What is the best way to develop your brain even more? How can you ensure that you stay younger longer? How can you have on affect on your children causing their brains to develop better as they grow up? Playing an instrument can help solve that problem.
Through playing an instrument many different things in the brain the brain are triggered. The motor systems are used when you are playing an instrument. Another part that is being used at this time is the auditory circuitry which allows the brain to process the sounds. This helps you hear the music that you are playing and recognize when you play the wrong note. If that isn’t enough stuff, it also sends sensory information to the brain from your hands playing the instrument.
How many of your parents wanted you to learn how to play an instrument when you were young? Like many of you, I was also forced to play an instrument from the ages of 6-14. While I was being forced to play I did not understand how mu
ch playing an instrument would actually affect me. I am now extremely happy that my parents made me learn how to play the piano because now I know how beneficial it was.
This picture shows that “practicing a musical instrument can lead to numerous structural changes in the brain after only 15 months of training in early childhood.”
This video shows that playing a musical instrument is “like a full body workout for your brain“. Playing an instrument allows the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate easier allowing each message to get to the other side of the brain faster.
When you begin to play an instrument the brain begins to hear sounds that they never heard before. This can help children to do better in school. They also had improved neural processing. There are too many benefits of learning an instrument not to have your future children learn how to play them. Looking back on it I am so happy that my mom had me learn an instrument because now I know how much it improved my academic career.
When I read the opening of this blog I immediately connected with it. When I was a little kid my parents also forced me to play an instrument. I naturally chose to learn how to play the guitar, because like every five year old, I wanted to be a rockstar. Although I stopped playing in the beginning high school, I feel as though I am still able to think about things more fluently. Here is an article I found about other affects that playing an instrument has Click Here
Another benefit to playing an instrument is thinking more creatively, also called “divergent thinking”. This article discusses two studies performed on students at Vanderbilt University that examines the differences in creative thinking between musicians (trained for 8 years or more) and non-musicians. In the first test, the students were asked to think of new uses for household objects. According to the study, “the musicians suggested more novel uses for the household objects than their non-musical counterparts”. It is interesting to see how much playing an instrument can change brain function, and the various benefits that it has.
I know a lot of musicians, so this post was very interesting to me! In my experience, the musicians I know are some of the smartest people that I know, which shows the correlation between the two. I wonder, however, if it’s that smart people tend to play instruments, or if people who play instruments as a result become smarter?
I’ve also heard that learning a second language is very good for your brain (http://bebrainfit.com/brain-benefits-learning-second-language/) , but I can see how playing an instrument could be more beneficial, because it involves mental activity AND physical activity. Mental and physical coordination is definitely is something that can be difficult to master. It makes sense that playing musical instruments can improve your mental capabilities because of the stimulation of the different parts of the body. I’m now regretting quitting band in 6th grade!
It is very important to develop different parts of the brain. Some people are more artistic, musical, analytical etc. It is essential that when are brain is developing as a child we are exposed to all of these. It is quite fascinating that brain cells connect when we learn. These brain cells connecting across the brain are called synapses. One interesting point I would like to question here is what is your view on nature vs. nurture. This is a very interesting debate especially for this type of brain development. How does a kid exposed to a safe environment as a middle class-educated 10 year old compare to a 10 year old in say – Liberia or Syria. There is an interesting ted talk about a man who had all of this but an unusual brain defect where his first 12 years of development were normal but then lost his ability to communicate. Check it out here: http://www.ted.com/talks?page=5
I too was encouraged to play an instrument at a young age by my parents. Unfortunately, I had a poor experience with my band teacher which lead me to stop. But this blog interested me because I love to figure out all the different ways the brain can be stimulated. But, I feel that lots of third variable could also contribute to this. For example, when we take up an instrument, or a sport, or any extracurricular activity, it leads students to be more pressed for time with encourages less procrastination. Also, a lot of musicians strive for perfection, which can easily influence their study habits.
This blog caught my attention because my friend and I just had a conversation similar to this topic the other day! Neither one of us had played an instrument in elementary school when most other people had and we wondered what the positive effects even were if most people ended up quitting the instrument anyway. It is interesting to note that according a scientific journal most successful musicians begin their careers at an early age. This supports the theory that it is easier to learn an instrument in elementary school than it is as a teenager because you are more impressionable.