You may have heard the phrase "Mozart makes you smarter". The idea being that listening to Mozart or other forms of complex music can strengthen the mind. According to Aniruddh D. Patel, author of “Music, Language, and the Brain,” there’s now a growing body of work that suggests that "learning to play a musical instrument impacts on other abilities.” These other abilities include improved verbal memory, problem solving, multitasking, and thinking outside the box; desirable attributes for would be future executive leaders.

This revelation about the benefits of playing a musical instrument comes at a time when youth participation in musical activities is trending downward, due perhaps to the rise in technology, as today's kids spend more and more of their time using smartphones and gaming on computers. The days of any kid sitting at a piano for an hour a day for practice seem to be going by the wayside.

But within this problem we can find a solution! If the root cause of the drift of youngsters away from music is technology, then the answer is to use technology as a bridge to bring kids back to music. There have been marvelous advances in the way music is played and recorded in the last 15 years and this technology can be used in all aspects of music learning.

Computer software can be used to learn music notes, rhythms, and to compose music. Now, there are sound libraries that allow you to access thousands of instrumental sounds that an electronic keyboard can mimic with the touch of a piano key. This ability to replicate modern drum beats and sounds makes young kids more interested in learning music. This music technology is then integrated into traditional guitar, piano, and voice lessons.

Not only is learning to play an instrument a rewarding experience, but also research from Brown University shows that children who play an instrument perform better on standardized tests and have overall higher IQ scores than their non-musical counterparts. This is because learning music stimulates brain function used to understand math, science and engineering.

So it's a good idea to invest time in music to increase brain power, improve memory, help social and communication skills, build confidence, teach patience and discipline, and of course, because music is a wonderful outlet for self expression. For millennial's, the key is making the process of learning an interesting one.

Steve Boyd teaches music and records music in his Bass Dog Studio in University Park

bassdogstudio.com

615-423-4274