Litchfield High School

Music for the Mind:

A scientific analysis of music’s influence on

brain function and cognition

Zajans Crapo

AP Language & Composition

Ms. Sullivan

April 29th, 2019

Table of Contents

I. Abstract 3

II. Introduction 4

III. Music Listening and Brain Function 5

IV. Musical Engagement and Musicianship 8

V. Orphic Media and Real-World Applications 11

VI. Conclusion 15

VII. Works Cited 16

Abstract

In the last few decades, the rise of technology has allowed music that is easily accessible to be

brought to almost every school, household, health-care facility, and workplace. In this day in

age, any person with a smartphone, tv, or laptop can access and utilize the enormous collection

of music stored within the World Wide Web. But with such unrestricted access, experts have

begun to question the effects that music plays on our everyday lives, and recent research has

started to investigate the relationship between music and brain behavior. Though disagreements

and contradictions amongst researchers have raised many uncertainties, almost all scientists

agree that music ​does​directly impact cognitive performance. Different types of music and

personal preference also determine how the body responds physiologically, thus impacting

concentration and focus in the brain. Studies further reveal that musicianship and active

engagement with music can have long-lasting benefits, and the brains’ of musicians are molded

differently from those of nonmusicians. Overall, music has proven to be a fundamental part of

our lives, not only as entertainment and pleasure, but also in the classroom, in health-care, and in

the workplace.
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Introduction

Is the “Mozart effect” real? Can listening to music actually make us ​smarter​? In 1998,

Georgia Governor Zell Miller certainly believed so, and he “proposed as part of his $12.5 billion

state budget… to spend $105,000 to make music available to each of the approximately 100,000

children born in Georgia each year” (Sack para. 3). Miller explained how “‘no one questions that

listening to music at a very early age affects the spatial, temporal reasoning that underlies math

and engineering and even chess’” (Sack para. 4). Many experts, however, questioned Mr.

Miller’s beliefs and the so-called “Mozart effect,” which has been highly debated among the

scientific community since it’s publication. The phrase, “the Mozart effect,” was coined in 1991

from a study published two years earlier in the journal ​Nature​. In the study, students who

listened to a Mozart sonata for ten minutes performed better on a paper-folding task than those

who didn’t listen to the music (Kuepper-Tetzel para. 2). Ironically, this small, obscure study

triggered a frenzy of public interest for an idea that seemed plausible; but scientists refuted the

validity of it’s findings based on inconclusiveness and irreplicability. The “Mozart effect”

quickly lost reputability among scholars, but the idea that there might be a physiological

connection between music and cognitive ability promoted new insight into the benefits of music

on cognitive function.
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Music Listening and Brain Function

Over the past forty years, the “advent of the personal-listening device” (Hsu para. 4) has

given people the ability to tune out noise and control what they want to hear. Termed as “the

Walkman effect” (Hsu para. 4), it has caused contemporary scholars to begin to question what

role music plays in our daily lives and how it affects us. For a long time, people of all cultures

have experienced the ability of music to soothe, excite, or change one’s mood. But the question

still remains to be answered: what definite, determining factors are there that control the

connection between music and the brain? Ultimately, there lies a lot of ambiguity in any

understanding of the human experience, because though humans share 99.9% of the same DNA,

we are all remarkably different. Nevertheless, in a world where music constantly fills our ears, a

greater understanding of how sound affects us is now more valuable than ever.

In the nervous system, an auditory stimulus, like all other stimuli, are relayed to the brain,

processed, and interpreted before creating a physiological response or movement. Therefore, it is

important to understand how music affects both the brain and the body. In terms of the brain,

researchers from the University of California, Irvine, who investigated the “Mozart effect,”

speculated that:

Listening to music helps organize the firing of nerve cells in the right half of the cerebral

cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher functions. According to this construct,

music一or at least some forms of music一acts as an ‘exercise’ that warms up selected

brain cells, allowing them to process information more efficiently (“Music and Health”

para. 9).

While this suggests that all higher level brain functions are enhanced by music, other research

reveals that only some of these functions are elevated. Studies have shown that the complexity of

a task can be a factor in deciding whether music benefits or worsens performance. For instance,

in a 2011 study, researchers found that “verbal reasoning was better under the music condition

compared to the silence condition, but abstract perceptual reasoning was hurt by simultaneously

listening to music” (Kuepper-Tetzel para. 5). While verbal reasoning and abstract reasoning are

both, in fact, higher level brain functions of the prefrontal cortex, tasks in which an individual

was required to simply understand the meaning of words were benefitted, whereas the ability to

find complex relationships and patterns was worsened. Despite this, people are not mechanical

and therefore do not always respond to music in the same way. As a result, the ​arousal-emotion/

mood-activation hypothesis​describes the connection between music ​preference​and cognitive

function. It simply states that music that puts a person in a good mood has a positive affect on

their cognitive performance (Kuepper-Tetzel para. 4). Though these studies reveal only broad

understandings of how music impacts cognition, the underlying agreement among all scientists is

that music ​does​affect our mental performance. It is necessary to understand that the brain is

highly complex, sensitive, and unique to each human being, so ultimately these effects are very

personalized.

Once received and interpreted, different types of music induce varying physical effects

on the body, almost subconsciously. Many characteristics such as genre, tempo, preference, and

volume generally determine how the body reacts. For instance, musicologist Julius Portnoy
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found “that music can change metabolic rates, increase or decrease blood pressure and affect

energy levels and digestion,” depending on the individual and the type of music (Hernández

para. 1). Consequently, changes in these levels can also either impair or enhance cognitive

strength. For example, temporarily increased blood pressure is one of the body’s main responses

to stress, which is known to diminish the ability to think clearly. Therefore, music that increases

one’s blood pressure and heart rate can distract and impair the brain’s performance. In addition,

An Italian study of 24 healthy volunteers, half of whom were proficient in music, found

that tempo is important. Slow or meditative music produced a relaxing effect; faster

tempos produced arousal, but immediately after the upbeat music stopped, the subjects’

heart rates and blood pressures came down to below their usual levels, indicating

relaxation” (“Music and Health” para. 15).

Once again, just like stress, this study determined that upbeat music increased blood pressure and

heart rate, which correlates to a decrease in focus and learning. Furthermore, genre and style are

also key aspects. For example, classical music has been found to “have a very calming effect on

the body and increase the release of endorphins… thirty minutes of such music was equal to the

effect of a dose of diazepam (Valium)” (Hernández para. 2). Diazepam, a sedative drug, is used

to treat anxiety, and endorphins are known as natural pain-killers. Thus, classical music can be a

safer, more natural alternative to drugs, while providing the same benefits for both mind and

body. However, it eventually comes down to preference, as “plenty of studies show that listening

to music you like一whatever it is一stimulates the reward centres and makes you feel good. This

is partly due to the release of dopamine, a signaling chemical linked to reward” (Young para. 7).

Thus, feeling good, as long as it is not distracting, promotes healthy brain function. Ultimately,
 Crapo 8

the benefits of music on cognitive performance are very dependent on the individual, the type of

music, and the type of task; however, when music is used properly and methodically, it can

achieve subtle benefits on mental performance and readiness.

Musical Engagement and Musicianship

While listening to music is scientifically proven to provide ​temporary​advantages to

intellectual capacity, there is much agreement among experts that musical engagement and

musicianship can have ​lasting​effects on intellect. Research has shown that people who engage

in playing music at an early age, or make a long-term commitment, actually are able to rewire

their brains to be different from those who don’t play music. This “musical training” can actually

make musicians better thinkers and more successful individuals. For instance, in many schools,

surveys of the student body often reveal that musicians earn higher class ranks, or earn better

GPAs than non-musicians on average. Thus, it is not surprising why so many parents encourage

piano lessons for their children.

Research has shown that music instruction boasts a range of both cognitive and

physiological changes, particularly for children. In terms of brain function, active engagement

with music can enhance the skills necessary for musicianship such as coordination and

interpretative skills, which apply to all areas of life. According to Rauscher, assistant professor

of child development at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, “music instruction appears to

have long-lasting benefits for children’s spatial-temporal skills, skills that are needed for

understanding proportions and ratios” (Wilcox para. 12), a finding that was replicated in multiple

school districts. Nina Kraus, head of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern
 Crapo 9

University in Evanston, Ill, also agrees, saying that, “‘There really is now so much evidence

showing that musical experience has a pervasive effect on how the nervous system gets molded

and shaped throughout our lifetimes’” (Ehrenberg para. 6). The reason for this is that “music

processing is distributed throughout the brain, says Levitin,” director of the music perception,

cognition and expertise laboratory at McGill University in Montreal. Playing an instrument

“involves paying attention, thinking ahead, remembering, coordinating movement and

interpreting constant feedback to the ears, fingers and, in some cases, lips” (Ehrenberg para. 9).

Activation of areas of the brain, just like activation of muscle groups, therefore trains the brain to

be more efficient and fluid. However, there is a lot of controversy over long-term vs. short-term

exposure of music instruction, in terms of whether there is a difference in the long-term benefits

that either option provides for young children. In fact, some scientists believe that one year is not

even enough time, claiming that “continued instruction provides continued positive effects”

(Wilcox para. 14). So far, such claims have little to back them up. This is because, “in most

investigations, the musical intervention ranged from short listening sessions to seven months of

music instruction” (Wilcox para. 14). However, large-scale investigations over longer periods of

time simply aren’t practical or affordable, especially when so many other areas of study take

precedence.

In addition to impacts on brain function, music engagement has been found to have

numerous physiological impacts on the body. Studies show that active participation with music

alters hormone levels, and can literally change the structure of the brain. According to Carl

Zimmer, an award winning columnist and popular science writer, “the brains of longtime

musicians are transformed by years of practice, much as playing basketball or juggling can
 Crapo 10

rewire the brain” (Zimmer para. 16). This can form new connections and strengthen neural

pathways that would otherwise not be activated in the same way if not for music. In another

study, Robin Dunbar, a psychologist at the University of Oxford, studied people who played

music or danced to it in a variety of settings involving music or dance. After their performances,

Dunbar and his colleagues indirectly tested their endorphin levels by inflating blood pressure

cuffs around their arms until the point of pain (endorphins increase the pain threshold). Then,

they did the same procedure with employees of a music shop, who constantly listened to

background music, and found that “people who actively moved their bodies to music一dancers,

drummers, and so on一had elevated pain thresholds, but no such effect showed up among those

who merely listened” (Zimmer para. 9). This research supports how musical experimentation or

training provides benefits that are a step up from those observed by merely listening to music.

Scientists generally agree that it is being the “actor,” rather than the “observer,” which confers

even greater benefits for individuals.

Orphic Media and Real-World Applications

The research aforementioned has described very simple, isolated studies in controlled

research settings. But do these effects actually play out in the real world? If so, how much can

music impact our productiveness and quality of life? After all, in the real world, people are

constantly bombarded with noise, stress, anxiety, and distraction. For instance, in the classroom,

some students are pressured to outperform their peers, while others feel the pressure to earn a

passing grade. In hospitals, patients are anxious as they await the operating room. People with

disabilities live with the consequences of their condition every day. In the workplace, employees

must struggle to preserve their morale and productivity. But in some way or another, surveys and

research have shown that music can be the solution to all of these everyday challenges.

In countless high school classrooms, where students aren’t engaged in lectures or

classroom discussion, many students listen to music in order to “focus on their work.” This

phrase is in quotations because it is exactly what many students say to justify their method. But

amongst teachers and educators, music in the classroom is a controversial topic. For example,

according to Nancy Barile, an award-winning teacher with a B.A. in Behavioral Science and a

Masters in Education, “research offers little to back up the idea that listening to music improves
 Crapo 12

concentration,” (Barile para. 2). In fact, she says that many studies show that students who

perform certain tasks in silence actually score the highest. But though the research regarding

music’s positive impacts on learning is indecisive, many students still tend to feel that music

helps; in fact, “there’s actually a psychological withdrawal when the musical stimulus is taken

away” (Barile para. 4). From Barile’s own experiences as a high-school teacher, students enjoy

listening to music while doing their work as a “reward,” and her students believe that it helps

counter distractions. Regardless of what educators believe or what research suggests, many

students still rely on music as a source of encouragement, thus benefiting the classroom

environment and boosting motivation.

Music also has the ability to play vital roles in health-care and for patients with certain

neurological and hormonal disabilities. Today, music therapy is already being implemented in

hospitals in post-surgery recovery and to treat stress and anxiety, and many studies show

promising results for victims of stroke and Parkinson’s disease. For example, according to

Young, “slow-tempo music can reduce heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and other

responses controlled by the brainstem. Such rhythm effects might help music combat stress and

anxiety” (Young para. 8). This is especially valuable in hospitals, since it is a place where most

people do not want to end up. Furthermore, music can also trigger the release of natural opioids

in your body, allowing music to serve as an analgesic (pain-relieving drug) after surgery (Young

para. 7). Due to the fact that opioids can be dangerous to patients who struggle with addiction,

music can be a drug-free way to ease pain, or can at least be combined with opioids to decrease

the drug intake. In addition to the general benefits it provides for all patients, music has proven

to be especially valuable for stroke victims and patients with Parkinson’s disease. In a 2008
 Crapo 13

study performed by Finnish psychologists, stroke patients who received supplementary treatment

in the form of listening to music “had better verbal memory and attention than stroke victims

who had not had music therapy” (Zimmer para. 16) after six months. Also, for stroke victims

who lose the ability to speak, there exists a treatment called melodic intonation therapy, in which

“patients practice singing short sentences as they tap out the rhythm” (Zimmer para. 17). Over

time, they increase the length of the sung sentences until they can eventually begin to speak

again. Gottfried Schlaug, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School, discovered that the

treatment “thickens a bundle of nerve fibers called the arcuate fasciculus, an information

highway crucial for using language” (Zimmer para. 17). For stroke victims, these methods can

make the seemingly impossible possible again. In addition, music’s ability to increase the levels

of dopamine in the body can help victims of Parkinson’s disease with movement. According to

science journalist Emma Young, “Dopamine, released by the brain in response to music we find

pleasurable, is critical in the regulation of movement. This may be one reason that music can

help people who have problems coordinating movement, especially those with Parkinson’s

disease, who don’t have enough dopamine” (Young para. 14). Overall though, experts say that

“some of the benefits probably come from a patient’s expectations that music therapy will work,

admits Thaut” (Young para. 16). Regardless, most experts can agree that the benefits are still

there, whether it is truly musically induced or not, improving the quality of health-care and

enabling people with disabilities.

For those people who are no longer students and do not frequently visit the doctor’s

office, the benefits of music can be experienced in the workplace as well. Take a trip to a mall or

a shopping plaza, and a shopper will immediately notice that almost every business uses music
 Crapo 14

for the comfort of their employees and consumers alike. Depending on the type of business and

with a basic knowledge of the typical employee or consumer, “an appropriate music choice will

boost an office’s image and help employees maintain a high internal morale” (Hernández para.

6). In dentists and doctors offices, the music that is played is always very relaxing and soothing.

The purpose of this is to help patients ease their anxieties or fears and help them relax. The

music also aims at stimulating the brain’s natural production of alpha waves, which are produced

by the brain “when you’re not focusing too hard on anything in particular. Whatever you’re

doing, you’re probably feeling relatively calm and relaxed” (Larson para. 15). Furthermore, in a

study of 256 offices, researchers from the University of Illinois found “that listening to music of

their own choice soothed frayed nerves, drowned out distracting office chatter, boosted their

mood and significantly enhanced office performance” (Hernández para. 7). This supports how

diverse the influence of music is to all parts of everyday life, from childhood development in

schools, to the everyday lives of workers, to hospitals where people are nurtured back into

health.
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Conclusion

Although a lack of research causes many teachers and scientists to be skeptical about the

benefits of music on cognitive performance, it is widely conceded that music listening can

provide positive effects on development, health, and performance; thus, possessing a positive

role in the classroom, in health-care, and in the workplace. Also, experts believe that while

listening to music is good, experimenting with it hands on or committing to long-term study of

music is best, providing more permanent and significant effects in all areas of the brain. But

regardless of what experts know now, neurological research will continue to evolve our

understanding of the brain and how it responds to the world around us. At the same time,

research into the complex interaction between music and the brain gains ever greater importance,

as technology provides us with an enormous collection of music right at our fingertips. After all,

with drugs and noiseiness becoming the norm of the 21st century, why not harness the power of

music to gain back control over our own lives?

Works Cited

Barile, Nancy. “Should You Let Students Listen to Music in the Classroom?” Hey Teach!,

Western Governors University, 19 Sept. 2019,

www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/should-you-let-

students-listen-to-music-in-the-classroom1709.html.

Ehrenberg, Rachel. “Music of the Hemispheres.” Science News, vol. 178, no. 4, 14 Aug. 2010, p.

30. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/scin.5591780424.

Hernández, Gina M. “The Close Relation between Music and Efficiency.” Caribbean Business,

vol. 35, no. 24, 21 June 2007, pp. 68–68. Small Business Reference Center, EBSCOhost,

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Hsu, Hua. “The Noises That We Try Not to Hear.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 31 May

2019, www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/the-noises-we-try-not-to-hear.
 Crapo 17

Kuepper-Tetzel, Carolina. “Listening to Music While Studying: A Good or a Bad Idea?” The

Learning Scientists, The Learning Scientists, 10 Nov. 2016, www.learningscientists.org/

blog/2016/11/10-1.

Larson, Jennifer. “What Are Alpha Brain Waves and Why Are They Important?” Edited by

Heidi Moawad, Healthline, 2019, www.healthline.com/health/alpha-brain-waves.

“Music and Health. (Cover Story).” Harvard Men's Health Watch, vol. 15, no. 12, July 2011, pp.

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Sack, Kevin. “Georgia's Governor Seeks Musical Start for Babies.” ​The New York Times,​The

New York Times, 15 Jan. 1998, www.nytimes.com/1998/01/15/us/georgia-s-governor-

seeks-musical-start-for-babies.html.

Wilcox, Ella. “Music, Brain Research, and Better Behavior.” Education Digest, vol. 65, no. 6,

Feb. 2000, p. 10. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost,

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