On how music is good for the brain

It is said that experience with a musical instrument is good for the brain, and many Tokyo University students have taken piano lessons.
So, are music students and graduates of music universities who have played musical instruments all the way through to music school able to study well?
In this article, the author, a graduate of a music college, would like to explore the reality of this question.

◆Piano Major Tend to study the best.
This is because piano has a larger number of notes to play than other instruments, and students must have good information processing skills to reach the music college level,
Therefore, many of our students are good at studying.

◆Violin Major Many of our students are very competitive from a young age and tend to work hard not to be defeated in their studies.
For this reason, there is a trend of hard-working, gifted students compared to piano majors.

◆Cello majors.
A large percentage of students decided late to specialize in music and put a lot of effort into their academics.
My sense is that they tend to have grades as high as piano majors.

◆Voice and Soprano Majors
Because of the high ratio of students in the department, inevitably only clever students tend to pass the entrance examinations.

◆Composition Major.
Many of them are good students, perhaps because the ability to imagine a lot of sounds is essential.

◆Theoretical studies such as musicology.
Since it is not possible to enter the school without being able to study itself, only brilliant students are admitted.
Even if the entrance exam hurdles are low, it is not a problem because the students who want to study music theory at university are very intelligent.


◆Conclusion What do you think?
Music is related to the brain's ability to process information, so it can be said that many brilliant people excel in instruments that handle a large number of sounds (piano and violin).
In addition, top players, regardless of their major, tend to be academically talented (at least in middle school). (I hear that at least in middle school, they are gifted.)

◆Specific examples of how playing the piano makes you smart: In a counterpoint piece like Bach's, the voices (melody) from soprano to bass move separately, and all parts are sung as if they were vocal music.
The information processing is extremely difficult, and your head will be exercised to the point of puncture.
If you want to get smarter, you might want to work on Bach. (Hence, students who play instruments as a hobby tend to avoid Bach.)

Exercise your brain through playing an instrument!