Music and Brain Development

When I was young, I remember my parents used to play the Beatles song “Here Comes the Sun” in the morning on the old record player. My mother helped hire the first band director at my middle school, and my father played opera in the car on my way to elementary school. I dabbled with different instruments, and played trumpet (cornet actually), flute, piccolo, oboe, English horn, and Ukulele. I also sang in several choirs and still sing today. What did all this musical influence do to my developing brain? This article reviews some of the existing evidence about music and brain development, to make a case for exposing children to music at an early age and supporting school music programs. [ Pediatr Ann. 2018;47(8):e306–e308.]