How Chinese Kids Are Chiming In
Remember those dreaded weekly piano lessons? Or your parents’ insistence that you practice the violin every day?
Same goes in China. Except now Chinese University of Hong Kong has proof that what you may not like might still be good for you. Such as broccoli. Or brussel sprouts.
Turns out, your verbal memory was significantly enhanced by learning to play an instrument. And here’s the kicker - that enhancement didn’t diminish over time. Pretty unreal.
Here’s how the Chinese figured it out.
Ninety boys between age 6 and 15 were studied in Hong Kong. Half had musical training by participating in the school’s string orchestra, plus lessons in classical music for one to five years. The other 45 had no training. Why no girls in this study – I’m hoping the reason was that this was an all boys school…
The boys who studied musical instruments remembered more words in a memory test. Even after a 30 minute delay, they retained more words than the boys who were not.
Then researchers they followed up on the same boys a year later
This is where it gets interesting. Students who had continued training and boys who had just started learning to play both showed improvement in verbal learning and memory. Students who had stopped training 3 months after the first study didn’t improve.
However, they HADN’T lost the verbal memory gains measured one year earlier.
That means the brain enhancements that took place a year earlier were Still in place. Even though, for the past nine months, they stopped training. Of course, those boys who kept up with their musical lessons kept improving.
The reason I find this study so exciting is twofold. First, no more excuses for picking up where you left off. Let’s say your life changed in a way that prevented you from completing a favorite project. By focusing your energy on that project on a later date, you are lighting up the braincells and emotions that Already Exist within you.
I know this from experience.
Due to a lower back injury I sustained early in my pregnancy, I couldn’t work out like I wanted to. But for three years leading up to that time I practiced Pilates. Once I returned to Pilates after a full year’s absence my muscle memory kicked in. It was a thrill to see how all my work had paid off, even with an unintentional break.
The second reason is this. It’s never to late to begin anything. Your brain is a miraculous organ. Do Not underestimate its power to assimilate new, life enhancing ideas.
Classical music can be used in so many wonderful ways to bring you both peace of mind And an enlightened mind.
Who wouldn’t want those two things? Go listen to the sounds of rejuvenation - your ability to create a better life for yourself is only limited by your imagination. Give your mind the powerful charge it so richly deserves.
Warm Regards,
Tania Gabrielle French
P.S. One of the greatest scientists to walk the face of our planet had this to say about music – ‘If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.’ – Albert Einstein. Albert played the violin and would have been thrilled to hear about all the new research on the powerful effects of music on your mind. Find out what all the fuss is about now.
Same goes in China. Except now Chinese University of Hong Kong has proof that what you may not like might still be good for you. Such as broccoli. Or brussel sprouts.
Turns out, your verbal memory was significantly enhanced by learning to play an instrument. And here’s the kicker - that enhancement didn’t diminish over time. Pretty unreal.
Here’s how the Chinese figured it out.
Ninety boys between age 6 and 15 were studied in Hong Kong. Half had musical training by participating in the school’s string orchestra, plus lessons in classical music for one to five years. The other 45 had no training. Why no girls in this study – I’m hoping the reason was that this was an all boys school…
The boys who studied musical instruments remembered more words in a memory test. Even after a 30 minute delay, they retained more words than the boys who were not.
Then researchers they followed up on the same boys a year later
This is where it gets interesting. Students who had continued training and boys who had just started learning to play both showed improvement in verbal learning and memory. Students who had stopped training 3 months after the first study didn’t improve.
However, they HADN’T lost the verbal memory gains measured one year earlier.
That means the brain enhancements that took place a year earlier were Still in place. Even though, for the past nine months, they stopped training. Of course, those boys who kept up with their musical lessons kept improving.
The reason I find this study so exciting is twofold. First, no more excuses for picking up where you left off. Let’s say your life changed in a way that prevented you from completing a favorite project. By focusing your energy on that project on a later date, you are lighting up the braincells and emotions that Already Exist within you.
I know this from experience.
Due to a lower back injury I sustained early in my pregnancy, I couldn’t work out like I wanted to. But for three years leading up to that time I practiced Pilates. Once I returned to Pilates after a full year’s absence my muscle memory kicked in. It was a thrill to see how all my work had paid off, even with an unintentional break.
The second reason is this. It’s never to late to begin anything. Your brain is a miraculous organ. Do Not underestimate its power to assimilate new, life enhancing ideas.
Classical music can be used in so many wonderful ways to bring you both peace of mind And an enlightened mind.
Who wouldn’t want those two things? Go listen to the sounds of rejuvenation - your ability to create a better life for yourself is only limited by your imagination. Give your mind the powerful charge it so richly deserves.
Warm Regards,
Tania Gabrielle French
P.S. One of the greatest scientists to walk the face of our planet had this to say about music – ‘If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.’ – Albert Einstein. Albert played the violin and would have been thrilled to hear about all the new research on the powerful effects of music on your mind. Find out what all the fuss is about now.
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