Welcome to Classical Music Guide
NEW! Classical Music Videos
Classical Music Conservatory Article
Increase Your Intelligence With Music
Steve Gillman
You Are What You Listen To
Can music really help you think better? Yes, according to
the research that has been done so far.
Listening to, and participating in music creates new neural
pathways in your brain that stimulate creativity. Studies
have shown that music actually trains the brain for higher
forms of thinking. There was a study at the University of
California, for example, about 10 years ago.
Researchers followed the progress of three year olds, split
into two groups. The first group had no particular training
in, or exposure to music. The second group studied piano and
sang daily in chorus.
After eight months the musical three year olds were much
better at solving puzzles. When tested, they also scored 80%
higher in spatial intelligence than the non musical group.
With such a dramatic difference, there is bound to be more
research like this in the future.
There is also anectdotal evidence that listening to music,
especially from Mozart's era, can help you study and learn
better. Hopefully there will be research done to confirm or
disprove this soon, but there is really no good reason not
to do your own experimentation in this area. Stephen King
writes with loud rock music playing, so maybe any benefits
here are according to your own tastes or
brain-organization.
Brainwave Entrainment
Want to listen to some music, and get smarter? There are a
number of products out there that are based on an entirely
different principle than the research mentioned above. They
rely on "entraining" your brainwaves, in order to put you in
a meditative state.
Brain wave frequencies vary according to mental state.
Daydreaming and light meditation usually take place in the
"Alpha" range of frequencies, for example. So if you listen
to music containing beats at a frequency of 10 Hz it will
feel very relaxing, because your brain will begin to follow
this frequency and reproduce the rhythm in the music. You
will automatically generate more brainwaves at a 10 Hz
frequency and enter a relaxed Alpha mental state.
What these new products do is embed music with beats and
pulses that entrain your brain waves to a specific
frequency. You just put in the right CD or MP3 for your
activity (you don't wan't an Alpha state for analytical
work), and you get better brain function. Science? Partly.
It is well established that our brain wave frequencies
change with our mental states and vice-versa. It is has also
been clearly demonstrated that meditators can go into an
alpha state at will, and that this has beneficial effects
(lowering of stress, blood pressure, etc.). Do the tapes
accomplish this more easily?
Yes, in my experience. I've found two products that put me
in a peaceful state unlike any other music or meditative
practice. Studies will prove the effects (some have
already), and disprove the wilder claims of some of these
products. Given the results I experienced, however, I
wouldn't wait for the research, any more than I would have
waited for proof of the existence of vitamin C before I'd
continue eating limes to cure scurvy a hundred years ago.
Wait for more evidence of the benefits of brainwave
entrainment, if you must, but why not try classical music
the next time you need to study, just to see if it helps?
Experiment with music - I haven't yet heard of any damage
caused by Mozart.
About the Author
Steve Gillman has been studying brain improvement,
concentration, creative problem solving, and related topics
for years. You can visit his website, and subscribe for free
to his Brain Power Newsletter at:
http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com/newsletter.html
Classical Music Conservatory News
Portuguese singer performs on Cape Ann - Gloucester Daily Times
Adriana, a young Portuguese talent, will perform for one night only at Blackburn Performing Arts in Gloucester on Wednesday. The emerging singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was recently signed to a major label, Universal Music. "Adriana is ...
Read more...Kimmel's programming chief moving on - Philiy.com
If the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts could be said to have a voice, much of it has been supplied by programming czar Mervon Mehta. Yesterday the Kimmel announced that Mehta's eighth season of importing symphony orchestras, dance companies ...
Read more...Band celebrates music of Bob Dylan - Huntsville Forester
Don’t call the Dylan Tree a tribute band. It’s enough to make the group’s founder Richard Kahl shudder. The show is much more than a tribute, he says. It is a celebration of the words and music of one of the world’s greatest songwriters, Bob ...
Read more...2009 arts: Classical music's hot in the cold - Cincinnati.com
Few regions have the depth and diversity of classical music that music lovers enjoy, week after week, in Greater Cincinnati. You'll be astonished at the choices this winter, from weekly concerts at the Cincinnati Symphony to a special vocal recital ...
Read more...Philharmonic opens season this weekend - Salem News
SALEM — The Salem Philharmonic Orchestra will open its 2009 season this Sunday, Jan. 11, at 3:30 p.m. in the Salem High School auditorium. Admission is free. The concert series is one of the oldest in the country; this is believed to be its 108th ...
Read more...Papa's Got a Brand New Belt - Nypress.com
IT ISN’T UNCOMMON to be let down by something that comes along calling itself “opera,” only to find out that it either has nothing at all to do with opera, or that it’s basically a musical. (For the layman, musical theater would generally ...
Read more...