Several studies point towards piano playing making the brain run much more efficiently overall. That also leads us to think if all the percussion instruments that involve both hands actually have the same effect too, say for drums players.
According to a recent study from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, learning to play the violin or piano might help kids' brains by giving them some added benefits in key behavioral areas of the cortex.
A new study suggests that learning a musical instrument like the piano may help people deal with mental health difficulties like depression and anxiety.
Playing a musical instrument has been shown to increase cognitive ability through enhanced neuronal communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, resulting in positive effects on learning, memory, fine motor skills, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, resulting in an overall more capable brain to ...
Playing musical instruments is not only fun; it is also a great brain exercise. Learning how to play an instrument positively influences your I.Q. Research shows that the activity raised general I.Q. by an average of 7 points.
The Guitar
It is considered to be the smartest and the coolest of all musical instruments. As compared to various other band members, guitar players get the most attention during a performance.
They showed that people's scores on IQ tests improved when they listened to classical music by Mozart [2].
However, according to the results of a new study, high intellect may be far more common among musicians than many assume. After analyzing how a group of beginning pianists honed their craft, researchers say that intelligence may play a role in how quickly an individual can learn how to play music.
One study found that children who played instruments achieved significantly higher math test scores than children who didn't benefit from music education. These findings are apparent regardless of socio-economic status and race/ethnicity (Baker, 2011: Catterall, 1998).
'The theremin is the most emotional instrument of all' – composer Justin Hurwitz on writing the score for First Man. The story of the moon landings demanded a score that was literally out of this world – and for Justin Hurwitz that meant exploring the sound of the quintessential sci-fi instrument…
Find an ADHD-friendly instrument.
The string bass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments are good choices, because a child can stand and move while playing them. Let your child choose his own instrument. If he decides on drums, buy earplugs!
Loudest Instrument in the Orchestra
In a performance, the trumpet ranges between 80 and 110 decibels. The trombone, however, peaks at around 115 decibels. Surprisingly, the clarinet is much the same, peaking at about 114 decibels. Just because the trombone hits a higher decibel, we cannot hear it over the trumpet.
Living up to its present-day nickname, “the world's deadliest instrument,” Franklin's glass armonica allegedly began killing people. The complexity of the armonica overstimulated the brain, which ultimately caused dizziness, nervousness, hallucinations, and cramps amongst performers.
Pipe Organ
Perhaps the most difficult instrument to learn is the Pipe Organ. There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is the number of keyboards that must be played at any given time. With a normal piano, the musician only needs to focus on one keyboard.
The tuba, along with the flute, is at the top of the list for instruments that take the most air to play. To put it in a brass context, tuba uses air three times faster than the trumpet or French horn, and the lower you play within the tuba's range, the more air it takes.
The researchers found that when older adults listened to pink noise, their deep, slow-wave sleep improved, and then they scored three times higher on a memory test the next day compared to how they performed after receiving false treatment.
Participants were asked to complete several tests, one of which was the WAIS-II intelligence test. Musicians had a higher IQ than amateur musicians, who, in turn, had a higher IQ than non-musicians. However, only the higher IQ of musicians was substantially larger than that of non-musicians.
The genres most likely to support relaxation are classical, soft pop and certain types of world music. These are found to largely contain the musical elements necessary to help a person relax.
He rarely went anywhere without his battered violin case. It wasn't always the same instrument inside—Einstein owned several throughout his life—but he reportedly gave each one in turn the same affectionate nickname: "Lina," short for violin.