Your Brain On Piano

twocats · 2025-02-06T18:32:02+00:00

We're all keeping our brains healthy and active!

Josephine

But this forum is about playing piano, not tennis.

twocats

pianoloverus I'm sure there are things that tennis offers that playing the piano doesn't. Some obvious examples are the physical and social benefits which I would call highly significant. It's nice to see a list of the benefits of playing the piano, but I think the reality is there are numerous other activities that offer similar or alternative benefits.

It's just a fun thing my friend shared with me so I posted it because it's piano related and this is a piano forum. It's not like I claimed that piano is better than all other possible activities!

Josephine But this forum is about playing piano, not tennis.

Exactly!

pianoloverus

Josephine But this forum is about playing piano, not tennis.

The only thing I was trying to do was to make the point that playing the piano is not as special as I think the opening post Implies in terms of its benefits. Why some seem to be offended by that idea is beyond me. In order to illustrate my point, I gave one example of something else with most of the same benefits plus some that playing the piano doesn't have. I could have just said there are many other equally beneficial activities, but I think giving a specific example is more convincing.

I have seen many articles promoting chess which I happen to be very interested in. But I think many of those articles have the same issues because they imply that chess is unique in the benefits It can have although there are many other activities with similar benefits.

ShiroKuro

Josephine I love that photo!!!!!!

Josephine

ShiroKuro

AI made it for me, I only typed some words 😄

twocats

MRC To me, the most important sense that is not much used is the sense of balance.

If I manage not to fall over on the bench, that's enough of a win for me! 😉

keystring

MRC and feet. Granted, there's no intricate footwork such as on an organ, but we need to coordinate both feet, and we develop a very fine control of pressure in the right foot.

Absolutely. I'd add an additional important element: the synergy and coordination of all the elements listed, and the ability to rapidly shuttle among them.

MRC To me, the most important sense that is not much used is the sense of balance.

Another one that matters to me. If we don't have that sense, as we learn to play across the whole keyboard as well as pedaling, we don't fall off the bench but (if you're me) we'll stiffen and compensate in weird ways, which can restrict how we can move with ease.

lilypad

MRC I used to ice skate recreationally when I was a lot younger. Practicing piano is a lot less painful than practicing an axel or double salchow. Now that my balance isn't what it used to be, I even fall occasionally when I garden, but I've never fallen off a piano bench.

Sophia

OMG... with a title like that, how can I resist 😂

hebele

Sophia that is ... quite disturbing 😀

Edit: The piano is also standing on two legs!

Sophia

pianoloverus playing the piano is not as special as I think the opening post Implies in terms of its benefits

We're just having some fun - lighten up pianoloverus 😃 We talk, and joke, and make friends, on piano related stuff. This is, believe it or not, a piano forum. Piano.

I would suggest you play a few rounds of tennis to make you feel better and then visit a tennis forum to talk about piano 🤣😂

rsl12

pianoloverus The only thing I was trying to do was to make the point that playing the piano is not as special as I think the opening post Implies in terms of its benefits. Why some seem to be offended by that idea is beyond me.

I don't see anyone here that has implied that piano-playing has unique benefits. You seem to be arguing against a point no one here is making. I think the point everyone agrees with (including you?) is that piano-playing has benefits to the mind and body, and some are not obvious at first glance.

pianoloverus

Sophia pianoloverus playing the piano is not as special as I think the opening post Implies in terms of its benefits

We're just having some fun - lighten up pianoloverus 😃 We talk, and joke, and make friends, on piano related stuff. This is, believe it or not, a piano forum. Piano.

I explained very clearly why my post was on piano related stuff.

pianoloverus

i@"rsl12"#p25425 I think the first post on the thread implies that. That doesn't mean I think the poster who started the threat thinks that way, but I still think what I said an important point to make and no one expressed the opinion that what I said wasn't true.

I think my posts have been clearly related to the first post on this thread so even if they're not arguing against what's some other poster said I don't see why that's relevant. That would imply all posts on a thread must either agree or disagree with some previous post.

rsl12

pianoloverus I think my posts have been clearly related to the first post on this thread so even if they're not arguing against what's some other poster said I don't see why that's relevant. That would imply all posts on a thread must either agree or disagree with some previous post.

It's not that you have to agree or disagree, and after all no one is arguing against your point. But someone shared something fun, and your first response was to pick at...not even a niggling detail, but at an assumption you (and I think only you) made about the producer of the graphic. You're welcome to do so, but your doing so changed the mood of the thread. I'm not upset--I'm just a little baffled. I do appreciate you clarifying your point of view. It wasn't clear from your first posts here.

Sophia

Josephine

Completely unrelated, but this is the first AI image that manages to get the piano keys correctly.... most others would draw one black key followed by four, etc etc. What AI "brain" (ooh I did manage to bring a brain into this after all!) did you use to create this Josephine?

hebele

Sophia the layout is still not perfect but it is really close. Someday AI will give us proper keys 😀

Josephine

Sophia Completely unrelated, but this is the first AI image that manages to get the piano keys correctly.... most others would draw one black key followed by four, etc etc. What AI "brain" (ooh I did manage to bring a brain into this after all!) did you use to create this Josephine?

😄
I used https://www.bing.com/images/create
It's getting better at creating pianos, last year they were terrible. But another picture from yesterday has four black keys instead of three:

Sophia

hebele Right, I see that, a bit of "noise" on the left hand side. But still pretty good compared to the ones I asked either Gemini or CoPilot to draw for me!

WieWaldi

When I play piano, my brain does three things with multitasking. It looks like this:

pianocat

WieWaldi This is what my brain does while someone is trying to tell me something important

thepianoplayer416

Everytime someone plays music, the brain lights up like fireworks...

Over the years I've seen young people enroll in a music program or with a private teacher with their parents. None of them became professional musicians and some quit early. The benefits would show up ears later when they successfully completed their university education and have good careers. Music lessons even for less than a year stimulates logical thinking that would benefit years later.

Animisha

thepianoplayer416 the brain lights up like fireworks...

Actually, yes, there are electrical impulses in the brain, but "lights up like fireworks" is very metaphorically speaking.

But of course, playing the piano is a good way to give your brain a nice work out, especially for those of us who struggle. Actually, the more the struggle, the better the work out. 😉