“Musicians have superior working memory, auditory skills, and cognitive flexibility”, according to bebrainfit.com. Some students may get into music because of these benefits, but others just do it for fun outside of school. “In my free time, I like to play the piano,” said 10^th grader, Collin Lopez.

Collin says he is always working on learning a new song. “I am learning Rachmaninoff prelude in C sharp minor,” he said. Some songs he has learned in the past include “Moonlight Sonata” and “Fantaisie Impromptu.” Not only does he learn songs, but he also writes his own. “I implement chords and notes from the songs I learn and fiddle around on the piano until I find something I think sounds good.” That’s his technique for coming up with his own music.

Piano was not the beginning of his musical endeavors, though, “I’ve played the drums, guitar, and saxophone.” None of those instruments stuck with him until he started playing the piano. He said, “I got into it a year ago and was self-taught for the longest time before getting a teacher.” Osceola does offer a keyboards class, which Collin now takes. Maybe piano stuck with him because of the many benefits that the piano offers. Pianoplus.com said that playing piano “relieves stress, enhances split concentration, stimulates the brain, strengthens hand muscles, improves the language skills, improves vocabulary and it stimulates the growth hormones.”  According to the website, it also “helps children accept criticism gracefully.”

Music may not be forever though. He is looking at other things when it comes to his future career. “I would like to be in the field of science, more specifically psychology.”