"Why music is good for you"

Every student always wonders why the school rule of no electronics turned on in the building are implemented, but the part of that rule that bugs the students the is that eliminates the use of iPods, when in reality listening to music can help us educationally.

Researchers have consistently studied the correlation between music and educational stamina, but have never found significant evidence that show music doesn’t increase your educational ability. Due to the “Mozart effect” listening to music has sparked a new purpose. People began buying classical music and making their new born children listen to it, hoping it would make them more intelligent. Truth is, based on scientific research, listening to music has beneficial effects on you. The genre of music isn’t specified to just classical; studies showed that pop music also had the same effect on children, as did classical.

How can music have an effect on you biologically? Well neuroscientists Nina Kraus and Bharath Chandrasekaran of Northwestern University, believe that listening to music raise cognitive benefits. However, neurological and psychological tests show that cognitive responses aren’t music specific, but also through pitch processing, memory and pattern recognition. Although with all of these qualities intertwined in music it would have a greater effect on the listener.

Learning more about the educational response to music can change the future on the way children learn. It could have an effect on the way children retain new things. Kraus and Chandrasekaran argue that music “should be reassessed in the light of the benefits it may offer my improving learning skills and listening ability.” If the research on this topic continues to flourish and contribute to new ground breaking conclusions, the way we use music will be forever changed from just a hobby, but to a way of life.