Musical Training Can Help Reorder Nervous System

There is currently a study being held at Northwestern University that may prove anyone taking musical training will be able to improve one’s understanding and ability to isolate speech or language in a noisy setting.

According to Nina Kraus, Hugh Knowles Professor of Communication Sciences and Neurobiology and director of Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, “The study points to a highly pragmatic side of music’s magic.”

Being able to understand the weaving of melodies and harmonies may mean that your auditory processing and communication are higher than someone without musical training. The training for the ears is believed to be connected to reading ability because the brain’s faulty interpretation of sounds make it harder for poorer readers to communicate as well.

USnews.com reports that the study took place when thirty-one study participants, with normal hearing and a mean age of 23, were divided into one group with music experience and another without it. They had to listen to sentences presented in increasingly noisy conditions and repeat back what they heard.

“Better perception in noise was linked with better working memory and tone discrimination ability. The results imply that musical training enhances the ability to hear speech in challenging listening environments by strengthening auditory memory and the representation of important acoustic features.”

Kraus further explains that “Musical training makes musicians really good at picking out melodies, the bass line, the sound of their own instruments from complex sounds,” thus making the brain better to recognize speech in any jumble of noises.

If this study continues to prove what they strongly suggest, musical training will not only be beneficial for kids who want to get better at math or those wishing for a career in musical performance but for the general public’s well-being too.