Your Aging Brain Will Be in Better Shape If You’ve Taken Music Lessons

We know our souls certainly benefit from musical experiences and study after study point to positive impact of music on our brains as well. I thought it was interesting to read about Pladdy’s study indicating training before age 9 as most beneficial…

Hanna-­Pladdy’s second study, published in 2012, confirmed those findings and further suggested that starting musical training before the age of nine (which seems to be a critical developmental period) and keeping at it for ten years or more may yield the greatest benefits, such as increased verbal working memory, in later adulthood. That long-­term benefit does not depend on how much other education you received in life.

Enroll your children in music lessons and give them a boost as seniors! Fascinating stuff! Read the rest of the article on National Geographic here…

On Returning to Music After Retiring

An inspiring return to piano for Diane Cole of the Wall Street Journal…

Many a man or woman upon reaching a certain age will splurge on a Ferrari, trade in city life for a new start as a country squire or wed a trophy spouse. My gift to myself was getting back to middle C.

Nine years ago, at age 50, I signed up for piano lessons. Again. I first began playing when I was 8. From then on, music—from Bach to Broadway to the Beatles—filled my days. But as I passed from young adulthood into my 30s and 40s, the only keyboard I found myself using regularly was the one connected to my computer. In my dreams, I still cherished the fantasy of jamming with my two favorite “Arts”—Rubinstein and Tatum. But the reality was, my fingers were rusty.