Does Music Affect The Brain…

and how does piano music affect the brain?

Created By Paul Wedig

This article investigates the question – does music affect the brain and how do specific movements, when playing music, cause changes to our brain?

First the scientific jargon, and then I’ll attempt to explain what the studies ultimately mean, in plain English….

The Science Behind How

Music Affects the Brain

After reading through a book called “The Brain that Changes Itself” by M.D Norman Doidge (For more information on this book please scroll to the bottom of the page) I found a very interesting discussion on whether music does affect the brain. The book highlights a study done by Pascual-Leone who was fascinated with TMS (transcranial-magnetic-stimulation) which is a test that allows scientists to infer the function of neurons just beneath the coil. His study investigated the way thoughts change the brain by using TMS to observe changes in the finger maps of people learning to play the piano. In Piano players, the TMS mapped out how much of the motor cortex controlled the finger movements needed for the piano exercise. Through this test, scientists then found that after a week of practice, the stretch of the motor cortex devoted to these movements took over surrounding areas, highlighting that the greater use of a particular muscle causes the brain to devote more cortical real estate to it. He then went on to discover that even the participants that played a simple piece of music in their head, whilst holding their hands in a piano position and simply imagining the way they would move their fingers, had revolutionary results. The TMS study discovered that the region of motor cortex that actually controls the piano-playing fingers also expanded in the brains of those participants who imagined playing the music-similar to how it had occurred to those who actually played it. It demonstrated that the ability of a mere thought can alter the physical structure and function of our grey matter, and by realizing that movements and music does affect the brain, this eventually lead to greater realizations.

So what does this all mean…

Does Music Affect the Brain and

What Does This Research Mean on a Bigger Scale?

Here is where Pascual-Leone’s study became really interesting to me and less scientific and confusing. As the book by Doidge highlights, we all do what scientists call ‘mental practice or mental rehearsing’ when we memorize answers for an exam or test, learn lines for a play, or rehearse for any kind of performance or presentation. Because few of us do it systematically, we underestimate its effectiveness. Despite the realizations this had for the benefits of visualization for piano players – like concert pianist Glenn Gould who relied heavily on mental practice when preparing himself to record a piece of music – Pascual-Leoe’s research was then the cornerstone of understanding the benefits of other forms of movement and visualization on the brain. For example, the benefits of sports men and women mentally practicing movements to prepare for performances – like a golf swing or a swimming turn through visualization. This can lead them to mastery with less physical practice. Even more profoundly, the discovery that mental training had the power to change the physical structure of the brain has meant great things for modern science.

This groundbreaking research highlights the benefits of music and has meant a lot for people throughout the world as his ideas are still strongly believed and implemented today. His research finally answered the question, does movement, piano and music affect the brain? And yes it sure does.

If You are Interested in more information or purchasing the book mentioned in this article then please follow the link below which will send you straight to Amazon.com

The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science [Brain that Changes]