Playing an Instrument is Good For You

Here's a short video animation on the subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont … 0JKCYZ8hng     

Well I've known Dirty Ed for a long time, and he me. I haven't seen anything resembling intellectual stimulation and enhancement from him, and I expect he hasn't seen it from me. Maybe the bourbon we share cancels that out.     

Medical science has proved that alcohol, smoking, greasy food, eating chocolate and taking too many pills cause all sorts of ailments including cancer and dementia! I'm surprised that sex and stepping in doggy deposits on the street haven't yet been blamed. The latest one here is car exhaust fumes. Makes me wonder what simple pleasure we can still enjoy they'll try and take from us next? Let's hope it's not playing music...?     

Dunno if it's relevant to this conversation, but I've never understood the profound effect that music can have on the emotions. There are numerous purely instrumental pieces of music that reduce me to tears, but there are no words or a message associated ... just the music. The final movement of Camille Saint Saens "3rd Symphony", the guitar solo at the end of David Gilmour's "In Any Tongue", Rawlins Cross "MacPherson's Lament", etc. How or why that happens I don't know, but they always elicit tears of joy or sadness.

People are living longer and living more of their life in better health than before,yet we are constantly been told that all the things we enjoy are bad for us. So I guess this unhealthy world is good for you. Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain requires exercise to keep it strong and healthy, so the phrase “use it or lose it” is particularly apt when it comes to your mind. Research has shown that listening to or playing music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain as well as improve sleep quality, mood, mental alertness, and memory. Music therapy is widely implemented in general health care in the Netherlands, so it’s unsurprising that a group of researchers from the country set out to explore the link between music practice and blood pressure. They studied three guitarists and found that each patient who practiced for over 100 minutes a day showed a significant drop in blood pressure and a lower heart rate compared to those who didn’t. I asked a friend of mine who plays piano about 2  to 3 hours a day if he thought if it is good for his brain. He tells me it has been good for remembering music but hasn’t helped his poor memory in other areas. I guess everything is in the mind. When I think I am making music my wife tells me I am just making noise. I wonder why is Repetitive Strain Injury  such a chronic problem among classical players within the music world ? Debilitating pain when I  play guitar or piano has meant I don’t play much now days. So I guess we can’t generalise about whats good for everyone. In this era of political lies I love the way politicians around the world use scientific theory not fact on whats not good for us as another way of taxing everyday people. Back to music I find there are songs I respond to emotionally because they are part of   previous chapters in my life. When I was a child  staying with my grandparents whenever they sang a song together I could feel the power of their love for each other. It was an incredible joy that would come over me and yet they were songs I wouldn’t have listened to in other circumstances.     

Phill your an excellent musician and singer I love listening to your recordings.     

Peatle ah the ever interesting Peatle,can`t wait till catch at the pub on sunday.
I`m sure you`ll have another interesting lot of facts to share.
As for me, i enjoy just listening,mainly because ya can`t drink and talk at the same time.     

I think there is something to this notion, I forgot what I was going to say hmm just kidding I have a fair memory I am 77 years young and can still recall most any song along with the lead guitar parts so there must be some truth to this but I think regular practice has a lot to do with it too and just like anything you cannot put it in the closet and take it out when you feel like it and expect your performance level to not suffer.