Mental agility exercises

[Dave2002]

A thought, provoked by recent experiments and experience with software such as Musescore.

A few exercises for mental agility, and to (perhaps, ha) offset dementia.

1. Take pieces written in a clef for an instrument you know how to play quite well. In my case it's treble, though I read bass clef for keyboards. I don't ever use the alto (C) clef. So - take a piece in treble clef, and rewrite it in the alto clef, and see if you can still play it.
Obviously some peope will find this easy, others harder.

2. As above, but this time transpose the piece into some awkward key, and see if you can still read it, or if it becomes harder to play on your chosen instrument.

3. If you are not used to reading leger lines, above or below the stave, take the piece, and transpose it up or down one or two octaves, and see if you can still decode it. I suspect cellists will find this easiest.

These operations are pretty easy to do in Musescore - and also Sibelius. The various "theories" about brain training seem largely to have proven negative, with the exception of learning and using several languages. However, this should give people in the Netherlands and some Scandinavian countries a big advantage - so is there any evidence that there is lower incidence of dementia in those areas?

Up to now though, all the evidence re brain training etc. seems to be that fluency in several languages is most effective - though I don't know where reading and playing music is on the scale of things.

[eighthobstruction]

....

[StephenMcK]

Oh, my goodness. When I saw the header I thought this was going to be something simple like a mind gym to help me remember the name of my children in the right order.

Something I could impress the family with. Have them saying 'he's not lost it completely'.

Actually, that would impress them because I don't have any children.

But seriously folks, I'm a relatively young 57, but I've about got to that stage where my instant recall is maybe not so instant as it once was and incredibly familiar names will hide themselves until I'm in the bath and they came to mind just like that, except that they're now 48 hours behind the conversation I was having.

Another phenomenon creeping up on me is word confusion.

Recently, I was knocked from my bike by a pizza courier on a moped and received a nasty gash to my bonce. The wound required six stitches but each time I'd tell the story to someone it would come out as 'the young doctor gave me six inches'.

That may just be wishful thinking (co-symptomatic with dwindling expectations, apparently). It's hard to say.

I saw a good Korean drama a few weeks back (they're all the rage now!) called 'Vagabond', but time and I again, I recall it as 'propaganda'.

In the supermarket I'll remember that I need to get some custard, except that I mean mustard. Mind you, at least I don't actually come away with custard.

How long is it before I end up like my great aunt who had a fall in her kitchen when she slipped on account of the condensation from the 'humility'? Or my ex-wife's grandmother whose neighbour's daughter had recently revealed that she was 'lebanese'.

Still, as long as I never ever forget the correct four letter term for the Boris Johnsons, Kate Hopkins, Cummings and Goves of this world, I shall not despair to much.

[cloughie]

A thought, provoked by recent experiments and experience with software such as Musescore.

A few exercises for mental agility, and to (perhaps, ha) offset dementia.

1. Take pieces written in a clef for an instrument you know how to play quite well. In my case it's treble, though I read bass clef for keyboards. I don't ever use the alto (C) clef. So - take a piece in treble clef, and rewrite it in the alto clef, and see if you can still play it.
Obviously some peope will find this easy, others harder.

2. As above, but this time transpose the piece into some awkward key, and see if you can still read it, or if it becomes harder to play on your chosen instrument.

3. If you are not used to reading leger lines, above or below the stave, take the piece, and transpose it up or down one or two octaves, and see if you can still decode it. I suspect cellists will find this easiest.

These operations are pretty easy to do in Musescore - and also Sibelius. The various "theories" about brain training seem largely to have proven negative, with the exception of learning and using several languages. However, this should give people in the Netherlands and some Scandinavian countries a big advantage - so is there any evidence that there is lower incidence of dementia in those areas?

Up to now though, all the evidence re brain training etc. seems to be that fluency in several languages is most effective - though I don't know where reading and playing music is on the scale of things.

Ay, Well, Mmm.

[Joseph K]

Up to now though, all the evidence re brain training etc. seems to be that fluency in several languages is most effective - though I don't know where reading and playing music is on the scale of things.

I don't see why foreign language learning should be the only - or most effective - kind of 'brain training'. I've heard that music uses more parts of the brain than any other pursuit.

As for clefs, I recently reacquainted myself with alto clef through studying species counterpoint.

[ardcarp]

A fellow student used to perform Art of Fugue on the organ, reading it from open score in four different clefs (soprano [not treble], alto, tenor and bass.) He wasn't autistic or anything, just a regular nice guy.......

[LMcD]

I think I'll stick to The Times crossword - which I'm arrogant enough to complete with a biro - and Rummikub.
I'm not sure whether my career as a linguist helped or not.

[Quarky]

Decoding morse code is my mind maintenance tool.

Complete concentration required for extended periods of time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zceZ2-6TDdc&t=71s

[Dave2002]

....

I did indeed have a stab at this - Irish Washerwoman - instrument descant recorder.
Printed, then tried to sight read from the printed sheets.
Some quite easy, some easy in the first part, but then when it goes high discover that I don't know the fingering for the top C sharp - is that the one with the knee! Would be easy on a flute. Totally floored by the alto clef, though the notes are the same as the violin part in the treble clef.

Ah well, tomorrow I'll do better, or maybe try a different tune.

Re language learning, most studies of improved brain performance or warding off dementia suggest that language learning does give transferable "aptitude", whereas many other exercises - Sudoku, crosswords etc. do not.

Re the organ guy playing from the score - probably had some practice, and was also very talented.

[ardcarp]

Complete concentration required for extended periods of time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zceZ2-6TDdc&t=71s

That's very fast. My old Dad trained as a radio operator in the RNVR during the war.* Morse was sent between ships and ship-to-shore at a slower pace than this. However, a little later on, but well before our cyber age, there was something called 'automatic morse' where a pre-coded morse message was sent at lightning speed and de-coded automatically at the receiving end.

* It was ironic that he, having done all this training, got a commission as a Lieutenant. When before the Admiralty Board they said "Lt Ardcarp, before we allocate you to a ship, we'd like to know what you can do". He replied that he had trained as a wireless operator and could speak two foreign languages, German and French. There was a grunt from the Admiral. "We're posting you to HMS Quantock (a destroyer) as gunnery officer". This little story illustrates two things. 1. How the War was run and 2. How people who had served during the War...and had seen a lot of awful stuff....only spoke about the humorous side of things to their children.

[Serial_Apologist]

Decoding morse code is my mind maintenance tool.

Complete concentration required for extended periods of time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zceZ2-6TDdc&t=71s

I thought we'd be given an episode of Morse there!

[ardcarp]

Back on track...a great mind sharpener is The Neighbours Game, loosely based on characters from Neighbours. The more people playing it the more hilarious it gets, but it really does require some concenration and memory. Anyone know it?

I could describe it if pushed.....

[Quarky]

That's very fast. My old Dad trained as a radio operator in the RNVR during the war.* Morse was sent between ships and ship-to-shore at a slower pace than this. However, a little later on, but well before our cyber age, there was something called 'automatic morse' where a pre-coded morse message was sent at lightning speed and de-coded automatically at the receiving end.

* It was ironic that he, having done all this training, got a commission as a Lieutenant. When before the Admiralty Board they said "Lt Ardcarp, before we allocate you to a ship, we'd like to know what you can do". He replied that he had trained as a wireless operator and could speak two foreign languages, German and French. There was a grunt from the Admiral. "We're posting you to HMS Quantock (a destroyer) as gunnery officer". This little story illustrates two things. 1. How the War was run and 2. How people who had served during the War...and had seen a lot of awful stuff....only spoke about the humorous side of things to their children.

Those were the days, when morse code was an absolutely vital mode of communication, cracking the enigma code etc. A great story about your dad

There are quite a few ex-maritime radio officers in the HAM amateur radio sector. Recently I had a chat via morse with a Dutchman, who used to be an operator on those huge Dutch ocean going tugs. In fact he operates from one of those tugs which has been preserved as a museum.

Their standard of morse code is always totally excellent, with no hint of errors. That's the way they are trained- morse at 18 Words per minute, but with a "straight" key (press key lightly "dit", hold key down "dash"), and bearing in mind the key may be sliding all over the bench in rough seas!

They can get cross about the way morse code is used in the amateur sector. No end of electronic supports for assisting transmission and receiving, and electronic "paddle" keys (press left paddle "dit", right paddle "dash" ; hold paddle on gives string of dits or dashes). This enables operators such as myself to transmit and receive at high speed, but having had no training whatsoever. The amateur sector seems to value high speeds (may be regarded as a sign of virility!), and the best operators, mostly resident in Eastern Europe, can operate at phenomenal speeds.

[ardcarp]

Thanks Quarky! Fascinating.

[DracoM]

Musicians do it all the time....................I'll get me coat.