“Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it”- Albert Einstein
Mother of great Albert Einstein was a talented musician. She made musical expression an integral part of everyday life especially when children were growing up. Most people don’t know Albert Einstein started playing violin when he was just 6 years old. He played Mozart’s sonatas by the age of 13.
“Life without playing music is inconceivable to me. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music… I get most joy in life out of music,” Einstein once said.
Playing piano can make you smarter and healthier! Many scientific studies and research prove it. How would you benefit?
Here’s a list of top 13 amazing ways playing piano can improve quality of life:
1. Alters Brain
Learning music changes brain! This has been revealed by the Northwestern University scientists who reviewed research about impact of learning music on humans. Results revealed that the activity does more than entertaining. In fact, it adds brand new neural connections and primes brain for various other types of human communication. Music training has intense impact on various other skills such as memory and attention, ability to convey emotions vocally, and speech and language.
2. Keeps Aging at Bay!
It is surprising yet true that older musicians do not experience typical aging especially in auditory cortex (part of brain that leads to hearing issues).
3. Improved Language Skills
Many researchers have found that musicians can better learn to incorporate sound patterns for new language into words as compared to non-musicians. This is because their brains get primed to grasp speech even in a noisy background. Additionally, children with learning disabilities can be especially benefitted by music lessons. Piano lessons can strengthen neural processes that often are lacking in those with dyslexia or having difficulty hearing speech under noise.
4. Enlarged Cortex
A concert pianist’s cerebral cortex is enlarged by 30 per cent! This indicates better brain activity and efficiency.
5. Fitter Brain
Kids who have had music lessons in their school have larger vocabulary and better reading ability as compared to youngsters who haven’t had any training in music. As per some findings by Northwestern researchers, it is concluded that including music in school curriculums tones the brain ensuring auditory fitness. It helps a lot in shaping development an individual.
6. Overall Wellbeing
Playing piano is good for one’s overall well-being. These players have noted a significant decrease in loneliness.
7. Future Success Indicated
Playing piano can breed future success. Apart from the happiness it invites, piano playing is strongly linked to development of skills required for enjoying success in life. For instance, piano playing offers immense benefits such as developing patience, strong discipline skills, dedication and coordination. The activity is also known to boost one’s ability to memorize.
8. Higher IQ
It is a proven fact that learning to play a music instrument increases IQ by 7 points.
9. A Stress Reliever
As per several scientific studies conducted, including Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Applied Biosystems, there are many medical reasons to play musical instrument. Playing piano is said to reverse stress at the molecular level.
10. Positive Impact on Hormones
Playing piano boosts human growth hormone (production of HgH). According to findings of a study conducted at University of Miami, it has been revealed that a test group that took group keyboard lessons showed considerably higher levels of HgH as compared to the control group of individuals who did not play.
11. The Feel Good Factor
When you make music, you actually minimize job exhaustion and pep up your mood. This fact has been proved as per a study conducting on long-term care workers. These individuals were exposed to recreational music-making sessions of keyboard and group drumming.
12. Increased Chances of Career Success
Did you know 75 per cent of CEOs in Silicon had instrumental music education as a child?
13. Spatial Reasoning
A research revealed that after around 8-9 months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers experienced around 46 per cent boost in spatial reasoning IQ.