The joy of saying 'Aun aprendo': you, your students and aging in the 21st century.

At age 80, the artist Francisco de Goya created one of the world's first lithographs. It's a small, elegantly drawn self-portrait showing the artist walking with a cane in each gnarled hand, his gait labored by the stooped posture that one might expect of someone at such an advanced age as Goya. But as our keynote speaker, Robert E. Roush, so tenderly phrased it, "his head is erect, and he clearly has someplace to go." And judging from the inscription that Goya wrote in the corner of the picture, "Aun aprendo," he had more to say artistically as well. Translated, it means "I am still learning."

Roush's extremely informative Power Point presentation provided us with plenty to think about in terms of why we age, how we age and what we need to live long and to live well. There was plenty of empirical evidence on offer that confirmed what we as musicians instinctively seem to know--that lifelong learning is important for both our hearts and our minds and enhances our well-being in tangible ways. Furthermore, Roush highlighted studies that showed how continuing our artistic endeavors as we age can provide healthy benefits both physically and mentally by continuing to add meaning to our lives.

Ask yourself this question, Roush advised us all: "Looking ahead 30 or 40 years from now, where do you want to be, what do you want to be doing and with whom do you want to be?" The purpose of this reflective moment was to remind us to accept that we are all aging persons and, as such, we need to actively plan for our futures as older persons. Roush gave us plenty to think about with great advice on what to prioritize now to live long and to live well into the future.

Although scientists can't say exactly why we age, they do know it's our own immune systems that bring on age-related changes. The first signs of aging are the loss of energy and the loss of lean muscle mass (sarcopenia). Of course, we all know how to stop that from happening: exercise--and plenty of it! Roush encouraged us all, but particularly women, to practice resistance exercises, such as weight training, as muscle mass is critical for healthy bones and posture. Based on Roush's other recommendation for gaining physical strength and balance, maybe next year's MTNA conference could include an MTNA morning T'ai chi class in Albuquerque, New Mexico! The beautiful desert location might be just the right motivation to get us moving!

Next to go in the aging process are our cells, which begin to become dormant if we don't keep them functioning--that goes for the brain as well as other parts of the body. We can decrease that loss of function by engaging in activities that keep our minds active and our neurons firing. The good news? Well, for MTNA members, seeing as we're active musicians, we're already engaging in an extremely healthy mind activity just by practicing our craft literally: A scientific study of both young and old, amateur and professional pianists showed "a sufficient amount of daily, deliberate practice can suspend any observable age-related declines in expert musical performance," and furthermore, "expert pianists acquire mental capacities that enable them to work around the cognitive and motor limitations that arise later in life." (1) So it looks like we're one up on the aging process already ... that is, if we follow the advice we give our students and keep practicing! And there's more good news for us. Brain exercise, such as playing an instrument, helps with the third age-related change: the ability to counteract stress.

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Apparently, the more functioning cells we can keep activated, the better we are able to cope with stress. Once again, this is something we intuitively recognize as a benefit of the work we do through music. Our own students, particularly adult recreational learners, often tell us what a great stress reliever playing an instrument or singing is. Even the parents of our school-age students can see the value of music as a way for their children, and even the other family members, to relax. Those of us who direct ensembles or groups get similar feedback from the participants regularly. Roush encouraged us to be advocates for our students' health, and stressed that vitality was a principle player in creating a meaningful and long life. So far, it sounds like learning and playing music is a perfect prescription for prospering in life.

And speaking of prosperity, did you know that one of the key environmental factors impacting the quality of aging is economic prosperity? It turns out that our financial success is as important to our well being as our professional success, perhaps even more so than we'd like to think. It is critical that we have a healthy respect for the fullness of our bank account, as well as the fullness of our studios. Of course, the two often go hand in hand. As Roush put it, "You can't stop the aging process,

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Overall, Roush stated, what matters is functional age, not chronological age. And one of the best ways to keep our youth is to keep learning new things. There was no better way to demonstrate that than the clip he showed from the documentary film, Virtuoso by Biana Kovic, where we observed Maggie learning to play the cello--at age 89! In the film, Maggie shares with us a heartwarming testament to her deceased husband who taught her that "every day is an experience, and every day you can start learning." Roush reminded us that, "what you do or don't do today will determine what kind of an old age you will have." He was adamant that if we could restore vigor in the aging population, the impact on society would be enormous, and that the arts have a valuable and meaningful role to play in keeping us young at heart. It's a reminder to us as teachers that we also need to keep learning new things.

With a nod to David Letterman, Roush gave us his Top 10 list for how to have a good old age:

10. Have old ancestors

9. Have money

8. Have good doctors

7. Have friends

6. Have low blood pressure

5. Have a healthy diet

4. Have a good weight

3. Have daily exercise

2. Have plans

1. Have fun and play your music!

As teachers, we are familiar with how invigorating and valuable the learning process in music is for both ourselves and our students. We experience and observe it almost on a daily basis: the young student who comes in to the lesson tired from a long day at school, but who leaves our studio full of energy and enthusiasm for their new piece; or the college/adult learners who come to the group music class, and pay us that ultimate compliment, "This is one class that I really don't want to miss!" Or even more telling, at the end of our own long day, just when we think we can't possibly spend more time with our instrument, we nevertheless launch in to practicing, surfacing an hour or more later feeling less tired and more focused than when we began.

Our speaker knows personally how valuable and important lifelong learning is for our health and well-being as we age. This presentation was dedicated to Margaret Lassiter King, a retired piano teacher and organist who, at age 94, still plays the piano when her son-in-law, Roush, visits her at her place of care. Despite the onset of dementia, King still joyfully plays Debussy's Claire de June for her children and grandchildren. In closing, Roush offered us peace in our elder years and the following recommendation: "My goal for each of you is to be able to say at age 80, as Goya did: I am still learning, still teaching, and still playing my music."

Our eloquent guest speaker's recommendation has inspired me: I think H1 take a page from Maggie's book, and get some cello lessons myself this summer! It's never too late to learn, right? "Thank you, Dr. Roush!"

NOTE

(1.) B. Bower, "Master pianists mature well with practice," Science News 150 no. 25-26 (1996): 388.

Patricia Powell, assistant professor of piano and pedagogy at West Chester University and independent teacher, approaches pedagogy with a view to guiding students toward an organic concept of musicianship, pianism, persona/musical involvement and expression.