Did you know how powerful music is for our brains, our Executive Function skills, our communities, and our mental health? In Episode 67 of Focus Forward, I had the joy of speaking with Sara Sherman and her father, Mort Sherman, co-authors of the book Resonant Minds: The Transformative Power of Music. If you’ve ever felt a song shift your mood, help you find focus, or create a deeper connection with someone else, this conversation is for you. Or, if you’re not much of a music person, keep reading because you might just become one after learning about music, focus, and finding connection through music. And, since we’re all about Executive Function skills here at Beyond BookSmart, the coolest thing is that our brains and our Executive Function skills, especially our focus, task initiation, emotional regulation, and memory, directly benefit from music more than you might realize! Research shows that this is true, and I’m so glad to be able to share this with you in this blog post.
Music is a Tool
Sara, a concert pianist and founder of Mozart for Munchkins, an interactive concert series for young children, and Mort, a lifelong educator and former superintendent, have a shared mission: to help people understand that music is so much more than entertainment. It’s a powerful, underutilized tool for building focus, regulating our emotions, and creating community. It’s a tool that is literally right at our fingertips, especially with the availability of music listening apps, such as Spotify or Apple Music. Music is something most of us already engage with every day, whether we realize it or not. Why not figure out how we can use that music in a powerfully positive way?
"Music Is Ultimately About Love"
One of my favorite moments in our conversation was when Mort said, “Music is ultimately about love.” This message is also expressed in their book, Resonant Minds, which made me tear up a bit when I read it! As we talked, I could really feel the truth of that statement. Whether it’s in the way music helps us show up more mindfully for ourselves, or the way it brings people together, even total strangers, through shared rhythm and experience. I love what Sarah had to say about this: “When we listen to music together, it releases oxytocin, and so we feel this bond. And if we think about being connected with people, we know that oxytocin is really important in that and so whether it is a group of friends or even a group of people in a concert, you know you feel that kinship when you're like, hey, we like this music together, and we're in it together, and all of a sudden, this bond is formed with strangers because of listening to music." I have even shared this with my Executive Function coaching clients! When building rapport with them, I like to talk about music. It's a great way to connect!
Music Benefits For the Brain
Sara and Mort introduced the idea of “mindful action” through music. They see listening to music as a way to bring presence and purpose into our lives, which is something that many of us are already doing for hours each day. Instead of always reaching for silence to find focus (which doesn’t work for many (maybe even most??) brains), we can intentionally use music to help us pay attention to our work and find the motivation to do it. This is especially helpful for those of us or our kids who live with Executive Function challenges like ADHD. It turns out that background music, especially instrumental music in the 50-80 bpm range, can activate the brain’s default mode network and actually help us get and stay focused. In coaching, we often help our Beyond BookSmart clients identify what supports their focus. For some, that’s working in a silent room, but for many, especially those with ADHD, adding the right kind of background music can make a huge difference in sustaining attention and motivation. When I was a student, I believed that I needed to study in a completely silent environment. Now, as an adult, I stay focused and feel more engaged when mellow instrumental tracks, or songs with lyrics in a language I don’t understand, are playing softly in the background.
We also talked about how music lights up the whole brain—faster than conscious thought—and how that full-brain activation can help with memory, emotional regulation, and even connection to past experiences. There’s something beautiful and comforting about that. Music is truly wired into us. Sara cited research that discovered that music is there before language, before memory, and its effects reach deep, even in people with Alzheimer’s who may forget names but still sing along to old favorites. It seems logical, then, that it is worthwhile to build more music into our lives, regardless of our age! Let’s use this to our advantage and let music support our efforts to improve our Executive Function skills. This is exactly the kind of habit-building we support in Executive Function coaching. We love to help clients find practical, joyful strategies that fit into their daily lives. Music can be one of those tools, whether it’s a song to help with transitions, a playlist that marks the start of homework time, or even a family rhythm for getting out the door in the morning.
Music is for Everyone, Not Just Musicians
Another powerful point Sara and Mort made is that music doesn’t have to be performed to be powerful. Society often separates music into this elite category—something only “musicians” do! Mort shared that he and his wife were able to instill a love of music in their children, despite not being musicians themselves: "We were not classically trained. We didn't have a musical family, either mine or my wife's. We always had this, what we call it in the book, this “musical spark”, something ignited within us that made us love music." Sara and Mort want us to reimagine music as part of everyday life, and that we can create that musical spark for ourselves and our children, even if we’re not musicians. Singing in the kitchen, playing kazoos as adults, making playlists with our kids, or using a favorite song as a cue to start a tricky task. These are all ways we can make music a tool for growth, connection, and joy.
Music Supports Thinking Flexibly
They also challenged us to, as Mort said, “Break the feedback loop of the familiar” and to stop letting algorithms pick our playlists and instead listen with intention. That might mean exploring a new genre, tuning into music that your child or friend loves (even if it’s not your thing), or building a family playlist where everyone’s voice is represented. Mort’s example of learning to listen to country music because of his son-in-law or his grandson’s love for a “fart version” of the William Tell Overture was delightful to hear and also drove home the point that when we meet people where they are musically, we build bridges and may create a connection that might not have been there without music. Listening to new music helps us strengthen our Cognitive Flexibility skill, which is what we need for problem-solving, working with others, and believing in ourselves. In coaching, we often help clients build that same flexibility—challenging old habits, trying new tools, and staying open to fresh perspectives, even when they feel unfamiliar at first. Turns out, hitting “shuffle” with intention can be one small but powerful way to practice that.
The Takeaway
Whether you're a parent, educator, music lover, or someone just trying to find a bit more presence and peace in your day, I hope this conversation inspires you to explore music in a new way. As Sara and Mort remind us in Resonant Minds, music isn’t just something we listen to; it’s something we can use, intentionally, to support ourselves and the people around us. Mort said, “We want to create networks that sustain beyond that church experience or concert experience or ball game experience, that we can create this movement of people who contribute their playlist, their songs, they're thinking about life in a way which is not once and done."
Curious how music could become a tool in your Executive Function toolkit? Learn about our coaching sessions where we help people build real-life routines using things they already love—like music. Set up a call with one of our experts to find out how coaching could support you or your child!