“This Is Your Brain On” . . . . : How Playing An Instrument Benefits Your Brain

When you think about it, the actual process of how we hear music is pretty amazing. Something, say like a plucked string, puts out vibrations that travel through the air and somehow get inside the ear canal. These vibrations tickle the eardrum and are transmitted into an electrical signal that travels through the auditory nerve to the brain stem, where it is reassembled into something we perceive as music. The means which the brain process these sounds into music is an ongoing study. Extend that question into what goes on in your brain when you’re playing music.

Science has shown that musical training can modify one’s brain structure. Playing an instrument is a complex process that is integrating information from an individual’s senses of vision, hearing, and touch in addition to coordinating fine motor skills and movements. This in turn can result in long-lasting changes in the brain.

How playing an instrument benefits your brain

There you have it. Save a brain, make music.