I recently read an article about how a piano tuner's brain is significantly extended as a result of listening to note pitches. The study, published in Neuroscience (29 August 2012), showed that the part of the brain that is used for memory and information processing was quite different from those who were not accustomed to listening to specific pitches.
The more experienced the piano tuner, the greater structural changes within the brain. Do you think this means that the musical brain is consistently being extended regardless of age? This is of particular interest to me as I am the daughter of a piano tuner. Hearing notes from a piano being tuned is a sound I am very familiar with.
Music is such a fascinating medium. Not only is the brain processing the notes and emotions of a particular piece of music, but with training, it is capable of extending grey and white matter.
I would love to see the brain scans of children who have come along to music classes for a number of years....
Christine
(check out the link below if you are interested to read the study)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19398413
