From the time of birth, humans have an ingrained appreciation for music, unlike any other animal. Music means something different to every individual. It works as a means of learning, relaxation, and fun. An active participation in listening to and performing music is beneficial to everyone throughout the different cultures of the world.
Biologically, music is embedded in the brain. When the brain is scanned, both hemispheres respond to melodies and rhythm, while language is only present in the left hemisphere. When music is heard, the brain processes it using a method called working memory. This means that incoming messages are compared to stored information. To comprehend music, the sensory system, perceptual system, cognitive system, motor system, pleasure system, and storage system are all used. Common belief that applies to all aspects of knowledge is the "use it or lose it" theory where if a part of the brain is not used for an extended period of time, it devolves and becomes virtually useless. Listening to music causes neurons to fire at rapid rates, and without listening to music these neurons turn off, sometimes forever. For our brain to be fully functional, music must be part of our daily lives.
It seems that we gain our interest in music hereditarily. Infants do not respond to language, but recognize melodies recited by their mothers. Playing music for infants in their first year provides for enhancement and benefit in future education. They are capable of differentiating between two notes of music, separating melodies into segments, and understand rhythm just as well as adults. Listening to music at an early age helps children learn language, reading fundamentals, creativity, social interaction, and increases their self-esteem.
As children grow, the need for music also grows. They feel that music is a part of everyday life. Children use it in social interaction, games, learning, expression, and developing relationships. It acts as an exercise for the brain that improves their motor systems as well as responses to stimuli. Their spatial-temporal knowledge is affected directly through active listening where information is taken in and compared to past events. Children learn to express themselves and improve their perception of the world around them from early music training. Since they do not have full language skills yet, they use rhythms and songs to increase communication not only with their peers, but with adults.
Listening to music is not the only way children can benefit. Many parents encourage their children to pursue expression through musical performance. They claim intrinsic benefits for the child that are difficult to gain in any other way. This means that parents enroll their kids in musical performance classes to help their child develop as a productive member of society as opposed to future financial gain. Children show an increase in academic performance, intellectual development, personal growth, and discipline. This helps to solve many of the problems that parents have while raising a child.
Moving into adulthood, the benefits from music do not cease to exist. It is believed that listening to Mozart has a profound affect on intelligence. From personal experience, listening to music while studying or taking an exam helps me to relax, clears my mind from test anxiety, and makes it easier to recall useful information that I studied earlier.
As adults, performing music has many profound positive effects on daily life. Through practice, a routine is developed that can be directly correlated to setting up a routine in day to day activities. It develops courage to try new things and express new ideas that would not be articulated otherwise. Musicians learn to overcome problems through persistence to reach a specific goal. They also find out how to be spontaneous and sensitive while slowing down their surroundings for observation and appreciation. Performance helps to balance daily life by adapting the on stage corrections to making meaningful changes in daily habits. It also teaches reflection and patience when things do not go as planned. Expression, however, is the most important thing that is learned from practicing and performing music. Feelings can be expressed openly and authentically, while emotions are released from deep within. These things cannot be conveyed by words alone. Without music, all of these attributes would be difficult to attain and would develop much more slowly.