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Can Mozart Make You Smarter?
Brianna Stanley
"Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the
soul." While Plato reminds of us of musics' ability to transcend
reality and logic, to speak to us in a dialect that only our
hearts understand, scarcely a person exists that hasn't been
touched in some way by music. Indeed, if there is any universal
language, music would be it for all have experienced that
feelilng of being "lifted up," even if the words are not
understood. Some even say that music and spirituality are
intertwined, and that the path to finding God can be found in
the bars of a composition. No matter what it does or is
considered to be, as Confucious so eloquently observed, "Music
produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do
without." Where there has been people, music has coexisted, and
we need it to continue for without it we would all be in danger
of becoming robots operating by logic and necessity alone. We
find an outlet, a means of expressing and finding ourselves,
through music. Undoubtedly music is as critical to our
well-being as a roof over our heads . . . but does it offer more
to us than just the ability to feel? Does it, can it, actually
help us to learn?
The Mozart effect exploded in the early part of the 1990s. Upon
being told that Mozart was shown to help increase IQ test
levels, mothes everywhere rushed to Best Buy and Circuit City to
find CDs for their kids to listen to. The study was highly
publicized, and as a result, also highly capitalized. Numerous
cd and dvd sets were successfully marketed to parents. Mozart
probably hadn't gotten that much attention since . . . well,
possibly never. Unfortunately, critics partially refuted the
results due to improper re-testing that was performed; however,
Mozart still has his believers and has been able to retain his
popularity in the midst of skepticism.
Many studies have been done on the effect that music has upon
not only our brains, but also our well-being in general. In
1968, a college student by the name of Dorothy Retallack
actually researched its effects on plants and found some
surprising results. After subjecting several houseplants to
specific genres of music, she documented her findings: jazz and
classical seemed were found to bring favorable benefits as
opposed to pop and country music. Most interesting of all,
though, is the fact that the plants that were forced to "listen"
to nothing but acid rock literally withered away and died! The
fact that music does indeed hold an influence over us is
undeniable.
Because research has indicated that it is the tempo of the
music, not the style, that actually aids in memory retention, a
learning "system" called the Baroque method has been given rise.
This is music that is heard at 60 BPM (beats per minute, or one
downbeat every second). It is the slow, complex rhythm that
stimulates and "warms up" the brain and in turn hugely increases
information retention by simultaneously activating the left and
right brain. Bulgarian psychologist George Lozanov was able to
prove that foreign languages could be learned at a fraction of
the normal time by using the Baroque method. Not only were his
students able to memorize vocublary at least twice as fast as
normal, but they also retained an amazing ninety-two percent.
We often overlook the brain in our quest for health and fitness,
but it should in fact be at the top of our lists. From the brain
stems everything that we are, and if we neglect to care for it
the "use it or lose it" phrase will become a reality. It needs
to be fed new activity on a daily basis, for the habits that we
form and act on consistenly offers it no food, in a sense.
Seeing new places, learning a new skill, and listening to
different kinds of music are all ways to strengthen and activate
your brain. And since music is the easiest one to change for
most of us, it's a pretty good place to start--the key is to
listen to music that is complex and NOT repetitive because
musical repetition has actually been shown to stimulate an anger
response from the brain. While classical music is indeed a good
choice, anything that meets those criteria will have the same
effect; however, it is still a good idea to regularly introduce
new music because it is in the processing that your brain grows
and strengthens. So go ahead and pop in a Mozart cd. Seems like
the child prodigy knew more than we even know yet!
About the author:
Brianna Stanley has turned her passion for health and wellness
into her business. To find out more about the Freedom Project's
simple 3-step process, click here:
http://www.miniofficeoutlets.com/stanley
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