A lot has been published lately about how music affects ones brain. A couple of top hospitals here in Boston have done research on it which includes taking specific MRIs of the brain to see exactly how music affects us musicians. It is also well known that keeping your brain healthy and slowing down the ageing process includes learning new skills. Grandma Moses became a famous artist at age 80. All musicians that I know keep going and going forever making music. I’m one of them.

Whenever I start teaching a new piano student I tell them this is brain-training. Learning to move fingers separately to do specific things on their own is a different skill entirely than picking up a cup. So is learning spacial things like reaching for a piano key without having to look for it. And watching that student start falling into that routine of playing with all 10 fingers more and more coordinated is nothing short of amazing.

I have always loved looking at the pictures showing the brain of a musician looking like a garden has exploded in the brain itself! And I am seriously considering asking the neuroscientists at my hospital which is Brighams in Boston, to take one of those MRIs of my brain so I can see what is going on in there. Haha!

For myself, I have always felt more alert in general. I feel I understand things more quickly. My brain is operating at a faster speed. I usually can’t explain it very well other than I feel on top of things mentally all the time. And I have been able to memorize everything, not just music, since childhood. And that’s something my father knew very well about me. I could never get away with the “I don’t know what happened” excuses because he knew I remembered everything! Hahahahaha!

My point in this article is that in order to keep your brain active and doing well as you age, learning a new skill is a very good idea. Learning a musical instrument is a very common new skill. You won’t become a concert pianist or violinist or whatever instrument you choose, but your brain will thank you for this aerobic exercise it gets when you practice. It’s the continuous practice that keeps your brain doing jumping jacks and having a good time! Ear-training is also a part of becoming a musician. You are more sensitive to pitch and the overall timbre of music. Lots of benefits from musical learning even if it’s only a serious hobby. Or just a fun activity. But to be clear, it’s the continuous practicing that exercises the brain. So…you still have to practice. Haha!

There are many new skills you can learn to keep your brain active as we age, just like keeping physically active at the gym etc. For me music is number one! I try to do the other stuff too though.

To read more inclusive articles about how music affects the brain look up this subject online. There are a number of studies that explain it more scientifically than I can. Very interesting reading. It just might push you to make that decision to learn to play a musical instrument. I highly recommend it.

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