Psychological benefits of making music

This blog will be quite similar to the last one, but instead of analyzing what's going on in the brain of a music listener, I will instead be discussing what's going on in the brain of a music maker. For example, in the same WIRED video titled "How Does Music Affect Your Brain?" the video stated something that was quite mind-blowing to me: studies show that those who have consistently participated in music training, whether that would be playing an instrument or studying any type of music, have been associated with changes in their brain structures. Musicians have stronger connections between the left and right hemispheres which can allow them to be not only more creative problem solvers but also increases their social behavior and cognitive skills. To get a deeper understanding of what is going on in a musician's brain when they're making music, I watched another video titled "How playing an instrument benefits your brain," produced by the TED-Ed channel. Similar to what the WIRED video discussed, it turns out that when people listen to music, "fireworks" starts in their brains as multiple areas light up while trying to process the music. However, they also studied what goes on in a musician's brain as they make music, and surprisingly, the "fireworks" turned into a jubilee. Even though listening to music engages the brain, playing music is equivalent to a full-body exercise for the brain, as neuroscientists saw multiple parts of the brain light up, simultaneously processing various information in sophisticated, interconnected, and astoundingly quick processes. The video also justified the reasons of the statement previously said in the WIRED video of WHY musicians have stronger connections between their two hemispheres in the brain. This is because making music and especially playing instruments requires not only fine motor skills, controlled in both hemispheres of the brain, but it also mixes linguistic and mathematical precision in the left hemisphere with innovative and creative material in the right hemisphere. Because of this, playing music has been shown to enhance the volume and activity of the corpus callosum, the bridge between the two hemispheres of the brain, allowing messages to travel quicker and through more diversified paths, thus why musicians can solve problems more effectively and creatively in both academic and social settings. Furthermore, musicians frequently exhibit higher levels of executive function, a category of interrelated tasks that includes planning, strategizing, and attention to detail, due to the demands of simultaneous analyzing of both cognitive and emotional components while making music. This capability also influences how our memory systems function, as musicians exhibit enhanced memory functions, allowing faster and more efficient creation, storage, and retrieval of memories. These studies proving the psychological benefits of playing music have all expanded our understanding of mental function, showing the underlying rhythms and intricate interactions that comprise our brain's extravagant orchestra.