Music and the Brain

donna-marie-tromans-1Since I’ve played the piano all my life, I take for granted all the different things that I’m doing at the same time like playing correct notes, playing in time, playing with emotion, properly articulating, doing different things with each hand, and using my feet to pedal.

When I’m playing with other people, there are still other elements involved as well, like listening to everyone at the same time and playing in synch with the other musicians. When I’m playing improvisational music, like jazz or Latin music, I am creating music on the spot with everyone else and must be polite while knowing when “to talk” as I am again hearing what everyone is doing at once.

There are many articles that explain how playing a musical instrument is good for your brain (e.g. Parents, Time, and National Association of music, to name a few). This is something I can take for granted being that I’ve played the piano all my life. But when I think about what I am doing or when I’m teaching a student, I can see that there are a lot of things going on at once in the brain.

Music and the Child

Learning a musical instrument is beneficial because it helps your child improve academic skills, develop physical skills, cultivate social skills, refines discipline and patience, boosts self-esteem, introduces children to other cultures, relieves stress, and improves memory.