Photo: Wes Hicks | Unsplash
Music is a human universal. Cultures in all corners of the planet express themselves with music in some form or another. But why is this? Is music just something beautiful that humans tend to like? Is there something going on at a much deeper level that draws us to music? With technology that allows us to monitor the minute changes on our body and look into our brain as we experience, play and improvise, scientists are able to see exactly how music affects the brain and body. So, we can say with certainty that music is not only a universal part of human culture, it also has a profound impact on us at the neurological level. For example, studies have found that children who have musical training are able to more accurately process sound, which can help with speech, literacy, and reading skills. And this is not to mention the long-term impact musical training has on the adult brain. Adults with musical training, even a moderate amount of 4-14 years, saw fewer degenerative effects of aging on the brain up to 40 years after they stopped playing. Music, literally, affects every mapped region of the brain in some way. Our reactions to music are a form of common language that all human share, which begs the question of whether music can help us change the world.
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