How Is Playing Music Like Building With Blocks?
Are you learning to play a musical instrument? If so, good for you! No matter what your age, playing music is great for building and strengthening your brain.
People who play musical instruments can improve their memories. They also get better at solving problems and paying attention.
To get these big brain benefits, you don’t have to strive to be the best musician in the world. It’s enough to simply try learning a musical instrument.
In this way, learning music is a lot like playing with blocks! You can build and strengthen your brain mostly by playing and having fun.
It works like this: as you stack blocks together, you build structures. You begin to sense that blocks stacked in some sequences look more pleasing to the eye than other structures.
The same is true of music. You stack one note next to another. You add more notes, and begin to build music. Some sequences of notes sound pleasing, while others don’t.
That’s because both blocks and music provide a sense of structure and shape. And because you’re learning structure and shape; you’re also learning about math, engineering, and architecture.
Whether you’re playing with blocks or strumming a ukulele: you’re having fun and playing. But your brain is busy learning other fundamental concepts.
One of the best ways to learn music is to keep practicing. The more you practice, the better you’ll get at it.
Your brain can grow strong through repetition and association. Repetition and association are two key ways our brains learn.
For example, as you learn to play a guitar, you practice over and over again. That way, you start to associate the movements of your fingers with the notes you hear.
You’ll also learn by the outcome of your practice. When your music sounds good to you and your friends, you’ll tend to repeat those patterns.
The combination of repetition, association, and outcome lay a strong learning foundation. It gives you the confidence to experiment and try new patterns.
Who knows? With time and practice, you may have a creative breakthrough. You can write and play new music that gets the whole world dancing!
People of any age can build their brains by learning a musical instrument. If you want to get smarter, why not pick up a musical instrument and start playing?
Learning while playing. It's what music and blocks have in common.
