Playing a musical instrument to stay young.

Playing a musical instrument or singing is fun! It is also good for you because it exercises the brain, slows heart and breathing rates,

and brings about a general feeling of well being. The brain is like a muscle – it gets stronger with regular workouts. It grows weaker if it is not exercised – use it or loose it.

Playing a musical instrument involves manipulation of the fingers, which stimulates nerve endings that go directly to the brain. Fingertip nerve endings correspond to more areas of the brain than any other body area, except perhaps the tongue and lips. National Institute of Mental Health experiments showed that finger manipulation and eye-hand coordination involved in playing the piano enlarged the capacity of the brain, increased connections between neurons, forged new neural pathways and increased circulation to the brain areas. The researchers concluded that finger exercise involved in playing a musical instrument contributed significantly to brain plasticity, the ability of the brain to renew itself and even helped physical balance.

Adult musical instrument students will be able to:

• Read music and play using correct technique
• Play major keys, all chords and major and minor scales
• Play by ear by learning intervals and using chords and chord symbols
• Recognize key signatures
• Write and play all styles of music

Adult Voice Students will be able to:

• Sing all types of music with confidence
• Breathe and sing correctly
• Distinguish intervals and sight sing
• Understand key signatures
• Recognize and sing scales in all major and minor keys