Recent advances in the study of the brain have enabled us to enhance our understanding of
the way that active engagement with music influences other development. Although our
knowledge of the way the brain works is still in its infancy some of the fundamental
processes involved in learning have been established. The human brain contains
approximately 100 billion neurons a considerable proportion of which are active
simultaneously. Information processing is undertaken largely through interactions between
them, each having approximately a thousand connections with other neurons. When we learn
there are changes in the growth of axons and dendrites and the number of synapses
connecting neurons, a process known as synaptogenisis. When an event is important enough
or is repeated sufficiently often synapses and neurons fire repeatedly indicating that this event
is worth remembering (Fields, 2005)