Music Is Another Language

“Music is another language.”

These are the words of third-grader, Raquel Rosales, who is involved in the study examining the influence of music on brain development. This study comes out of out of the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute. One of 75 students involved in the study since 2013, Raquel has noticed several significant differences since joining the participating Youth Orchestra LA in the Rampart District. Music is a new language, which has opened new doors in her learning and development.

Did you know that just 28 percent of Southern California school districts reported a music curriculum for 80 percent of their elementary students? Although many teachers appreciate the effect of the arts on their students, schools blame inadequate resources for their failure to provide music programming.

Hopefully, the ongoing study focusing on music training can help spotlight these students so they receive the musical instruction they deserve. According to new brain imaging data out from the study, music accelerates brain development in children.

The study is still ongoing. But researchers already note significant results. Music shows significant influence of music on young adolescents. In a span of five years, researchers following this group of 75 kids, starting when they were age 6 and 7 in 2012. None of the students had prior music training, but as they’ve aged, they have become involved with three separate activities. One group participates in soccer, one group has no activity, and one group is part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra.

Two years into the study, researchers collected enough neuroimaging data to back up their observations. What the data reveals is that the electrical activity of the brain showed rapid development of the auditory pathway in the young musicians. Those engaged with music showed an aptitude at detecting differences in pitch and rhythm and memorize a series of numbers.

Lead researcher Assal Habibi, “This pathway is also engaged in other activities that include sound – like speech perception, like language development, like reading skills,” Habibi emphasizes that there still is plenty of work to do until they are certain of the results, these strong results surprised them so early into the study.

Antonio Damasio is the director of the Brain and Creativity Institute. He also acknowledges that more data and analysis is required. But the researchers were surprised to see any of these results early into the study. After just one year, the students involved with either music or sports were exhibiting improved motor skills compared to those not involved with activities. Music is powerful - hopefully their research validates what music teachers have been saying for centuries - music is fundamental to education!

Read more about the study on Southern California Public Radio, USC study continues to provide data on music and brain development.

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