We’ve all experienced the mood-boosting benefits of a great song.  But did you know that if you were actually playing that song, you could be increasing your brain function and even staving off age-related cognitive decline?  You could also get similar benefits if you were singing that song in a group or choir.  

A British study published very recently in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry is the latest to look at the powerful effect of music on the aging brain.  All told, the body of recent research suggests that singing or playing an instrument may be just what we need to keep our brains sharp well into our old age. 

The PROTECT Study 

Researchers in the UK have been conducting a huge, decade-long study on brain-aging, with tens of thousands of volunteers who are at minimum 40-years old.  PROTECT scientists decided to take a subset of those participants to study the effect of musical experience on the way the brain ages. Proving themselves to be very clever with acronyms, the British scientists appropriately titled the music study, “SCALE,” though it isn’t clear what those letters stand for.  More than 1500 PROTECT participants (average age – 62) agreed to take part in the SCALE sub-study, which found that musical experience has an enormous impact on brain health, with some types of activities showing significantly more impact than others.  

The SCALE study, published last month, found that adults who play an instrument are more likely to have a stronger working memory and executive function (the higher-level skill that controls other brain functions). Singing in a choir was also associated with better executive function.  The better you are at playing or singing, the stronger the effect on working memory. 

It’s worth mentioning that most of the SCALE study participants had played for a limited number of years, typically 5 years or less, and slightly more than three-quarters had received 2 to 5 years of instruction. Individuals reported practicing 2–3 hours a week or less during their active musical years.  Although their experience was varied, the participants who earned the biggest brain benefits from music were the once who were still actively engaging in making music. 

The SCALE study showed that not all instruments provide equal brain boosting benefits.  Some actually seemed to provide none at all.  The instrument most significantly linked to better cognitive health was the piano. 

Players of woodwinds (flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, etc.) and brass (horn, trumpet, trombone, cornet, tuba, etc.)  also exhibited higher cognitive scores, though not as high as pianists. The study found no association between cognition and playing percussion, bowed instruments (violin, viola, cello, etc.), and guitar. 

Why could participating in music be such a powerful brain booster? 

1. Enhanced Cognitive Functions: A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that musical training in childhood is associated with enhanced verbal ability and nonverbal reasoning skills. The study suggests that learning music facilitates the development of brain areas involved in language and reasoning.  These well-developed areas may be more resistant to age-related cognitive decline later in life. 
2. Increased Brain Plasticity: A body of research has shown that musical experience can increase neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to change and adapt. This includes structural changes in the brain, such as increased gray matter density in areas involved in musical processing, and functional changes, such as enhanced connectivity between brain regions.   For example, musicians need to use their auditory and visual memory during practice and performance.  This may strengthen the underlying brain networks related to memory, making them more resistant to decline.  Similarly, music-making involves constant problem-solving and emotional expression, which can stimulate creative thinking patterns and enhance the brain flexibility often lost to the aging process. 
3. Improved Brain Connectivity: A study featured in Nature highlighted that musicians have enhanced connectivity in the corpus callosum, the bridge between the brain’s hemispheres. This enhanced connectivity is associated with faster communication and increased integration of information across the brain, which could underlie the enhanced cognitive functions seen in musicians.
4. Enhanced Auditory Skills: Musical training can refine the brain’s auditory processing, making it more efficient and sensitive to auditory signals.  Musicians develop this superior ability to identify subtle differences in pitches, timing, and timbre, leading to clearer speech processing and noise filtering.  Hearing loss and slowed auditory processing is a contributor to cognitive decline in old age.  Well-developed auditory processing may mitigate hearing loss-related cognitive decline.  

A note (pun intended) about singing: 

While the SCALE researchers did observe positive effects from choral singing, they added a caveat in their article.  Social activities are also known to boost cognitive health, so the authors suggest that it is unclear whether it was socializing or making music (or a little of both) that provided the cognitive boost seen in their singing subjects.  That said, there have been a variety of published studies that have linked singing and choral therapy to improved quality of life for dementia patients.  And, of course, there doesn’t seem to be a downside to taking up singing later in life. 

The Bottom Line on Brain Boosting Musical Activities 

Go for it! If you are looking for a hobby and to preserve your cognitive abilities, learning an instrument is a great idea.  If you studied an instrument as a child, you might consider picking it up again.  Some neuroscientists suggest that simply learning to read music can strengthen your brain as well as learning a new language.  Joining a choir or singing group could be life changing as well.  The best thing about making music is that in addition to strengthening your brain, singing or playing will have social and mood boosting powers as well.  So, strike up the band (but stay away from the drums)!