When you want to get physically fit you head to the gym. However, when you want to give your brain some exercise, you should either listen to some music or start playing piano. This is because there aren’t many other things that’ll stimulate your brain in this same way. As such, an otolaryngologist from Johns Hopkins Hospital says that this is the best way to keep your brain engaged as you grow older. Additionally, this is a great way to reduce anxiety, pain, and your blood pressure while improving the quality of your sleep, mood, memory, and mental alertness.
The Brain-Music Connection
Researchers are working on understanding the way our brain hears and plays music. When music is heard playing on a stereo, it’s the vibrations that travel through the air into your ear canal where they tickle your eardrum. At this point they’re turned into an electrical signal that travels from your auditory nerve to your brain stem which is when it’s turned into what we call “music.”
Johns Hopkins’ researchers had many rappers and jazz performers perform music while laying in a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine (fMRI: This is a large, powerful machine that uses both magnet and radio waves instead of the radiation that Xrays use. Like the traditional MRI machine, you’ll lay on a small enclosed table for 30 – 60 minutes as the test is conducted from another room.). This allowed the researchers to watch and see what areas of these people’s brains lit up. In doing so they discovered that the way music’s notes are interrelated makes it architectural, structural, and mathematical in nature. However, your brain must do a lot of computing to make sense of it.
Give Music a Try
There are many great ways in which you can incorporate music, and its many benefits, into your life. These include:
- Learning to play piano will improve your attention, memory, and problem-solving abilities. You’ll also be in a better mood and enjoy a better quality of life.
- Don’t let yourself get stuck listening to the same genre of music all the time. Instead, take time to listen to music from different genres and eras too. By listening to these new types of music you’re challenging your brain to work to understand the new sound that it’s hearing, especially if you don’t find the music to be pleasurable in the beginning.
- Familiar music that stems from a time period that you’re attempting to recall is also good for your brain.
- Make sure you pay attention to how your body reacts to different types of music. You’ll find certain genres will help you concentrate better while other genres make you feel anxious. You should listen to more of the music that makes your body happy.
Conclusion
Now that you see there are many good reasons why you should learn how to play piano it’s time to buy an instrument and give it a try. The best place to make your purchase is from Dave’s Piano Showroom. Drop by and visit them today.