The brain activity of piano-playing novices was monitored as they learned increasingly complex pieces of music SeventyFour Images/Alamy
Learning to play the piano causes complex changes in brain activity that shift over time. Initially, areas of the brain associated with memory, integrating sensory information and processing movement become highly activated, but this lessens as learners become more musically proficient.
Previous studies have looked into the reorganisation of someone’s brain activity while they are playing an instrument, but these have generally been short and based on only one scan.
To learn more about this process, Alicja Olszewska at the…
