Brain Benefits from Noteworthy Music Practice
After attending a lecture on the brain and music, I am full of fun facts to share about what makes music so good for you, %%First name%%. And as promised, I will report on 2 weeks of Morning Notes, my new daily practice of play.
Music is powerful. Music can:
- influence your mood
- enhance your attention
- stimulate strong memory
- alter blood pressure
You probably already knew that music can affect your mood. How many times have you brought yourself out of a funk by listening to your favorite Beatles tune or Pachelbel's Canon in D? Brain researchers are mapping the brain using MRIs and have seen many parts of the brain being activated by listening to music and noted the resulting mood change in the listener.
The Mozart Effect - sort of
The Mozart Effect scientists deduced from their research that listening to Mozart made you smarter. Many babies were fed a steady diet of Mozart in an attempt to increase their smarts. But the results couldn't be recreated in other studies. However, other researchers found that there was something to this study. Perhaps the results were misinterpreted.
In fact, researchers saw that listening to music was activating a great many areas of the brain; waking it up. Next time you have a big test to take, listen (just sit and listen) to some music beforehand. The music brings your brain to full attention and you will have more focus for your test. You'll do better.
You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
It's not true. It was once believed that the human brain had a limited number of neurons and created all of its synapses during its early years; that adults have a harder time learning than children. But bring music into the equation and that all changes.
Practicing a musical instrument leads to the production of new neurons. The new neurons are linked up with others in a series of new synapses. Music practice increases synaptic connectivity. Voilá! New brain growth and learning all thanks to practice.
And by practice, I'm talking about learning new notes, fingerings, musical passages or songs - practice as differentiated from rehearsal.
Rehearsing is repetition of an already learned activity. The synapses have already been created. Rehearsing reinforces the connection in the brain, making the connection stronger - a well-worn road for your neurons to travel.
Music practice has also shown to increase gray matter volume and increase dexterity and tactile resources in the fingers. Because music activates so many areas of the brain, the enhancements are greater than a simple practice of say, knitting for dexterity. Age is not a limiting factor in the brain growth caused by music practice.
After hearing about the vitamin-like goodness of music listening and music practice, I was glad to be doing Morning Notes, my daily 15 minutes of musical play.
Morning Notes reveal great benefits
Every morning after my morning pages (see The Artists Way), I played Morning Notes for 15 minutes; playing without written music, whatever came into my heart and fingers. I kept a written account after each session.
I learned three things during these two weeks of Morning Notes.
- Whether you are a beginning musician or an experienced one, you will find value in Morning Notes.
- Fifteen minutes is the perfect amount of time for this activity.
- Morning Notes bring you into a deeper relationship with your instrument.
Novice to Advanced
Throughout the two weeks, I took turns playing Morning Notes on a variety of instruments. On June 29, I brought out my cello, which I haven't touched in at least five years. I felt like a beginner on it.
My notes from that morning: "After tuning up the strings, I began to play. Mostly plucking the strings. A little bow use. I felt limited by what I could play. Still, I filled 15 minutes quickly and I only stopped once to rosin my bow. Overall a good experience."
Then another morning playing my alto, I wrote, "Fun, easy. Keys feel so comfortable under my fingers." Both sessions provided value and benefit regardless of my different levels of musical skill.
Fifteen-Minute Musician
It turns out that fifteen minutes is an easy time period to find. Even on those busy days that are chock full of appointments, you can find fifteen minutes to take a break. On days when I was watching the clock — Am I done yet? — I found the 8-minute mark to be the positive point-of-no-return. Once I passed 8 minutes, no matter how poorly it started out, it always got better after that.
A Deepening Relationship
I spent one full week doing my new practice solely on soprano saxophone. I've had such a great experience that I am going to continue my practice on soprano for the foreseeable future.
Spending saturated space and time on soprano inspired me to explore my sound and play with my tone. With each additional day on the same horn, I became more at ease with the shape and size of the horn. I became aware of minute adjustments to finger positions that improved my technique. I sat on notes for long stretches, drinking in the sound of the soprano.
Holding these long notes got me thinking about what it is to hold a note and an image of my hands cupped together with a quarter note resting within came to mind. 
Notes from July 1 on soprano: "Lots of exploration. I got into a meditative place, very trance-like. Settling into one key and exploring deeply. Then abruptly changing the tonality. Rhythmic play. Melodic play. Singing my instrument."
Notes from July 6 on soprano: "Again a long warm up period feeling frustrated, but the session was fruitful. I felt compelled to play Dvorak's New World symphony theme. Then, using that as a jumping off point, played into other ideas. I felt a willingness to experiment more, try out articulated figures, long and short phrases. Playing a little every day feels great."
Notes from July 7 on soprano: "Great session. I felt inspired in the truest sense. I stood facing the altar in my studio and played 10 minutes on E Phrygian mode. My thoughts were of nature and being outdoors. Fun."
Brain Growth
As I pointed out above, music is good for the brain. That includes Morning Notes! Practicing a new behavior, specifically learning a musical instrument promotes neuron growth and increases synaptic activity.
When you are feeling like you don't have time to practice, commit to just 15 minutes. Get started with this small investment. And young or old, music practice has magnificent merit for you!
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