This Is Your Brain On Music - How Music Benefits The Brain (animated)

Music has been an important part of every human culture, both past and present.
It can play a part in brain development, learning, mood, and even your health.

One of the most common affects music has, is that it can alter our mood and feelings, by stimulating the formation of certain brain chemicals. When you listen to music you actually like, your brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine.
So basically music can makes us feel good.

Another interesting aspect is how listening to music can affect our exercise regime. As our body realizes we’re tired and wants to stop exercising, it sends signals to the brain to stop for a break. Listening to music competes for our brain’s attention, and can help us override those signals of fatigue.

In the last few decades, neuroscientists have made enormous breakthroughs in understanding how our brains work, by monitoring them with instruments like fMRI. Through brain scans we have found that musicians have different brains than non-musicians. People who play an instrument have bigger, better connected, more sensitive brains.

So both listening and creating music has it's own benefits.

Sources:

https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.2726
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22828457
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0003566
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304394009003279
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3957486/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110112111117.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14700729