Auditory Cheesecake?

This is my Opinion Editorial that I wrote for my English class.

I'll say it up front – I am a music nerd and a band geek. And I'm okay with that. I have taken a combined total of over 20 years of music lessons, and I'm only 17 years old. Music plays a central part in my life and I have always valued that. In general, I am not an outspoken person, but when it comes to music I have to say my part in its defense. Music is important. It is not useless “fluff.” In fact, music has been proven to make you smarter.
Music seems to be depreciating in value in our world today. Many people take music for granted – you push a button and it's there, no questions, no waiting. Music is on the radio, on TV, in the movies, on our computers, and for some of us it is constantly plugged into our ears, as well. Yet with this constant consumption of music, people do not seem to appreciate its value anymore. Music does not only have worth as entertainment; it is a skill that, if mastered even a little bit, can be culturally-, creatively-, and even academically-enlarging.
While there are many ardent supporters of music and its importance, there are plenty of nay-sayers as well. Cognitive psychologist Stephen Pinker said, “Music is auditory cheesecake. It just happens to tickle several important parts of the brain in a highly pleasurable way, as cheesecake tickles the palate.” Pinker and others think that music exists purely for the pleasure it affords, and for nothing else. Considering the cultural, creative, and academic advantages of music, however, I must agree with neuroscientist Daniel Levitin's rebuttal to Pinker's claim. “All the available evidence is that music can't be merely auditory cheesecake,” Levitin states. He cites historical evidence that suggests that music actually pre-dates language among humans. In fact, music is perhaps what led to the development of language and human civilization.
Music has always been a part of our culture. All the major events in life tend to have music entwined in the commemoration – singing “Happy Birthday”, a wedding march, a funeral dirge. Spiritual hymns, silly songs, and fully-orchestrated masterpieces all have their place and value in human culture. Daniel Levitin said, “As a tool for arousing feelings and emotions, music is better than language.” Music expresses what words may not be able to say; it is a form of communication so poignant that it can bring tears to the eyes of listeners. Could you imagine a people that doesn't have music of any sort? It seems such a people would be lacking in something that makes each of us human. Such a culture would seem alien to us, who are continuously surrounded by music. With this constant exposure to music, we need to remember not to take it for granted. We need to remember its integral part in human culture. If we dismiss the value of music, we are dismissing the value of our culture. If we lose our appreciation of music, we lose our appreciation of our culture, too.
But music has more meaning than a cultural awareness exercise. Music encourages creativity and abstract thinking. It requires listeners and composers alike to “think outside the box” in order to interpret the piece being played or written. Composing or even simply listening to music requires that you find different pieces and parts within the music and put them together to make a cohesive whole. The same coalescing skill is required in many forms of art, whether it be visual, performing, or written art. Abstract thinking is also useful in mathematics, science, design, writing, and so many other fields as well.
The creative process that goes into composing or analyzing (ie: listening to) music utilizes multiple faculties of the brain simultaneously, creating new connections and strengthening the ones that already existed. What this means is that what we learn – in any setting – “sticks” better in the brain because our musical experience is exercising the brain. Research has shown that music lessons improve memory and IQ scores. Most people have heard of the “Mozart effect,” which claims that listening to Mozart's compositions will help to boost your IQ. This turns out to be a general effect of any musical activity, no matter the composer. Brain-imaging studies have shown that music activates almost every region of the brain, using more brain areas than any activity involving language alone. Whenever you hear a sound, the sound waves travel from your ear to the auditory centers of the brain where they are processed, partially involving the reasoning centers of the brain as well. That same process happens no matter whether you hear a horn honking, a dog barking, a person talking, or a phone ringing. However, when your brain hears music, it goes into overdrive. Primal brain regions (responsible for controlling the timing of your heartbeat, breathing, and movements) kick in to keep time with the music. Reward centers activate, bringing the pleasure of the sounds. Music with lyrics switches on the language centers to translate what is being sung. A familiar song heard again brings in the memory circuits, allowing you to remember and anticipate what comes next. This flood of brain activity strengthens your mental acuity by working the brain harder than almost any other activity.
The point of that neuro-nerd explanation is that music gets inside your head and works the “muscles” of the brain. Like any other muscle in the body, if the brain doesn't exercise and keep getting worked, it loses its “strength,” its ability to think as quickly and as abstractly. What music does in the brain, on a less technical level, is make more pathways available for learning new material. My point is this: music makes you smarter. Research has proven it time and time again.
It is not only classical music that makes you smarter. Don't worry, you don't all have to listen to Rachmaninoff to boost your IQ. And not everyone would want to. I understand that not everyone likes the same kind of music, nor can everyone learn to play a plethora of instruments. Some people like rap, some like country; some prefer jazz, some classical. There are people that play every instrument imaginable and some that can't tell a staff from a whole note. Music taste and talent vary. That is part of what makes our musical culture so wonderful; there is something for everyone. It is this diversity that needs to be treasured. Music, with all of its side-effects, is very beneficial; but it also needs to be valued for its own merits.