Music and the brain

In short: Music activates almost the whole brain: auditory centres, movement areas, memory and emotions. It can influence mood, learning and well-being.

In more detail: Making music demands hearing, motor skills and attention at the same time.

In detail

• Emotions: Music triggers feelings and releases messengers such as dopamine (emotionen-verstehen-und-regulieren).
• Memory: Songs recall phases of life; often still retrievable even in dementia.
• Learning: Learning an instrument promotes concentration and fine motor skills (gehirn-aufbau-und-neuroplastizitaet).
• Rhythm: The brain synchronises movement with the beat (rhythmus-und-takt).
• Mozart effect: Short-term improvement through Mozart is considered unproven; music can however lift mood.
• Background music: Instrumental music can help when working, lyrics often distract (aufmerksamkeit-und-multitasking).
• Therapy: Music therapy for stress, pain and rehabilitation.
• Protect hearing: Limit volume (gehoerschutz-bei-musik-und-konzerten).