Your Brain on Music

Music makes practically everybody fonder of life
than he or she would be without it.
                  - Kurt Vonnegut

It's no secret that listening to music makes you feel better but research has shows that it can also make you smarter, a more creative problem solver and scientifically happier over all.

"Music activates every area in the brain that we've so far mapped" says Daniel Levitin, author of "This is Your Brain on Music". "In fact there's no area of the brain that music doesn't touch."

So what exactly does music do to us?

Culture and tech writer Peter Rubin hopped in an MRI machine to find out. Without music his brain was relatively at rest, but when the melodies started playing, above-average activity appeared all over the image map.

Studying an instrument can take this even further. As few as 5 years of music training shows cognitive benefits, better decision making and even changes in the structure of the brain. Children who study music show stronger connections between the left and right hemispheres.

A study in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that people who listened to upbeat music could improve their moods and boost their happiness in just two weeks. Even passive listening (songs playing in the background) revealed positive effects.

“There are few things that stimulate the brain the way music does,” says one Johns Hopkins otolaryngologist. “If you want to keep your brain engaged throughout the aging process, listening to or playing music is a great tool. It provides a total brain workout.”

Test it out for yourself

According to a study by the Montreal Neurological Institute, the 5 songs below have been shown to trigger a dopamine release – and can subsequently increase your happiness.

1. "Clair de Lune" -- Debussy

2. "Adagio for Strings" -- Barber

3. "Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor -- Beethoven

4. "First Breath After Coma" -- Expolsions in the sky

5. "Adagio for Strings" -- Tiesto