whistle playing is good for you

Poststructural Pub
1

From a New York Times article about software programs to exercise older minds:

A 2003 study found that people older than 75 who danced, read, or played board games or musical instruments faced a lower risk of dementia.

…there is little evidence that such [software] programs offer tangible benefits over learning Spanish or taking up the tango. …

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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/business/yourmoney/26games.html

So if a person believes these studies, whistle playing is good for you. Another motivation to practice.

2

But the same could then be said of playing the recorder. Clearly a very large hole in the logic, there. :wink:

djm

3

I keep telling people that I took up whistle to stave off dementia in my declining years. Nobody ever believes it. :wink:

4

One of my favorite books is Never Too Late by John Holt. It’s a book about how he took up the cello at the age of 40. His motivation was partly because he wanted to understand how his elementary school students felt when they were learning long division…He does a wonderful job of describing the disorientation, frustration, sense of incompetance, and occasional moments of elation that you experience when trying to learn a new instrument.

I wonder if playing the “same old” instrument, the “same old way” (never trying to advance your skill level) has the same mental benefits as taking on a new one?

5

and what about the bodhran? :boggle:

In our choir our poor sopranos have to put up with a lot of good-natured teasing. One ongoing joke is that every time they hit anything above an A, the “head resonance” kills a few brain cells. :astonished: Sounds like a good topic for a scientific study. Do the hazards of being a soprano outweigh the mental benefits? :wink:

6

When thinking of it, playing a musical instrument must be quite a cmplicated task for the brain.

7

:stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue:

David

8

Thanks Davy–That was amazing-- hard to believe it was just one guy playing all that!

Actually I shouldn’t joke about the bodhran-- I’m signed up to take a Beginner’s Bodhran class in October. I think my wimpy old brain cells will get plenty of challenge even from pineapple apricot, pineapple apricot, pineapple apricot. :laughing:

9

John Joe is a kick!!!