25/08/2025
🎻 Why Learning a Musical Instrument is Important to Brain Development
🚨 The AI Challenge
Over the midterm break, I listened to a podcast from The Diary of a CEO in which Steven interviews psychiatrist Dr Daniel Amen and computational neuroscience pioneer Dr Terry Sejnowski on recent research done at MIT on how the future of AI will potentially “rot our brains” - a very scary thought indeed! It got me thinking of how incredibly important it is today to learn a skill that cannot be replicated by AI and involves human cognition, emotion intelligence and social connections - music and learning to play a musical instrument. 🎻
In today’s world, Artificial Intelligence is doing more of our thinking for us. While AI can be useful, experts are warning of its hidden dangers. As mentioned, MIT recently released a study suggesting that over reliance on AI may result in the shrinking of memory, lowering creativity, and potentially raising dementia rates in future generations. That is incredibly concerning as a parent and teacher and we need to warn our society of this potential danger our children will face.
On The Diary of a CEO podcast, the two specialists unpack this research and explain:
Why AI trains the brain to avoid discomfort, blocking emotional resilience
How early exposure may stunt children’s emotional growth
The surprising way AI can make you more anxious
Why brain reserve (strong neural connections) is your best defense against decline
The hidden mental costs of robotics and artificial intimacy
What you can do right now to protect brain health
🎶 Music as the Antidote
So, how do we ensure our children develop strong, healthy brains in an AI-saturated world?
👉 One of the best answers is also one of the oldest: learning a musical instrument.
Practicing an instrument stimulates the basal ganglia - the part of the brain responsible for memory, habit, and motor control. Through daily repetition and muscle-memory reinforcement, children develop:
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
Discipline and perseverance
Focus and emotional resilience
Unlike scrolling or passive screen use, music practice is active brain training. Every scale and every song builds new neural pathways and strengthens the brain’s “reserve” against future decline.
🧠 Whole-Brain Development
Music is one of the few activities that engages the entire brain simultaneously:
Listening 🎧
Reading 📖
Moving 🤲
Creating 🎨
This full-brain workout not only sharpens intelligence but also provides an emotional outlet, reduces stress, and fosters creativity - things no algorithm can ever replicate.
✨ The Takeaway
When your child learns an instrument, they’re not just making music.
They’re:
Building stronger brains 🧠
Protecting memory and mental health 🛡️
Wiring themselves for lifelong learning 📚
In a world where technology threatens to do our thinking for us, music gives children the tools to think, create, and thrive on their own.
I trust you will share this blog I wrote with your children to encourage them to understand the importance of practicing and to learn to enjoy it too. The more you spend time practicing, the easier it becomes a healthy habit that develops your brain in a future world of uncertainty and cognitive decline.
Podcast Episode · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett · 18/08/2025 · 1h 29m
