HOW PLAYING PIANO AFFECTS THE BRAIN

Physical changes in the brain:

Positive changes in the power and structure of the brain have been observed after as little as 5 months regular playing at a beginner level. These positive effects can be observed even when learning later in life as a retirement hobby.

Learning to play piano increases motor control, listening, memory (especially of audio information). The benefits extend beyond the activity of playing the piano into your everyday lives. They impact ability to plan, coordination, language skills, attention span and alertness.

“Learning to play a musical instrument has definite benefits and can increase IQ by seven points, in both children and adults.” Lutz Jäncke, psychologist at the University of Zurich.

Practising and mastering a challenging piece requires dedication and sustained effort. This means playing the piano also supports increased self-discipline and planning. Once a goal has been achieved self-belief and self-confidence also increase.

According to neuroscientists, playing music is the brain equivalent of a full body workout. The many different parts of the brain work together to process and connect the different musical elements at a very high speed.

Playing piano is particularly beneficial in 3 areas of the brain: the motor, visual and auditory cortices. Just like a physical workout, disciplined and structured piano practise strengthens these areas, which allow pianists to better apply them to other activities.

Scientists have found that playing music creates strong brain activity in both hemispheres, which increases activity in the corpus callossum (the bridge between the left and right hemispheres).

This allows messages to cross both sides of the brain through faster and more diverse routes. It is thought that this may allow musicians to solve problems more effectively and creatively in both academic and social settings.

Because making music involves crafting and understanding a song's emotional content and message, musicians often have higher levels of executive function. A category of interlinked tasks that includes planning, strategising and attention to detail.

The brains of musicians are different from the brains of non musicians. There are about 5 different areas where the brains of musicians are larger structurally. These include hearing and listening, motor actions to produce sounds, memory, emotion, attention, learning.

Improved executive function also has an impact on how the brains memory systems work. Musicians exhibit enhanced memory function, which allows them to create, store and retrieve memories more quickly and efficiently. Studies have found that musicians appear to use their highly connected brains to give each memory multiple tags, such as a conceptual tag, an emotional tag, an audio tag and a contextual tag (Just like a good search engine).

Greater emotional intelligence:

Emotional intelligence describes the ability to recognize emotions in yourself and others and use them to guide thinking. Listening deeply is a natural and essential part of learning to play music. This listening also means you become more attuned to subtle changes in tone of voice during conversation. This awareness increases empathy and impacts all conversations with colleagues, friends and family.

Enhanced well-being:

Being able to sit at the piano and express yourself, blocking out the rest of the world for a moment is one of the greatest benefits to personal well-being.

Playing the piano occupies so much of the brain that it often serves as a welcome distraction from worries.

Playing a piece you love takes you into a flow state. This is when you become completely absorbed in what you are doing, losing any sense of space and time. This state is linked to good mental health, well-being and it increases levels of life satisfaction and emotional resilience.

Recent research has found that anyone who starts to learn an instrument, even at an old age, shows some kind of increased brain function. It is also good prevention for old age brain diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.