Programming and Music - Chapter 3 -Brain maintenance

I will reiterate on this every time: learning a programming language and/or learning a musical instrument is good not just because you need to be the next game-changing developer or be a professional musician for orchestras. It’s because you, as anybody else, need to find the very best version of yourself.

So where to start if not from the brain. Both music playing and programming need coordination of thoughts. But before reaching your finger as you start playing or programming, the brain needs to be the cradle of ideas that you want to develop.

I heard once about a very interesting study conducted with CT: When you hear music, there are specific areas of the brain that “light up” as you enjoy your listening and – fascinating part - those very same areas light up in the same way also when you just THINK about your favorite music, or when you sing or “play” the instruments in your head without hearing being involved.

You know, when you sit with your musical instrument, or in front of your preferred IDE, your brain has mostly “prefetched” the music you’re going to play or the code you're giung to write. Everything is in your mind already because the idea of music and/or the predictable output of your software, in your mind comes first, way before notes from you instrument or a blank new software project.

Take an architect, for example. It’s quite unlikely that he sits at his drawing table with a blank sheet and a blank mind. The architecture project is already in his mind, just waiting to be drawn; getting revised as the architect sharpens his pencil BEFORE starting to draw.

With programming it goes quite the same way; you imagine your code structure in your head way before starting to actually code. You usually “see” the various branches of code in your head, and you pre-imagine interaction between blocks of code.

With music you already hear it in your mind before it exists, and you can actually see yourself already playing it without even touching your musical instrument. You can see your fingers on a fretboard or a keyboard ... You can feel the drum resonating under your stick as you just imagine it.

So, back to the caveat … Why is it good programming and playing music for your life, no matter what you do? Because it’s a constant exercise to train your brain thinking before doing.

Clear ideas before expression. Clear mind before talking. Awareness about sequences and consequences.

Needless to say, all this spontaneous brainstorming has huge impact on every aspect of life because picturing events in the mind, sooner or later, becomes an habit that helps in any situation, for example at work or with family. It’s like keeping your internal engine up and running with all the gears tight and efficient.

Oh and, by the way … As one starts aging, brain maintenance becomes more and more important to prevent mental illnesses such as senile dementia or alzheimer's disease!

So keep coding, keep making music, keep studying all of those things, and your brain will never let you down. When you will be old, you will be able to play for your grandsons and still …. recognize them ;-)

This, and way more than this, is part of my “Live coding for Data Sonification” Masterclass.