Music for brain health

Could learning to play a new instrument help you to improve your brain and listening skills?

By

Music for brain health

Play a musical instrument? It could help protect your brain health and listening skills, reveals a new study.

It found that learning the exact movements needed to play the correct sound on an instrument changes the brainโ€™s perception of that sound.

This isnโ€™t the case when we just listen to music, but playing an instrument heightens the hearing, movement and perception systems in our brain to work in sync, improving its health.

The study said: ‘The results support the rapid integration of a feedforward model during perception and provide a neurophysiological basis for the application of music making in motor rehabilitation training.’

Have you found this to be true when learning to play an instrument? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram

Photograph: iStock