Music For All Ages: The Research on Music Medicine for Kids

When Spotify released its 2025 year-in-review report, Spotify Wrapped, one feature in particular got the internet talking: Listening Age. 

Suddenly, people of all biological ages couldn’t stop posting about their musical listening ages. There were the twenty-four-year-olds bemoaning their 62-year-old listening habits and the 40-somethings owning up to having the taste of a teenager. Thought articles couldn’t decide if the new feature was spot-on, far off, or somewhere in between—but one thing was for certain: it struck a nerve. 

What was intended as a fun marketing tool got people asking themselves: How do musical tastes shift, or stay the same, as we get older?

It turns out this question has intrigued researchers for a long time, before Spotify was even a blip. Here’s what science has revealed about how musical preferences evolve, and the ages at which they tend to be the most malleable.  

Finding the most formative music years

Back in 1989, a foundational study came out declaring that people’s penchant for popular music seems to follow a U-shaped curve. That is, their preference for the music of the moment grows until they reach the age of 24, and then starts to wane. Many interpreted this study to mean that the music we listen to in early adulthood has the strongest influence on our lifelong music habits. 

Subsequent studies have come to the same basic conclusion: What we are exposed to when we’re relatively young tends to shape our preferences for the rest of our lives—in music, but also in fashion, television, etc. However, the exact age at which musical preferences develop is still up for debate. More recently, researchers have argued that the golden age probably happens earlier in life, when we’re closer to 14 years old or 17 years old instead of twenty four. However, most agree that the decade between 15 and 25 seems to be an important one. 

Interestingly, people seem to resonate with the music they listened to when they fell in this age window and the music that their parents listened to at this age. This suggests that musical preference is, to a certain extent, passed along through generations. 

A lifelong evolution

While musical taste seems to firm up when we’re in our teens and 20s, it doesn’t completely solidify. Changes can still happen throughout our lives, for many reasons. 

To investigate how, one study aptly titled Music through the ages tracked over 250,000 people to see how their musical attitudes and preferences evolved from adolescence through middle age. Researchers found that as people got older, they tended to start liking some genres of music more and others less, and these shifts were largely shaped by personality. For example, having a more ‘open’ personality was associated with an increasing preference for classical and jazz music in middle adulthood. 

Others posit that our taste for certain music evolves naturally once we have more years under our belt. Some genres, like classical and jazz, tend to be more complex, and so enjoying them might take more musical knowledge and listening experience, which can come with age. The memories we form around certain songs or genres of music also likely shape how we perceive those songs over the years. 

Maybe you’re born with it

While your response to music is partially the result of age and lived experience, there also seems to be a genetic component at play. Based on research on twins, the ability to elicit pleasure from music is partially heritable. Musical talent is also thought to be genetically determined, at least in part. 

The latest research on this topic finds that, in general, people tend to have a more “omnivorous” musical diet and enjoy hearing different genres and styles when they’re young. After analyzing over two billion listening sessions on Last.fm from 2005-2020, researchers found that young people listened to a wider variety of songs, favoring new releases but also exploring older music. This listening pattern persisted until the age of 40 or so, when people’s preferences tended to become more focused, narrowing in on the music they liked when they were young. “Beyond 40, current music consumption declines, and nostalgia-driven listening dominates,” researchers write. 

Your musical companion through the ages

Spiritune is designed to appeal to every type of music lover—no matter if you’re a disco-crazy 60’s baby or a millennial with a penchant for pop-punk. Instead of focusing on a particular style, it’s built with the intention of “making music accessible for everyone,” says Daniel Bowling, Ph.D., Spiritune’s Scientific Co-founder. 

Spiritune music tracks use principles of music therapy and neuroscience to lead listeners through noticeable changes in mood and energy in just a few minutes. Composed with genre-agnostic instruments and beats, they’re made to be therapeutic for everyone—no matter their listening age.

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Here at Spiritune, we’re constantly exploring how therapeutic music can impact the brain (by improving mood, enhancing focus, and more) and body (by deepening sleep, providing pain relief, etc.). But what exactly is ‘therapeutic’ music, and how is it any different than a pop song you’d hear on the radio? 

Here’s an expert-led guide to the attributes of therapeutic music, how it differs from other forms of music, and how you can benefit from listening to it daily. 

What Is Therapeutic Music?

Simply put, therapeutic music is any music that helps the listener reach a certain therapeutic goal—be it managing stress, enhancing memory, or easing pain. 

Some genres and musical attributes are considered more therapeutic for certain goals than others. Listening to classical music, for example, is generally thought to have a calming effect. Fast-tempo music tends to rev up emotional and cognitive activity, while slower beats often lower heart rate and promote relaxation.

However, therapeutic music does not need to sound one particular way. And in fact, it will sound different from person to person. 

As Daniel Bowling, Ph.D., Spiritune’s neuroscience advisor, explains, personal preference plays a significant role in shaping the outcomes of any musical experience. “It's all about what you enjoy,” he says. “That's really going to be what moves your nervous system the most.” 

While some sounds evoke reactions that are near-universal (you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t energized by Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, for example), there is no one way for a song to be considered “therapeutic,” since an individual’s tastes, memories, and culture affect how they respond to different pieces of music.

How Is Therapeutic Music Different Than Music on the Radio?

Here’s where it gets a little complicated: Pop, rock, country, or any other type of music you hear on Spotify or the radio can absolutely be therapeutic in certain contexts, for certain people.

Let’s say you are feeling tired and want to perk up, so you play an up-tempo Taylor Swift song and immediately have more pep in your step. Congratulations, you just used music therapeutically. If you’re feeling defeated after a long day and put on your favorite hopeful song from childhood—the one that you know every word to by heart—and perk right up, that totally counts, too. 

Bowling explains that music you love and have a history with can even pack an extra strong therapeutic punch due to the way it builds anticipation in the brain. “It’s a constant unfolding of expectation and reward,” he says. 

That said, there are plenty of ways to engage with popular, familiar music that are not therapeutic at all—and may actually make you feel worse. Listening to fast-tempo songs with complex lyrics while you’re trying to focus at work can be really annoying and distracting, for example. And if you’re in a bad mood, putting on a low-pitch song with sad lyrics that remind you of a low point in your life will likely make it worse. 

So, as a neuroscientist, Bowling doesn’t consider therapeutic music its own genre or category. “Whether it's therapeutic or not depends on the composer and on the listener,” he says.

What About Music Therapy? What Does That Entail?

Music therapy, as defined by the American Music Therapy Association, is the “clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.” 

In other words, it involves listening to, engaging with, or creating music with a trained practitioner who can guide you towards your goals.

While you can definitely use music as a therapeutic tool on your own, as we covered in the last section, this wouldn’t be strictly considered music therapy. Using music as a therapeutic tool without the oversight of a practitioner is more often referred to as “music medicine.”

How Spiritune Makes Therapeutic Music More Accessible

Spiritune exists to democratize music medicine and bring the therapeutic power of music to the masses.

Each track is created with a specific goal in mind: be it to relax before bedtime, enhance focus, or adopt a more positive mindset. Professional composers will then use rhythm, tonality, harmonic progression, etc., to create tracks that fulfill this goal while being pleasing to the ear.

“Spiritune is music-forward,” says Bowling, adding that its tracks feature well-written compositions, versatile instruments, and smooth rhythms that are as universally appealing as possible. Most Spiritune tracks don’t have lyrics, which can be distracting, opting instead for instrumentals that make a wide variety of listeners feel good, he adds.

The app is designed to be easy and intuitive to use: Simply choose your current state (i.e., anxious or frustrated) and then your desired state (i.e., content or excited), and Spiritune will play tracks designed to get you there. 

You don’t need to consciously attune to the music; simply let it play in the background and wrap yourself in an “acoustic blanket.” Before you know it, you might find yourself feeling less restless, more positive, or more focused. Based on user surveys, 90% of listeners agree that Spiritune’s science-driven playlists help them reach their goals—often within just 10 minutes of listening.

While Spiritune isn’t designed to replace your favorite pop song (you’re safe, Taylor), it’s a helpful tool to add to your routine when you have a specific goal or outcome in mind and want a reliable, science-driven way to get there, fast. 

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Humans have been making music for at least 40,000 years. Millennia later, we’re still learning new things about the remarkable ways our bodies respond to sound. 

This year, scientists honed in on how music can help reduce the pain of a hospital stay, ease the trauma of war and displacement, enhance our ability to stay on task, and much more. There were over 700 music therapy studies published this year—and these five really had our team talking:

1. Using sound to ease the trauma of displacement.

Forced displacement from war and natural disaster is a growing threat to global health—one that a cross-cultural intervention like music may be uniquely well-suited to. 

Case in point: This year, displaced mothers and children from Ukraine reported significant mental health improvements after just eight weeks of a music therapy intervention. Caregivers showed fewer signs of PTSD, depression, and anxiety after the sessions, while children had improved communication and better socio-emotional functioning. According to their mothers, the kids were also able to “open up” more after playing instruments, singing Ukrainian songs, and engaging in musical rituals. 

2. Finding the right tune for focused work.

Music can help make monotonous tasks like computer work more enjoyable—but not just any song or playlist will do the trick. 

This spring, a randomized controlled study, Effects of Music Advertised to Support Focus on Mood and Processing Speed, found that Spiritune is significantly more effective at improving mood and performance during cognitive tests than other forms of music, such as Spotify’s “Deep Focus” playlist and popular songs from the Billboard Hot 100.

The study, which involved 196 healthy adults, concluded that Spiritune’s science-driven compositions were four times more effective than other music at reducing negative emotional states. An impressive 76% of participants were in a better mood after listening to them. Spiritune was also the only type of music to improve executive function and cognition.

It only took 7-10 minutes for these benefits to occur, demonstrating that listening to Spiritune is a fast and effective way to lock into work mode and improve productivity.

Get an inside look at the research here.

3. Demystifying the body’s response to sound.

New research suggests that listening to music is far from a passive process. When you press play on a song, your body and brain may actively synchronize with the rhythm and harmony of the track.

This year, a team of researchers led by Edward W. Large at the University of Connecticut reviewed existing literature to propose a new explanation for humans' musical response: the "neural resonance theory." This theory states that our brain waves actually synchronize to the rhythms of the music we listen to. Our urge to smile, dance, and groove with certain beats is the result of this physical embodiment. 

"This means that the human body is very much part of the music-making process. Neurons vibrate like a plucked guitar string. Seen on an EEG, brainwaves dance to drumbeats," reads a UConn recap of the study.

Concetta Tomaino, DA, the Executive Director of The Institute for Music & Neurologic Function and the Music Therapy Advisor at Spiritune, considers this one of the most important papers of the year because it takes fundamental principles of neuroscience and applies them in an exciting new way.

4. Investigating music’s potential for healthcare patients.

This year, experiments across the globe investigated how music can make hospitals and medical centers more comfortable for patients. 

In two general hospitals in Colombia, researchers found that both live music and pre-recorded music could reduce visitors’ anxiety and stress. Over in Ohio, a study across ten medical centers found that musical therapy sessions incorporating singing, playing instruments, and relaxation techniques tended to be the most effective at reducing pain in those with various diagnoses. 

5. Exploring music’s role in the operating room.

Music might be able to ease our stress even when we’re not consciously aware that it’s playing, a new study suggests. For this research, surgery patients were set up with noise-cancelling headphones before being put under anesthesia. Some of them listened to calming instrumental music during their procedures; the others didn’t listen to anything. 

Researchers monitored the amount of medication that both groups needed, and sure enough, patients who listened to music required lower doses of propofol (an anesthetic) and fentanyl (a painkiller) during their surgeries. This implies that music might help calm down the nervous system and stress response even when the brain is “offline.” 

“The unconscious mind still has areas that remain active. Even if the music isn't explicitly recalled, implicit awareness can lead to beneficial effects,” Farah Husain, a co-author on the study, tells BBC News. 

Furthermore, the music-listening patients had lower levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) once they woke up, leading researchers to believe that music therapy can be a helpful tool both during and after taxing events like surgeries. 

6. Reinforcing music’s role in neurodegenerative disease treatment.

Researchers have long suspected that music therapy might help those with neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. This year, two sweeping scientific reviews reinforced music’s potential to combat cognitive decline. 

First, a review of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research concluded that music can “act as a guardian of memory in AD,” combating memory loss by enhancing activity in certain brain regions. The paper also points out that music can open up non-verbal communication pathways, allowing patients to engage with their caregivers in new ways.

Then, a comprehensive analysis of Parkinson’s research found that a type of music therapy known as rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) can improve certain symptoms of the disease, like balance issues and gait abnormalities, by up to 20 percent. 

Study authors support music therapy as a low-cost, minimally invasive option for neurodegenerative disease patients, and predict that it will only become more widespread in the years ahead. 

Like what you're reading? Sign up for Spiritune’s newsletter to get a monthly music therapy download straight to your inbox. Haven’t tried Spiritune yet? Download it today with a free trial!