
All of these skills, the ability to pay attention and focus, impulse control, flexible thinking, and remembering multiple things at once, or working memory, are executive functioning skills. These mental abilities help the brain process information efficiently. By practicing music, children and adults are also practicing and building executive function. In fact, one of the ways researchers think music training affects speech sound processing is by boosting cognitive function, including executive functioning skills.
Researchers have used various methods to measure executive functioning skills in children who are learning to play music. One study found that children who participated in just 20 days of music lessons did better on a test of impulse control than kids who did not. Another study found that children and young adults who play music scored higher on working memory tests than those who do not.
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- Beat
- the regular pulse of music
- Electroencephalography (EEG)
- a non-invasive method used to measure electrical activity in the brain
- Executive function
- a set of mental abilities that help us focus attention, remember information, and switch between tasks
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
- a non-invasive brain imaging technique used to determine which regions of the brain are active
- Meter
- a grouping of beats with specific patterns
- Neuroplasticity
- the ability to change how neurons in our brain are connected to each other
- Pitch
- the measure of how high or low we perceive sounds to be
- Pro-social behavior
- actions that are intended to help others
- Synchronized movement
- movements that occur in sync with musical beats and, or with other people
- Timbre
- the quality of a musical sound or voice that allows us to tell the differences between instruments or voices