How playing an instrument benefits your brain

Every time a musician plays an instrument, there are fireworks in their brain. In the last few decades, neuroscientists have made enormous breakthroughs in understanding how our brains work by monitoring them in real time with instruments like fMRI and PET scanners. When people are connected to these machines, tasks such as reading or doing math problems, there is activity in different areas of the brain.

When researchers made the musician play instruments, there was a boom of activities and a firework situation. Playing a musical instrument engages practically every area of the brain at once, especially the visual, auditory and motor cortices. And as with any other workout, disciplined structured practice in playing music strengthens those brain functions, allowing us to apply that strength to other activities. Musicians often have higher levels of executive function, a category of interlinked tasks that include planning, strategizing and attention to detail. It also requires simultaneous analysis of both cognitive and emotional aspects. This ability also has an impact on how our memory system works. Musicians exhibit enhanced memory functions too. Creating, storing and retrieving memories more quickly and efficiently.