Introduction
Learning to play a musical instrument has long been associated with creativity, self-expression, and enjoyment—but in recent years, neuroscience has shown that its effects run far deeper. From improved memory and attention to enhanced brain plasticity and IQ, playing an instrument is one of the most effective activities for developing the brain at any stage of life.
🧠 What Happens to Your Brain When You Play?
When you play an instrument, your brain engages in a remarkable form of multitasking. It processes pitch, rhythm, and time while coordinating fine motor movements, reading notation, and making emotional decisions—all simultaneously. This is a full brain workout.
In a well-known TED-Ed video by music educator Dr. Anita Collins, she explains:
“Playing an instrument is the brain’s equivalent of a full-body workout.”
— Dr. Anita Collins, TED-Ed
Functional MRI scans of musicians’ brains show that multiple areas light up: the auditory cortex, motor areas, visual-spatial areas, and the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making and planning. Musicians also tend to have a larger corpus callosum, the bridge between the brain’s two hemispheres, enhancing communication between them.
🧒🏼 Children and Music: A Head Start in Learning
Studies show that children who take up an instrument often outperform their peers academically.
One large-scale study led by Dr. Sylvain Moreno at York University found that after only 20 days of musical training, children showed enhanced verbal intelligence. Another, by Dr. E. Glenn Schellenberg, revealed that:
“Children who received music lessons had IQ scores an average of seven points higher than those who did not.”
— Psychological Science Journal, 2004
Notably, these cognitive benefits occur regardless of whether the child continues to pursue music professionally. Even short-term engagement creates long-lasting changes.
🎓 Music as Lifelong Brain Training
The benefits don’t stop with childhood. Adults and older learners also experience significant gains from picking up an instrument—even later in life.
A study published in the journal Neuropsychology, Development, and Cognition found that older adults who had played instruments throughout their lives had better working memory, flexible thinking, and lower rates of cognitive decline compared to non-musicians. The researchers wrote:
“Musical activity throughout life is associated with superior cognitive performance in older adulthood.”
— Hanna-Pladdy & Mackay, 2011
In another case, over-70s residents of a retirement home in Somerset formed a rock band—with no prior musical training. Their story was covered by The Times:
“Our band has given us energy, purpose, and a new way to connect with people. We never imagined this would be the most exciting chapter of our lives.”
— The Times, 2024
🧩 Why Is Music So Special?
Unlike reading, maths, or physical exercise—which typically stimulate isolated areas of the brain—music activates multiple systems at once:
| Cognitive Skill | Activated by Music |
|---|---|
| Auditory Processing | Listening, tuning, harmonizing |
| Motor Skills | Instrument technique, finger positioning |
| Visual Literacy | Reading notation, body language in ensembles |
| Memory | Recalling melodies, form, phrasing |
| Emotional Processing | Expressing dynamics and mood |
| Executive Function | Planning, decision-making in improvisation |
This makes music a particularly effective way to develop executive function, the brain’s “CEO” responsible for planning, focusing, and adapting to new situations.
🎧 Try It Yourself: An Interactive Exercise
Here’s a simple musical brain challenge you can try at home—no piano required.
Step 1: Clap a steady beat at 60 bpm (that’s once every second – use a metronome if needed).
Step 2: Hum or sing a simple melody like “Twinkle Twinkle.”
Step 3: While keeping the melody and beat steady, tap your foot on every third beat.
You’ve just activated your prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, and auditory system. This juggling of tasks is what makes music so neurologically powerful.
🎬 Watch this!
🧾 Sources & Further Reading
- Collins, A. (2014). TED-Ed: How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain
- Schellenberg, E. G. (2004). Music lessons enhance IQ. Psychological Science.
- Moreno, S. et al. (2011). Short-Term Music Training Enhances Verbal Intelligence and Executive Function. Psychological Science.
- Hanna-Pladdy, B. & Mackay, A. (2011). The relation between musical activity and cognitive aging. Neuropsychology, Development, and Cognition.
- The Times (2024). Meet the over-seventies rock band
🎵 Coming soon:
Music as Medicine – The Mental Health Benefits of Playing an Instrument
RobboDoesMusic 
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