The Benefits of Music as we Age

It’s never too late to start!

Here at Petrova Jones Music INC, we teach students that vary greatly by age. While young children and teens do make up a majority of our clients, we teach a generous handful of adult students that are reaping the benefits of learning music.

            Some adults have decided to pursue their lifelong dream of learning an instrument or mastering their vocal ability.  For example, we had a retired gentleman who came to us wanting to learn to play his favorite song on the guitar…and ONLY that song. Leaning to play it had been a goal that escaped him for years. We made it a reality! While we are happy to help you achieve your goals, we also don’t think it should end there!

            Other adults (particularly the retirees), are taking up music lessons as an activity that not only gives them a new hobby but one that has enormous benefits on keeping the aging mind sharp,  and the hands, wrists and elbows moving well.   Piano in particular is like a gym membership for your brain, because when you start playing the piano with both hands you are using both sides of the brain simultaneously.   There is an increasing amount of research exploring the benefits of learning music in adults. 

In one study, 13 adults partook In piano lessons over a course of time and In a majority of the participants, their memory, attention and problem solving skills greatly improved.

“In addition, the fact that musical training appears to enhance auditory working memory—needed to improvise, memorize, play in time, and tune your instrument—might help reinforce in later life the memory capacity that facilitates communication and conversation.” 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140103-music-lessons-brain-aging-cognitive-neuroscience/