Music is a mental superfood—truly enjoyable and beneficial for both brain and soul! Music awakens imagination and even boosts math skills. Join host Janna and her guest Dana Dominiak as they talk about Piano Prodigy—a video game that teaches kids both music theory and how to play the piano.

About our guest: Both a video game entrepreneur and a professor of Computer Science at Lewis University, Dana Dominiak has extensive experience in both games and education. Dana's companies have created many hit video games for Nintendo and other platforms including Dragonball Z: The Legacy of Goku series for Atari, and My Little Pony and Hello Kitty for Hasbro and Sanrio. Dana holds a PhD in Computer Science in AI from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Mostly, she just really likes to play video games.

• — • — • — • — •

02:44 The art vs. computer science misconception.

05:53 How Prodigy Factory games boost creativity.

08:12 What's the value of music education?

13:29 Music can be hard to measure. Piano Prodigy provides levels, ribbons, medals, etc. that give a sense of tangible progression.

17:13 Music is one of the multiple intelligences. Listen to this podcast.

18:06 The creativity inherent in math.

21:48 Music wakes up the brain. 

24:50 Playing music versus listening to music.

• — • — • — • — •