early on is the way it
can help them later on in life. It assists not just in school work, but in remembering.
Memorizing the sounds, fingerings, and rhythms for music all create new neural

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connections within the brain that could carry through into late adulthood after only a
short while of playing (Cole).
What about more intellectually based improvements? Well, that might be a
different story.
For nearly the past two decades, there has been a surge in making babies listen
to music early on in life, hoping it will make them smarter, more competitive
academically later on in life. Some of that might not be true though. Through several
randomized studies of preschoolersthose with musical backgrounds and without have
turned up a rather shocking result. There is almost no difference in IQ scores (Cole).
Thus a true dilemma, is making your baby listen to music all that beneficial? To many,
the answer to that question is still yes, but there has been an influx of much more
information on what happens to the adolescent and adult brain with musical exposure.
When playing an instrument, several different things have to happen, and to
properly use it, each musician has to use both their central and peripheral nervous
systems, as well as sensory input from tactile, visual, auditory, and emotional sensors
(What Happens When the Brain Plays a Musical Instrument). Making connections like
that on a day to day basis or regular practicing creates different changes in the brain.
The changes aid in the formation of both grey and white matter within the very structure
of the organ (Cole). As for what that means for a good mental health and the transfer
into everyday life, grey and white matter cause and control two different parts of the
brain and central nervous system.
The grey matter is typically found on the outside of the brain, the inner core of the
spinal cord, and is a pinkish/grey color that gives it its name (Robertson). But it does

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more than just give the brain that weird color. Grey matter is a highly important part in
processing the information and signals going to and from the brain, and as such, is
responsible for directing sensory (motor) stimuli to nerve cells in the central nervous
system (Robertson). Think hand-eye coordination and an increase in response times
as a more or less direct result of the formation of grey matter.
White matter mainly controls the flow of information and signals to the brain and
to the grey matter itself (Robertson). And like any other system, the higher the
connections, the faster the response and quality of the signals will become. It also
contributes to the brains adaptability and to just how many deep connections music can
make within the brain (Cole).
Of course, not all music is the same, different beats, rhythm patterns, accents,
flow, style and even lyrics can all affect the connections and mood supplied. Most
evidence supported above is for the playing and listening to classical music or music in
a concert or nearly strictly instrumental setting. Those are far from the only types of
music though, and there are many insistences that not all of them affect you equally.
Speaking of course of the more violent music and the heavy metal or more
aggressively perceived musical styles scolded by many into having several more
adverse emotional consequences. Like Craig Anderson Ph.D., commenting on an
experiment on college students, he determined that, violent songs increased feelings of
hostility without provocation or threat and this effect was not the result of differences
in musical style Even the humorous violent songs increased aggressive thoughts.

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While the comment was made about violent music, looking back it is worthy to
note that it did not seem to matter what genre the music fell under, just that it was
violent.
Now that might not mean anything at all to some people, and the evidence to
support most of this claim is circumstantial enough that even Anderson himself admitted
that, More research is needed.
In factas claimed by Johnny Harwoodthere is indeed a high level of
potentially violent music in todays society that is not strictly limited to the
traditionally blamed genres. Classifications such as rock or rap should not be
stereotyped. There is the potential for violence in every song, but that it will
not, and should not, limit what music to listen to or the more positive
impacts of any genre selected.
Moving past the potential negative effects, there are many more things that
music does for the adult brain, and not all of it has to do with the musical exposure in
early childhood. The brain is a constantly changing and evolving thing. Learning how to
play the piano in second grade does not define the end of one's time for beneficial
musical exposure.
Regarding the potential late start, Cole regards that, "musical training seems to
have a beneficial impact at whatever age you start. It contains all the components of a
cognitive training program that sometimes are overlooked, and just as we work out our
bodies, we should work out our minds." This opinion is shared by many others, Johnny
Harwood, aged 64, confirms that with musical experience comes a potential for higher
quality of life. Not just for the young, but for those that have reached the time in their life

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to be considered senior citizens, including memory and a more active life that would
impact all age groups.
The effect of music on adults does not necessarily have to be playing a musical
instrument. Just listening to music has a chance to change and influence the brain of a
more experienced musical listener. The level on which this happens delves into a more
neurological stance, and could be a little harder to pinpoint unless you have a handy
dandy CAT scanner traveling to the symphony or opera with you.
Once listening to music and even if you are not nearly as enthralled as the
neighboring listener, there are actually hundreds of thousands of connections
happening at once in your brain. These connections might even be synchronized with
not only the person in the seat next to you, but also the hundreds of other people
listening as well (Baker). To explain this phenomena, a team of neuroscientists
conducted an experiment on just the attempts of the brain to make sense of the
beginning, middle and end of a continual input of real world information, like music a
process called event segmentation (Baker). They found that the brain partitions
information into meaningful chunks by extracting information, and because of the
frequent transitions within music, people listening at the same time may even
experience synchronized responses to the stimuli of notes and movements within the
piece (Baker). So the act of playing an instrument does not specifically limit the effects
felt by the music, and not even a different effect than by hundred of people together in a
theater.
While no air actually has to be blown into an instrument for music to connect, it is
still a skill many people require, and learning as a child no longer has to be the deal

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breaker. As Cole stated, there is no set limit to when one can begin learning to play
music, only that music can be played. The effects from that can be overreaching to
every aspect of adult life, no matter how limited musical exposure has been or how long
since the last traces of dust had been blown off to practice that seventh grade concert
piece.
Even learning as an adult can have many positive effects. Adults aged sixty to
eighty-three years of age who had only one to nine years of training experienced levels
of non-verbal and visuospatial memory, naming objects, and taking in and adapting
new information (Cole). Of course results like that have a great use in the younger
generations, and not all positivity limited to those around the ages up to
septuagenarians.
Now, while not necessary to learn as a child, the benefits of prolonged musical
exposure and an early start, as with any activity, will help further in the long run than a
more delayed start. With longer exposure comes a higher opportunity for longer lasting
benefits and adults with over ten years of musical experience, didn't lose all of the
benefits even when they hadn't played music in decades (Cole).
So, no matter when the training has started, music education is a widely
adventitious endeavor meant to be taken on by all age groups, though with slightly
different results depending on the length and completeness of the training. The best
results occurring when begun in youth, but no age limit is set for when the positivity
ends, not even before retirement.
Speaking of the elderly, there has been increasing amounts of evidence that they
are some of the most strongly affected groups of musicians. Those with past musical

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experience, able to withstand the potential ravages of time on mind and body as the
Wheel in the Sky keeps turning for them. One of the most significant ways is the
possibility of offsetting dementia and reducing the effects of Alzheimer's (Seinfeld ).
The proof of this lies in the actions of the brain itself and the regular activity held
by it, for instance,
factors that have been shown to contribute significantly in increasing CR
and reducing the risk of suffering dementia are educational attainment,
occupational achievements, intellectual ability, social interactions, and
leisure activities [...]. Specifically, it has been found that late-life cognitive
activities (e.g., reading, writing, crossword puzzles, board or card games,
group discussions, playing music, among others) may influence CR
reducing the onset of accelerated memory decline [...] in subjects who
develop dementia (Seinfeld).
This meaning of course, that those who have reached the pinnacle of their
maturity will have a higher level of mental acuity in comparison with their peers by
simply playing music. Obviously that is not the only thing to keep a brain sharp, but with
reading and playing music requiring the use of not only the frontal lobe, but various
other large-scale brain systems as well (Seinfeld).
Music is also a gateway to a more depression free retirement or golden years.
The potential activity of joining a small band of peers or even just playing for pure
enjoyment can stave off the potential late life depression associated with a sudden dull
state of living (Harwood). Think about Morrie, when youre in bed youre dead. The
thought is that a more active life is a healthier life. This does not exclusively have to

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deal with music either. Any activity can be pursued to help with any sort of life or
entertainment, just that music appears in this case to offer the best opportunity for a
broader spectrum of benefits. This of course is not simply limited to the elderly. Just as
music has the noted possibility for the negative spectrum of thought, it can also supply a
positive effect and feeling to the listener or to the player, no matter what age.
Speaking as a whole idea, of the fabled Mozart Theory, it is far from only the
children that benefit positively from music. There is a large scientific and mental
standpoint in the inclusion of music in everyday life for all. Just over two years of
practice and training supplies a noticeable change to the very physiology of the human
brain. Not all of the effects created equally though, just as not all music is created
equally. While everything has the possibility to effect any listener, there is no solid
evidence so far to fully support the theory of violence stemming from any particular
genre of music. Since the window of opportunity does not close as one enters into
adulthood, it is just as possible to learn as an adult and still experience the same
benefits of those that learned at a younger age, if perhaps in a slightly more limited
amount. As such, it is clear that no matter when someone starts to play music, the
effects are broad and positive in almost every way, not just initially, but with potential
payoffs that could occur years, possibly decades later. Music is for everyone, and can
be learned and appreciated no matter what age.

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Anderson, Craig, Ph.D. "Violent Music Lyrics Increase Aggressive Thoughts and
Feelings, According to New Study." American Psychological Association. APA, 4
May 2003. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2003/05/violent-songs.aspx>.
Baker, Mitzi. "Music Moves Brain to Pay Attention, Stanford Study Finds."News Center.
Stanford University, 01 Aug. 2007. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
<https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2007/07/music-moves-brain-to-payattention-stanford-study-finds.html>.
Cole, Diane. "Your Aging Brain Will Be in Better Shape If You've Taken Music Lessons."
National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 3 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Sept.
2016.
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140103-music-lessons-brainaging-cognitive-neuroscience/>.
Harwood, Johnny. "Live Interview." Personal interview. 15 Nov. 2016.
Robertson, Sally. "What Is Grey Matter?" News-Medical.net. N.p., 05 Nov. 2014. Web.
07 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Grey-Matter.aspx>.
Seinfeld, Sofia, Heidi Figueroa, Jordi Ortiz-Gil, and Maria V. Sanchez-Vives. "Effects of
Music Learning and Piano Practice on Cognitive Function, Mood and Quality of
Life in Older Adults." Frontiers in Psychology. Frontiers Media S.A., 2013. Web.
27 Sept. 2016.
<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3814522/>.
"What Happens When the Brain Plays a Musical Instrument?" The Portland Chamber

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Orchestra. The Beauty Shop, 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

<http://portlandchamberorchestra.org/what-happens-when-the-brain-plays-a-mu
ical-instrument>.