Piano Music Improves Sense of Balance

Clearly this doesn't work if you're listening to the piano after work in the pub, but a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that if you're getting on in years this might just be what you need to stay on your feet.

Dalcroze Eurhythmics

Sure, this may sound like a sweeter version of an 80's pop group, but it is actually a form of music and movement education. Developed a century ago by the Swiss composer Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, it is a way of using your body to gain a fuller understanding and deeper meaning of musical expression. It sounds a little weird but actually makes a huge amount of sense and you naturally do it anyway when you're tapping your toes or waving your hand to the beat. If you want to learn more there's a great write up and explanation on the Dalcroze Society of America website.

Back to the research

The study, conducted by Dr. Andrea Trombetti included 134 adults over the age of 65 who were at an increased risk of falling. Over a 6 month period the study group performed a series of multitask exercises that challenged the body's balance control system, these included walking in time to piano music and responding to changes in the music's rhythm. The study found that not only did those in the study group have fewer falls than the control group, they also increased their walking speed and stride length.

Music to Walk to

I think this is brilliant and is just one more piece of information that supports the idea of music being good for you. If you would like to try this out with some piano music I would recommend you try out the Solo Piano Playlist. You can stream the music directly from the site or become a member and download the tracks to your iPod.

Sign up for Free Membership - Download The Writer's Playlist

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Here's one of my favorite piano pieces - written for a very brave lady who survived cancer:

Emma – 20 minutes 4 seconds

Piano track written for a friend who was fighting cancer at the time - Liner notes

Image Credit: Blowfish by Saragoldsmith

Jason Solowsky on MySpace

I have a friend who says that he hardly even notices the background music in a film; he just concentrates on what is happening on the screen. That is hard for me to understand since I find the music to be so important in setting the tone of the movie and interpretive of what the actors are doing.

To once again bring to your attention a MySpace friend of music2work2 and an artist who composes some music that has similarities, I suggest you check out the work of Jason Solowsky, a film composer. To be a film composer, it seems to me that one would have to be very versatile, having skills in lots of areas. Jason certainly fits that bill; he is a heavy metal guitarist, classical pianist, sings on occasion, and is even a certified bartender. Something about the way he expresses himself in the written word immediately made me think of Andrew, composer/performer of music2work2. The same sort of humor comes through in their writing.

The music you find on Jason’s MySpace page, covers a wide range of music types, as they are from some of the many independent films for which he composed the music. There are the slower tempo, melodic, piano driven pieces such as “The First Kiss” (13 Months of Sunshine) and “Until Your Dying Day” (Instant Dads;) and there are the fast tempo, thunderous sounds of “Blood Red Sky,” (Willoughby) and the squalling strings in guitar driven “Exposed” and “Driller” (Driller)

There are 20 tracks to listen to on Jason’s MySpace page; a real listening experience. For more information on Jason you can check out his webiste at http://www.jasonsolowsky.com.

Bryan Ingram - A Review

One of music2work2''s  MySpace friends is Bryan Ingram, composer, performer and producer of Rock/Pop/Alternative music.

He is said to have "conducted symphonies" by Bach, Beethoven, etc. in the living room of his home, as a 3 year old, following this by then playing the same music on the piano by ear.  He studied classical piano from the age of 4 until his teens, and then studied jazz piano.

There are five sample songs on Ingram's MySpace page.  The tunes are melodic; Bryan Ingram's voice is clear and pleasant.  Only one of the songs is instrumental, "Celeres;" it has a whole different sound to it from the other songs.

Listening to Bryan Ingram's music is an enjoyable experience.  I liked all of the songs but my favorite is "In the Air."  Even though the clip was short, I really liked the music in this one.

Ingram has also written music for a variety of television commercials and shows.  His debut EP release "Be That As It May" is available now.

If you like rock music, check him out!