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Music Notes – An Xperience Column

By Staff on June 13, 2025

Music Notes – An Xperience Column – by Jeff and Crystal Moore.

Hello music fans.

This month, we’re diving into the wild world of the brain—your brain, my brain, Mozart’s brain—and how music lights it up like a stadium encore. Whether you shred guitar or sing karaoke with the passion of a tweaking Pugg, science has good news: music makes you smarter, happier, and yes, more interesting at parties.

Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, in his brilliant book “This Is Your Brain On Music,” lays it out: playing music activates almost every known part of the brain. Not just the emotional centers or motor skills—it’s like a neurological firework show. Listening to music is great, but playing it? That’s like your brain doing CrossFit. It improves memory, focus, coordination, and even emotional regulation. The human brain, it turns out, was born to rock.

But let’s bust a myth while we’re here: virtuosos aren’t born. They’re built. Sorry, rock legends—there’s no divine bolt of lightning that bestows epic solos or flawless high Cs. According to the now-famous study by Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Römer (1993), it’s not talent but deliberate practice—that’s structured, focused, feedback-driven training—that makes the difference. In plain English: no grind, no glory.

Even more compelling? The Journal of Neuroscience found that professional musicians actually have more gray matter in the parts of the brain that deal with movement, hearing, and spatial awareness. The more you practice, the more the brain adapts. In other words, practice doesn’t just make perfect—it rewires your mind.

So what does this mean for you? If you’ve been waiting for a sign from the universe about whether you’re “meant” to do music—this is it. The sign is that you can choose to become great. With the right program, coach, or school, you’re not just dabbling in a hobby—you’re sculpting a brain and soul that’s tuned to beauty and precision.

And who knows? Maybe your Van Halen-style solo will be the one future neuroscientists study for cognitive uplift. (At the very least, you’ll have more fun than they will.)

The Month in Music History: June Edition

Let’s rock through the highlights:

June 1, 1967 – The Beatles release “ Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” It has been cited as the greatest album of all time.
June 4, 1996 – Metallica releases “Load,” trading thrash for hard rock. Debated and derided but still debuted at No. 1.
June 16, 1967 – Monterey Pop Festival begins. Hendrix sets his guitar on fire. The Who smash their gear. Rock enters a new age.
June 17, 1882 – Igor Stravinsky is born, a true revolutionary. “The Rite of Spring” (1913) caused a riot; his rhythmic complexity is seen in modern metal.

June 27, 1980 – Led Zeppelin performs their last-ever U.S. show. It took place in Oakland; CA. John Bonham dies three months later.

Weird Music Fact of the Month: Mozart Said What?

Mozart, the powdered-wig genius who wrote music that makes angels weep, also composed a canon titled “Leck mich im Arsch.” That’s German for… well… let’s call it “Kiss my behind” and keep it classy-ish.

This wasn’t a one-time slip. Mozart wrote several, shall we say, spicy pieces, often for private parties with fellow musicians. His raw humor was just part of the culture—musicians back then were just as wild as rockers today, just with more harpsichords.

So next time someone tells you classical music is uptight, remind them: Mozart basically wrote the 18th-century version of a barroom chant. (Now there’s a recital idea…)

Until next month—keep practicing, stay curious, and remember:

You don’t have to be born great. You just have to get started.

See you in the practice room.