Instrumental in Brain Development

Further to my post from May 19 on Free Piano Lessons, I discovered a BBC News report by Anu Anand who was filmed taking one of these lessons from teacher Barbara de Biasi.

I was hoping I might pick up a few tips – but the film shows very little of the actual piano lesson.

However, it is interesting to hear what Ms De Biasi has to say about the positive effect on the brain of learning a musical instrument. She points out that neuroscientists have discovered playing an instrument helps develop the middle part of the brain which links the left and right hemispheres. The result of this is improved co-ordination, organisation skills and memory.

As Barbara de Biasi says, parents and schools who are obsessed with the idea that children should focus on the sciences at the expense of ‘the Arts’ would do well to remember that learning a musical instrument develops young brains in a way that helps them succeed in these currently more highly regarded subjects.