Medical Mysteries of Music

Who Will Live Longer: A Rock Guitarist or a Cellist?

Does the instrument you play determine how long you will live? Not really, but there is some kind of correlation. This is from the print edition of today’s Daily Mail I discovered over a full English breakfast in the Lufthansa lounge at Heathrow this morning.

Your musical instrument could determine how long you live. A Russian study of 8,000 musicians found that those who play the cello, harp or violin live the longest (70 to 80), while rock musicians and guitarists tend not to live as long.

In the journal Advances in Gerontology, the researchers suggest instruments associated with “higher intellect and education” correlate with longer lifespan.

Ah. Where to begin? Anyone want to take a shot at the myriad of problems with this story?

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37980 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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