This 98-Year-Old Maine Musician is Proof That Music is Good for Your Brain [VIDEO]

Parents with musical children might want to get a load of this before pulling the plug on their late night band practice in the garage - even if they're really, really bad.

In the awesome clip below from WCSH6, we meet a man from up in Jay named Arthur "Benny" Benedetto, a bassist / guitarist in the house band in the VFW Post 3335 House Band. He plays every Friday night at the open mic, calling the shots for the band in most cases. The incredible thing, though, is that he's currently 98 years old, and still living independently.

The clip goes on to show that Benedetto is both a talented musician, and surprisingly spry for his age. How can someone pull all this off at 98, you ask? Well the answer might be the very thing the video features so much of - music.

Buckle your seat belts, 'cause I'm going to get scientific here for a minute. As stated in an article published by CNN back in February 2016, scientists discovered that listening to music was more effective at reducing anxiety levels in participants than medication designed to do just that. Even more astonishing, as shown in the TED-Ed video below, playing music is like a full-body workout for the brain, stimulating and strengthening many different areas of function at once.

There you have it - playing music is good for your brain, and Benny Benedetto is living proof. Now to download a piano app and start practicing...