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Music making as a “fountain of youth,” part 3
What if practicing the piano (or another instrument) helped your brain to remain healthy longer in life? Well, in fact, it may do exactly that. Some of the most exciting brain and music research in the past few years shows that older adults who have never had any music lessons show neuroplastic changes in areas…
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Fountain of youth, part 2
Thanks to reader Adrienne Roth, whose comment about the previous post, “Might music making be a fountain of youth?” precipitated today’s post. Adrienne wondered whether “those who love music and read nonstop and continually challenge themselves in art skills have equal opportunity to keep their cognitive skills?” The short answer is “yes!” There are many…
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Might making music be a “fountain of youth?”
Have you ever wondered why so many conductors and pianists continue to perform well into their 80s and 90s? The Swedish-American conductor Herbert Blomstedt (photo at right) is 98, but you wouldn’t know it by his concert schedule. The number of performances on his calendar over the next few months would be the envy of…
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Musicians, Ninjas, and Neuroplasticity
Ninjas and musicians don’t seem to have much in common, although they both spend a lot of time practicing. But I began to think about the differences in performance in the two disciplines after I was introduced to the sport by my 12-year-old niece, Eva Fornwalt, who has been practicing ninja for the past couple…
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I’m back – with a new book!
The Musician’s Brain isn’t defunct, although you may wonder where I have been for the past 2 years. Actually, I spent the Covid years writing a book, and The Musical Brain: what students, teachers, and performers need to know, will be released by Oxford on March 3. (Oxford is offering a discount to my blog…