Learning to play the piano should be an activity that is taken up because a person would like to play the piano. Learning to play the piano as an adult really shouldn’t have any other reason. Playing the piano has physical benefits, the number one being maintaining or even building fine motor skills. This is especially beneficial to aging individuals. The real benefits for learning to play the piano or continuing to play the piano are for the brain.
I am no neuroscientist but what I do know is that learning to play a musical instrument, is a brain workout. Just like the body needs to be exercised to maintain fitness, the brain also needs to be exercised and the older a person is, the more important this is.
So when a person is playing a musical instrument, more parts of the brain is used than pretty much any other activity. Scientists have known the positive effects of listening to music, but playing music naturally has an even bigger impact on the brain.
For starters, when playing a musical instrument, both the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere are being used simultaneously. The right hemisphere is responsible for creativity while the left hemisphere is responsible for comprehension of information. I’ve heard it said that playing music is one of very few activities that involve both sides of the human brain.
Scientists have also learned that playing musical instruments, specifically instruments like the piano, violin and trombone where two hands are constantly moving to play the instrument that even more parts of the brain are used than was thought of decades ago. Apparently just about every section of the brain is used when playing a musical instrument.
With such a lot of activity happening, surely playing the piano or any other instrument would provide great stimulation and maybe even the best mental workout possible.
I’ve heard it said that what can help delay or prevent dementia is using our brains as we age and not allow them to atrophy. Maybe playing the piano could help in preventing or even slowing down dementia.
I can’t help but think about my own grandmother who was still living by herself at the age 91 where the only help she received was a home delivered hot meal at lunchtime. I am so impressed by this and while I don’t have the proof, I’ve always felt that her playing the piano every morning for the last few decades of her life made a real difference to her longevity (she passed away 10 weeks before her 100th birthday) but also the quality of her life. It wasn’t until she was 92 that she started getting dementia and needed to go and live with my aunt.
So as well as being a fun activity, playing the piano into your senior years could help delay or maybe avoid mentally declining and maximize your quality of life for as long as possible.