Transcription
Did you know that practicing music changes your brain by boosting its plasticity and polyrhythms? They train your brain waves to juggle several frequencies at the same time, improving attention and cognitive flexibility.
As to this show, put your hands on your desk. Try to tap three times with your right hand and two times with your left hand. Go. Maybe you can do it. Your brain is literally forcing your hands to sync up. Two attempts, same tempo, but your brain hears something weird. This is a polyrhythm. And to understand it, your brain has to do something absolutely insane. Track several timelines at the same time. Neuroscientists actually use polyrhythms in experiments to see how your brain predicts time even when music stops.
Let's see three levels of polyrhythms. And at the end I will give you a challenge. Imagine two conveyor belts running side by side. One does two steps in a cycle. The other does three. They start together. Then they drift. Then they meet again. That meeting point is your polyrhythm. That's a very short definition. Two rhythms that cannot be divided between them like three against two. It's better to listen.
Let's start with the classic three against two. Left hand two bits, right hand three bits. Same duration. Don't try to count both hands. Your brain will trash. Instead, say the single phrase hot cup of tea. Hot is both hands. Cup is right hand. Off is left hand. T is the right hand. What's happening in your head when you do this? Your motor system wants everything to sync on a single bit. But here you force it to keep two timelines alive. Studies on musical training show that this kind of rhythmic work recruits the exact same networks as inhibition, attention, and working memory. Basically, the system you use to stay focused and not get pulled off track.
Here's a free tool to play with any term you want. Click, choose your numbers, and see how the patterns overlap. It's perfect for practicing without an instrument.
Now, let's make your brain sweat a bit more. Four against three. One side plays four bits, the other side plays three. Again, use the composite memory hack. Do not count numbers. Say this phrase. Pass the goddamn butter. Pass is together then alternate perfectly. The hand playing three hits the strong syllables. God and but let's do it. Pass got butter. Pass the butter. That's good. Better.
In one experiment, people listen to a rhythm, then a polyrhythm, then there was a silence and a single beep. Researchers found that neural oscillations followed the structure of the polyrhythm even in the silence gap.
And now the final boss. Five against four. One hand plays four evenly spaced bits. The other hand squeezes five evenly spaced hits in the same space. This one is clearly harder because the five bit rhythms are quite rare. So it's even better for your brain. Here is your memory hack. Say I'm looking for a home to buy. I'm is together then alternate. The hand playing five hits. The words look for home and buy. I'm looking for a home to buy. I'm looking for a home to buy. This one can take some time. Be patient.
Recently, researchers proposed using polyrhythmic entrainment as a tool to train cognitive flexibility and sensory motor adaptation. If you can keep several rhythmic models active at once, maybe you're also training your ability to switch and coordinate multiple mental models in your business or daily life.
So, does it make you smarter? Let's be clear, no study says you will get plus 15 IQ points, but musical and rhythmic training does improve inhibition, working memory and attention. So go back to the tool and try three against two, three against four, four against five, or if you want six against five, seven against four, whatever you want. Every time you resist the rhythmic collapse, you're training your brain's control systems.
And now the challenge, the true last co exercise or the party trick for music not a polyrhythm with a different rhythm for each finger. 6 5 4 3 2. This one could make an entire video. Maybe for another day. In the meantime, you know how to increase your brain plasticity with literally nothing. 100% free. I hope this is useful. See you soon.