Practice is key to top musicians

Practice really is the key to becoming a great musician.

New research has shown that musicians have subtle differences in the structure of their brain - which, the evidence suggests, are caused by constant practice.

The discovery could have implications for keen amateurs everywhere, says Dr Vanessa Sluming, who carried out the University of Liverpool study. She said: "The key here really is practice, which is even more important than the age you begin to play at.

"We found some of the top symphony players in the world began after they were 10, but what they all had in common was a huge amount of practice."

The study focused on musicians as Dr Sluming believes their performances are among the most complex tasks humans can undertake.

"Practice does seem to be the one thing all great musicians have in common. It's also important that they never stop practising, or the benefits and brain changes may simply go away."

However, the amount of practice needed to become a top player is immense, she revealed. The study showed violin players at the Berlin Symphony had on average spent 7,400 hours honing their skills, compared to 3,400 for music teachers, and 1,600 for amateur pianists.

Tests on accomplished pianists involved them replicating complex finger tapping exercises. Even though the patterns did not follow conventional rhythms, the pianists were still able to replicate them far better than "ordinary" people.

Dr Sluming's team, which amassed 10 years of data, used brain scans to detect minute differences between the brains of musicians and non-musicians.

Dr Sluming was speaking at the BA Festival of Science in Manchester.