There are too many signs that point to music as being good for our brains, more specifically our memory. We’ve gathered info from nine music and memory studies to help you better understand the effect of music on the brain. The takeaways can help you think of creative ways to incorporate the benefits of music into your own or a loved one’s life.
Music and Memory Study #1: Petr Janata
A UC Davis study conducted by Petr Janata found that music triggers memory in the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that Alzheimer’s touches last. He discovered from brain scans there was an increased level of mental activity in 17 participants who listened to 30 music samples. The yellow area shows the response to both music familiarity and salient memory in the prefrontal cortex. Source: UC DavisThis explains why even Alzheimer’s patients who endure increasing memory loss can still remember songs from deep into their past. Music memory is one of the last parts of your brain that Alzheimer’s deteriorates.Takeaway: prepare an autobiographical playlist for anyone who can benefit from listening to their favorite tunes from a certain pleasant era of their life. For my uncle John, who is 84 years old, this means gathering some of his favorite jazz tunes from the 50s period. I asked him who some of his top artist choices were and am collecting pieces from B.B. King, Henry Mancini, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis.
Music and Memory Study #2: Brandon Ally
Researcher Brandon Ally ran a study in 2010 that showed music has the power to help Alzheimer’s patients learn new information, something that can benefit treatment adherence. The small study of 32 participants was enough to give us an indication that Alzheimer’s patients could use music to maintain independence, for example by using a song to remember which medications to take and when. The study compared a group of healthy seniors with a group of Alzheimer’s patients. The group of healthy seniors learned just as many lyrics with or without musical prompts, however, the group of Alzheimer’s patients learned more lyrics when associated with music. Following his study, Ally summarized:Takeaway: use music as a learning tool. Songs and lyrics can be used for healthcare adherence or even to remember certain things. Get in the habit of memorizing with music to exercise that part of your brain processing.
Music and Memory Study #3: Alice Mado Proverbio
A study conducted by Alice Mado Proverbio and her colleagues at the Milan-Mi Center for Neuroscience in Italy found that listening to emotionally touching music enhances facial memory capacity. The experiment measured the impact of auditory backgrounds, such as rain or joyful music, as well as emotionally touching music, and found that across 54 non-musician participants emotionally touching music improved memory and significantly increased their heart rates. Emotionally touching music enhances memory ability.That’s not to say that all music is helpful for memory. Here are some caveats:
Listening to some music, especially complex music, can interrupt memorization
Silence can be more effective for certain memorization tasks
Background music can have a slightly negative effect on memorization and can interfere with certain cognitive functioning
Takeaway: while music can generally help you relax, choose your music wisely and go with emotionally touching vs background music when trying to complete a task that requires concentration or improved memory.
Music and Memory Study #4: Sara Bottiroli
Sara Bottiroli and her colleagues found that processing speed improves with upbeat music and memory benefits from both upbeat and downbeat music. More specifically, Bottiroli found that arousal and mood-enhancing music, such as Mozart, improves memory tasks among older adults. This “Arousal-Mood” hypothesis also aligns with what’s known as William Forde Thompson and colleagues’ “Mozart effect,” where Alzheimer’s patients have seen increased autobiographical memory. Verbal memory encoding, verbal and visual processing speed, reading and math skills have also been understood to improve under the Mozart effect.Get your Mozart on.Takeaway: when learning something new, use mood-enhancing music without lyrics and tap into the Mozart effect.
Music and Memory Study #5: Lutz Jäncke
Lutz Jäncke from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland found that music triggers different types of memory:
Implicit memory systems are robust and emotional, and not damaged by Alzheimer’s disease, which means the memory beyond our consciousness is very powerful. Music is something that triggers subconscious emotional memory.This helps to explain why music memory is the last to go for Alzheimer’s patients, and why emotionally touching music helps improve someone’s recollection. Jäncke noted:
“Hearing music associated with our past often evokes a strong ‘feeling of knowing’. We have this feeling for many songs without knowing the title or text of the songs.”
Takeaway: when we talk about our life and have a strong association with music during certain periods that we recall, those memories are autobiographical memories. Take note of these and create a playlist.
Music and Memory Study #6: Adam Tierney
Singing and music training can help you learn language skills and shift auditory development in adolescents. A study conducted by Adam Tierney and colleagues showed that students who went through music training “exhibited earlier emergence of the adult cortical response,” which means learning music can accelerate neurodevelopment. Just four years made a significant difference. Source: PNASAmy Spray, PhD at the University of Liverpool wrote:
“Music could potentially function as a training ground for language skills and may potentially offer an effective, economical and enjoyable activity that could help improve language skills in children around the world if employed in schools. Giving adolescents musical training could help kick-start and accelerate maturation of their brains.”
Takeaway: it’s never too early to start enriching the brain. There’s the potential for increasing brain plasticity during adolescence years through music training, which can result in enhancing neural processing and improvement of language skills.
Music and Memory Study #7: Baird & Sampson
In a 2013 study, Baird and Sampson found that people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries experienced the return of autobiographical memories through the use of music. A group of five patients who suffered from varying levels of acquired brain injury (ABI) was asked a series of autobiographical memory questions following the music listening experiment. Dubbed music evoked autobiographical memories (MEAMs), these memories were triggered in the participants after they listened to 50 top hit songs from a relevant period in their lives. As the first study of MEAMs after ABI, Baird and Sampson found that music is an effective stimulus for eliciting autobiographical memories, which means patients could benefit from rehab of autobiographical amnesia.Takeaway: autobiographical music typically covers two generations of memories; you have your parents’ music choices that played in your home while growing up, and you have your own music choices that you picked as a teen.
Music and Memory Study #8: Vinoo Alluri
Vinoo Alluri and his researcher colleagues conducted a study in 2013 that predicted lateralized brain responses to music. They found that musicactivates widespread regions of the brain: the auditory, the motor and the limbic (emotional) regions. The auditory, motor and limbic regions are engaged with music. Source: GiphyAlluri and his research group highlighted:
“Activations in the medial orbitofrontal region and the anterior cingulate cortex, relevant for self-referential appraisal and aesthetic judgments, could be predicted successfully… We introduced a powerful means to predict brain responses to music, speech, or soundscapes across a large variety of contexts.”
Takeaway: if at all on your list of life desires, learn to play an instrument. This will help keep your prefrontal cortex engaged. If you already know how to play an instrument, continue playing. If you don’t want to learn an instrument, try to incorporate music into your life as much as possible, especially emotionally touching and autobiographical music.
Music and Memory Study #9: Teppo Särkämö
Researchers led by Dr. Teppo Särkämö at the University of Helsinki in Finland revealed in a 2015 study that leisurely musical activities, particularly singing, are beneficial for memory and mood, particularly in early dementia. Särkämö’s group studied 89 patients with mild to moderate dementia who were given a 10-week music coaching intervention. They found that for patients younger than 80 years of age with mild forms of dementia, singing is beneficial for working memory, executive function and orientation. For patients with mild, Alzheimer-type dementia, both singing and listening to music helped alleviate depression, and it didn’t matter whether or not the patients had a background in playing an instrument. Takeaway: music as a therapy for late stages of Alzheimer’s can help in reducing agitation while improving mood, social interaction and motor skills.
Closing Thoughts
There’s a ton of evidence that shows the positive impact of music on the brain. Like any other muscle in your body, the brain should be exercised to increase brain plasticity. If an onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s is already happening, musical therapies and tactics can help with symptoms. With Alzheimer’s touching 1 in 3 of us in the US, it’s important to take preventive action. Which of these music and memory studies and takeaways will you use today to help with increasing brain activity?
Music lights up the brain in ways few other things can. Studies show it activates the regions tied to memory, attention, and emotion, which is why a favorite song can spark vivid memories or help you focus more deeply.
I’ve seen music become a simple but transformative daily tool, whether it’s calming background music that boosts concentration, or singing and instrument-playing that keep the brain sharp. Music doesn’t just entertain; it strengthens recall, sharpens focus, and brings joy all at once. It’s a reminder that caring for your brain can also be fun and deeply meaningful.
While music can’t fully repair brain damage or restore every lost memory, studies show it can aid recovery. Stroke patients who listened to music daily regained verbal memory and attention more quickly than those who didn’t.
For dementia and Alzheimer’s patients, music therapy can trigger vivid autobiographical recall and boost delayed memory. While it isn’t a cure, it often restores precious moments of connection, sparking joy and strengthening identity through sound.
While picking up an instrument can’t turn back the clock entirely, controlled studies show measurable brain benefits. Older adults engaging in instrument training improved verbal and working memory, along with increased neural efficiency.
It’s not just lifelong musicians who benefit. Even short training programs improved recall and processing speed, while reducing signs of cognitive decline. Science is clear: it’s never too late to let music keep your mind active and resilient.
Absolutely. When stress creeps in, music works like a reset button for your body and mind. Studies show it lowers stress hormones like cortisol and activates calming brainwave patterns, helping you feel grounded and centered again.
And the benefits don’t stop at relaxation. Research with older adults found that playing or listening to music regularly boosts memory, focus, and even processing speed. In other words, music isn’t just fun, it’s also a proven workout for your brain.
Try weaving music into your day in little, joyful moments – like a morning “wake-up playlist,” soft tunes while cooking dinner, or a relaxing melody before bed. Those familiar melodies brighten your mood and gently boost your brain’s day-to-day resilience.
And mix it up: pick music you love, sing aloud, play, or dance. Because enjoyable, personal tunes light up more parts of your brain and stick with you longer. Even tweaking tempo during exercise or using music to wind down can make the habit both fun and brain‑healthy.
As a certified retirement life coach since 2018, Cyn has helped thousands of older adults turn their retirement years into remarkable years full of growth, purpose, and passion. Through her signature program Rewire My Retirement, she helps people achieve their best life across the 5 Rings of Retirement, which covers topics Growth, Community, Health, Giving Back, and Finance.
Cyn combines specific life coaching tools, neuroscience, and her extensive background in marketing (spanning 17 years) to make a powerful impact with Second Wind Movement – an organization dedicated to providing educational resources and coaching for seniors.
With meticulous research, insight, and passion, Cyn’s mission is to usher in a new wave of positive experiences for generations of retirees.
As a certified retirement life coach since 2018, Cyn has helped thousands of older adults turn their retirement years into remarkable years full of growth, purpose, and passion (beyond the stereotypical financial planning side of retirement).
She combines specific life coaching tools, neuroscience, and her extensive background in marketing (spanning 17 years) to make a powerful impact with Second Wind Movement – an organization dedicated to providing educational resources and coaching for seniors.
With meticulous research, insight, and passion, Cyn’s mission is to usher in a new wave of positive experiences for generations of retirees.
Takeaway: use music as a learning tool. Songs and lyrics can be used for healthcare adherence or even to remember certain things. Get in the habit of memorizing with music to exercise that part of your brain processing.
