There are countless health and happiness benefits of learning to play music, most of which are widely known. "Musical training can have a profound and lasting impact on the brain, creating additional neural connections in childhood that can last a lifetime and thus help compensate for cognitive declines later in life." This is according to Jennifer Bugos, an assistant professor of music education at the University of South Florida. More on this in National Geographic's article titled "Your Aging Brain Will Be in Better Shape If You've Taken Music Lessons"