There are many ways that our brains respond to music. Besides the early history of musical influence in every culture, still today, research and studies are being made on how we respond to certain music.
Music enhances our learning capabilities, memories, and assists in problem solving. It has the ability to alter, strengthen or weaken moods. Every musical experience that a person can perceive is individual and there are no right or wrong accounts.
Albert Einstein himself says that the reason he was so smart was because he played the violin, which he sometimes played when he needed his mind to become free enough again to see a solution to a problem. His mother put him in music lessons after he proved lower grade levels in school.
Rhythm itself has an effect on our bodies since our brain relates it to heartbeats, walking, breathing, etc. Rhythm can organize physical movement in time, such as learning a song to help a child tie his shoelaces, or memorize the capital cities in a country. Music has been shown to relax the body and keep the mind alert, you can concentrate more easily, depending on the music you listen to at the moment.
Certain music, such as classical baroque, activates both the left and right side of the brain, maximizing learning and retention of information. Also, activities that engage both sides on the brain, such as playing an instrument or singing, make your brain more capable of processing information.
Depending on the speed of the music you are engaged in, three body measurements are directly affected: heartbeat, breathing rate, and blood pressure. Listening to more "organized" music means that your mind will perform better in whatever task is presented. "Organized" music refers to music that was created with the use of math, also entailing rhythm alterations, melodic variations, and separated musical phrases, which your brain can recognize even if you don't consciously identify it. Most modern music is not created with so much order. Overly done repetition of rhythm agitates the brain and brings the sub-conscious thinking to surface or invites a state of anger. For example, hard rock and rap are styles of music that surface a state of anger and thus have been linked to violent actions as most devote listeners engage in disruptive physical motions. This is not to say all music of this style is bad, but every musician behind a song has a message they are trying to prove. In addition, shrill frequencies caused by some music have been proven harmful to the body as now scientists have found that frequencies that enter our ear drums have a direct effect on the brain's cognitive thinking. Also, excessive repetition in beats lets the mind let loose of conscious thinking and many musicians utilize it to push certain ethics into the mind.
One cannot deny the power or influence of music. Besides it relating directly to improving listening skills, it has unavoidable affects on the way people think. Even the power-hungry Napoleon understood the power of music and summed it up by saying, "Give me control over who shapes the music of a nation, and I care not who makes the laws."