Music is for Young Minds

The mind is quite spongy. Spongy, as in it is sensitive to what we do to it and what we do with it. We play, converse, exercise, act, and watch to form our identity. Consequently, our mind and brain take a certain form to help us adapt to the lives we have to take on and lead. Our minds that resemble scrambled eggs are most malleable, though, when we are youths still developing and, hopefully, exploring what the world has to offer. Part of that is listening to certain things and paying attention to them. The latter point is key as it signifies what we deem to matter, and there are differences between active and passive listening. One diverse cacophony of waves that we pay attention to (and also don’t) is music. From the classical to the contemporary, such as pop, music invites us in, compelling us to sit, dance, or get rowdy as we listen. Yet, have you ever thought about how that affected your cognitive abilities? How did that first song of Ke$ha’s that captivated you make you the grown person you are today? I may be able to shed some light on how the type of music we listen to in our youth has affected our cognitive development to this day.

I am sure you have already heard people saying things like rap music will make you violent, or maybe EDM only sounds good to somebody who’s had a lobotomy. But let’s put all of that to one side and use my foray into the subject as a bit of a blank slate. There are many studies in academic literature, books, and even movies on the psychology of music. This is not to disparage or endorse any musical or artistic expression and to proclaim myself as the arbiter of good taste. So if you enjoy a certain kind of music, keep listening. I am adding just a bit of an educated perspective to your listening. Expect me to talk about things like the Mozart effect, music training’s cognitive effects, and how music genres affect behaviour.

Regardless of genre, listening to music in youth has several effects on the mind. Several positive effects have been demonstrated in children and adolescents who have listened to music regularly. In regards to the brain’s structure, music helps build neural pathways in the brain, especially in the corpus callosum, which is a brain structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain (Bandstand, n.d.; School of Rock, n.d.). The strengthening of this connection has been linked to improved cognitive abilities such as increased problem-solving ability, greater emotional resilience, improved memory function, and enhanced abstract reasoning. Of course, music exposure generally benefits our sense of hearing. If experienced in infancy and early childhood (ages 2-6), music can help children distinguish between fine distinctions in sound. Other early childhood benefits include early language development, better attentional resources, and the development of gross and fine motor skills (Miendlarzewska & Trost, 2014). So, keep up the lullabies and such, new parents!

Classical music is a sophisticated and celebrated music genre with a storied history. Thus, it should be of little surprise that classical music is a typical genre that parents encourage their children to listen to. Kids listening to classical music may find that they have temporarily enhanced spatial reasoning skills (Bales, 2022; School of Rock, n.d..). If you don’t know what that means, it refers to spatial awareness but also what is known as the Mozart effect. Research back in the 1990s suggested that making infants listen to Mozart, specifically his most mathematically precise works, would make babies more intelligent (Bandstand, n.d..). The relative measure of truth to this phenomenon is thus called ‘the Mozart effect.’ Although this effect isn’t limited to classical music, the complex structures and patterns in classical compositions may contribute to great cognitive stimulation in older adults (James et al., 2020). I have thought about the times I have listened to an Orchestra and noticed the intricacies of the music. At the same time, it is not my favourite genre of music, but it has its merits in storytelling through music and its length.

Now, let’s talk about three related genres: jazz, hip-hop, and pop. These three may not be wholly similar, but they instill several effects in the young listener that connect them, creating unity. These genres' pacey and catchy rhythms do many of the same things, like increase the listener’s energy levels, mood regulation, stress management, and calmness (Hanzilia et al., 2024). Improvisational music genres like 4 jazz and hip-hop have various benefits for the kids who listen to them. They have the potential to improve creativity and abstract thinking skills. Their improvisational aspect can also help develop problem-solving abilities and cognitive flexibility. Additionally, when it comes to hip-hop music, the focus on wordplay and lyricism helps listener improve their verbal skills. Jazz and hip-hop can also help enhance the timing and rhythmic abilities of people who listen to them regularly. Ella Fitzgerald and Eminem seem to have more things in common than first meets the eye. Of course, certain subgenres of the two would likely have different effects on cognitive development, as well as songs that fuse the two genres.

Let’s talk more about pop and rock. These two music categories have had a historic appeal to teenagers. If you want any evidence of that, mention a few random long-running artists to your parents and watch as the memories come flooding back into their eyes. Though there are unhealthy byproducts from these genres (lmt-editor, 2024), listening to this music still aids young minds in growing both emotionally and possibly literally. Big parts of pop and rock are about establishing and celebrating independence, and this theme is reflected in the psychological benefits of listening to them. These benefits concern identity formation and self-expression, with regular listening supporting emotional growth, personal development, and self-awareness (Hanzilia et al., 2024). Moreover, rock and pop music help foster a sense of belonging and strengthen social bonds. People can easily dismiss these things as being unnecessary to their lives, but healthy social bonds can be protective against developing potentially severe mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder (MDD).

As can be seen by the various music genres we’ve discussed, just listening to music can help us develop our cognitive functions at a young age. What can also help fortify this development, musically speaking, is the addition of musical education and training. Those who understand the deeper nuances of creating music and the different techniques of playing an instrument. Educational music programs have demonstrated that they are capable of helping youth gain improved language skills, better test-taking abilities, better self-regulation, and faster brain development, especially if these programs are implemented at high school ages (Chen, 2023; Miendlarzewska & Trost, 2014; School of Rock, n.d..). Even starting these programs as late as adolescence can potentially create profound and lasting changes to the brain into adulthood. However, the cognitive effects are overwhelming once a child begins real musical training. Learning to play an instrument can induce cognitive neurobehavioural plasticity, which affects brain structure, functional connections, and cognitive functions (Bandstand, n.d.; Bales, 2022). Furthermore, the elderly have demonstrated fine motor skills, and auditory discrimination can reach a higher standard when playing musical instruments (James et al., 2020). Starting musical training earlier in a person’s life has even more extraordinary benefits. For example, starting to learn to play a musical instrument before age 7 can increase the brain’s neuroplasticity throughout the rest of the person’s life (Bandstand, n.d.; Miendlarzewska & Trost, 2014). All of these benefits to the neurology of individuals lend support to school initiatives like music programs. These cognitive effects are important, given how they apply to the other activities we do in our lives. Neuroplasticity indicates an ability to easily take up new activities and an increased adaptability, for instance. Better self-regulation could signify that a person can become more disciplined and control their impulses. All of these are crucial skills in contemporary life.

There are many things we can do with our relationship with music. Splitting it up by genre, categorizing some as worse than others, and fencing in your children is not a good course of action. Although some genres deal more with adult themes and use certain colourful language, having no filter, too, isn’t advisable. In the pursuit of maximizing favourable cognitive development in youth, there are a few things one should be doing. Encourage children to explore a diverse range of musical genres. As I explained throughout this piece, different music genres can have different cognitive 6 effects; getting the best out of that is expanding your horizons. Supporting a youth’s music education and training will further strengthen these abstract thinking abilities and organic structural changes to the brain itself. Increased emotional intelligence, which has a higher value than in the past, is also a benefit to engaging your child in musical activities, given its advantageous effects on self-expression.

Nevertheless, excessive music engagement has potential negative impacts, such as hearing damage, attention dispersion, glorification of inappropriate subjects, and provoking negative emotional reactions (Chen, 2023; lmt-editor, 2024). For the most part, these detrimental effects are not something to worry too much about in most circumstances, and music is beneficial to people’s overall well-being. If you gather anything from my foray into music, nurturing an open mind to various kinds of music should be at the top of your mind.