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Music & Brain Health

Music is much more than entertainment. At The Harmony Project, we combine the joy of singing with neuroscience to support memory, mood, and connection.​​

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How Music Benefits the Brain

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Memory

Music activates the hippocampus, the part of the brain important for remembering. Familiar songs can bring back old memories.

Mood

Singing releases dopamine and endorphins, natural “feel-good” chemicals.

Attention and Focus

Music engages multiple regions of the brain at once and improves concentration. 

Connection

Group singing synchronizes breathing and brain waves, strengthening social bonds. 

DID you know?​​​​​​

Singing in groups lowers stress hormones and boosts feelings of belonging.

Studies show that people with Alzheimer’s can recall songs even when other memories fade.

Singing in groups lowers stress hormones and boosts feelings of belonging.

Your brain waves literally sync up with the rhythm when you sing or clap along.

Playing or listening to music lights up every lobe of the brain at once.

People who engage in music regularly have stronger connections between brain regions.

References

  • Alzheimer’s Association. (2023). Music and Alzheimer’s. https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving/daily-care/art-music

  • Särkämö, T., et al. (2008). Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke. Brain, 131(3), 866–876.

  • Thoma, M. V., et al. (2013). The effect of music on the human stress response. PLoS ONE, 8(8), e70156.

  • Koelsch, S. (2010). Towards a neural basis of music perception – a review and updated model. Frontiers in Psychology, 1, 25.

  • Blood, A. J., & Zatorre, R. J. (2001). Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion. PNAS, 98(20), 11818–11823.

  • Fancourt, D., & Perkins, R. (2018). The effects of singing interventions on symptoms of postnatal depression, wellbeing, and mother–infant bond. British Journal of Psychiatry, 212(2), 119–121.

  • Chanda, M. L., & Levitin, D. J. (2013). The neurochemistry of music. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17(4), 179–193.

  • Clift, S., & Hancox, G. (2010). The perceived benefits of singing: findings from preliminary surveys of a university college choral society. Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 121(4), 248–256.

  • World Health Organization. (2019). What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? [WHO Health Evidence Network synthesis report 67].

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