Mindful Melody: The Benefits of Learning an Instrument

Playing music at any age gives our brains a cognitive leg-up.
Mindful Melody: The Benefits of Learning an Instrument
A detail of "The Guitar Player," 1908, by Joseph Rodefer DeCamp. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Public Domain
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As it turns out, strumming a guitar or singing a song isn’t just a leisurely way to pass time.

When engaged in musical activity, almost every part of the brain is working. This has wide-ranging positive effects on the body and mind. For example,  doctors sometimes advise patients with neurocognitive disorders like dementia to learn a new musical instrument to help counteract cognitive decline.

Rebecca Day
Rebecca Day
Author
Rebecca Day is a freelance writer and independent musician. For more information on her music and writing, visit her Substack, Classically Cultured, at classicallycultured.substack.com