Researchers and neuroscientists have begun diligently studying the role of Baroque music in brain development (Coff). Many studies that have been conducted conclude that classical music intensifies the growth and memory retention of the brain (O’Donnell). The human body has also been proven to naturally respond to the beats and rhythms of music, whether positively or negatively. Music can affect the brain and body in many different ways. Classical music can increase learning abilities, change mood and spiritual awareness, and affect a person’s health.
The power music has to affect memory is amazing. Listening to music while studying can help the brain process information much more efficiently than without classical music. “Mozart's music and Baroque music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right brain” (O’Donnell). The Center for New Discoveries in Learning stated that by using this 60 beats per minute music, potential for learning can be increased by a minimum of five times (O’Donnell). People that listen to Baroque music while studying tend to naturally remember more information than those that don’t listen to these classical pieces. In the Minoan period, ancient Greeks performed their dramas through song because they knew how music could help them remember their lines more easily (O’Donnell). The ABC song was created to help children to remember the alphabet. Though children can’t remember and learn as fast as adults, they are able to retain the information when they hear it like music. Putting words to song helps the brain to process the information more fully. Engaging in activities that use both sides of the brain, such as listening to Baroque music, singing, or playing an instr...
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Works Cited
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Campbell, Don. "Music for the Mozart Effect." Music Makes You Smarter. The Center For New Discoveries In Learning, Inc., 2008. Web. 2015.
Coff, Richard. "The Mozart Effect." Research On Music And The Developing Brain. Suzuki Music Academy, 2005. Web. 2015.
Heathman, Shauna. "Different Kinds of Music That Help Memory Retention." Verisign. Demand Media, 2011. Web. 2015.
O'Donnell, Laurence. "Music and the Brain." Brain And Mind. Music Power, 1999. Web. 2015.
Rauscher, Elizabeth A. "Prof. Elizabeth A. Rauscher, Ph.D." World-renowned Physicist, Researcher and Presenter (2007): N. pag. Web. 2015.
Scott. "The Mozart Effect: How Music Makes You Smarter." HowToLearn.com. The Center For New Discoveries In Learning, Inc., 2011. Web. 2015.
As Bob Marley once said, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” Studies shown that classical music, specifically Mozart, help you engage in your studies better and as a result showed high test scores according to a test scientist at Stanford University held. Did you ever imagine how powerful a piece that was composed in the 1780’s could be?
According to Laurence O’Donnell, “Music is thought to link all of the emotional, spiritual, and physical elements of the universe.” This proves that music is more than a simple class teaching random notes. It is a common denominator between mind, body, and learning. One scholar shows that music causes a response that can affect a person’s mood; this is directly related to how a person acts upon their emotional response to music. He later talks about how music can have a positive effect on memorization and brain function (O’Donnell). The Center for New Discoveries in Learning stated, “Learning potential can be increased a minimum of five times by using 60 beats per minute music” (qtd. in O’Donnell). Most of the music that follows these types of beats is classical music such a Mozart and Bach. This is the type of music taught in schools, thus, enhancing a student’s ability to learn.
Mannes, Elena. "www.npr.org/2011/06/01/136859090/the-power-of-music-to-affect-the-brain." Mannes, Elena. The Power of Music to Affect the Brain. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.
Simmons-Stern, (2010). Music as a memory enhancer in patients with alzheimer's disease. Neuropsychologia, 48(10), 3164-3167. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.04.033
Throughout history music has had a profound effect on a person’s mind, body, and consciousness. A song or piece of music can trigger vivid memories, and induce emotions ranging from deep sorrow to unabashed joy. Music can drive listeners to patriotic fervor or religious frenzy, or it can soothe the savage beast we call human. There have been many advances in technology that have let us study how music affects the brain. Music causes all sorts of activity in the brain, especially during musical improvisation. Music can tremendously help people with certain mind damaging diseases, and in some cases it can have negative effects.
Many people do not realize the positive effect that popular music has on children. At a young age one of the breakthroughs for children is music’s benefit for language development. According to the Children’s Music Workshop, the effect of music education on language development can be seen in the brain. Studies have indicated that musical training develops the left side of the brain known to be involved in processing language and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways. The relation between both music and language development can also have advantages children. Listening to music can also improve children test scores and IQ levels. Dr. Schellenberg found that a small increase in the IQs of six year olds who were given weekly vocal and piano lessons. This leads to the fact that music is very helpful when it comes to education. Professor Christopher Johnson revealed that students in elementary schools with better music education programs sc...
Schlaug, Gottfried, Andrea Norton, Kate Overy, and Ellen Winner. Effects of Music Training on the Child’s Brain. The Musician's Brain. New York Academy Of Sciences, 2005. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. .
The idea of the Mozart effect began in 1993 with a study conducted by Rauscher, Shaw & Ky. This study involved 36 university students taking three different IQ spatial reasoning tasks and for each test used either Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major and relaxation music was played, silence was also used. The results of this experiment showed that students who had listened to the music of Mozart had better results for the spacial reasoning tests in comparison to silence or relaxation music. The results also showed that the impact of Mozart’s music was only temporary and only lasted for 10-15 minutes. Overall this study was very basic and had numerous flaws such as the sample size and also the variety of tests used to look at the impact of music (Rauscher, Shaw & Ky, 1993). In 1997 Don Campbell’s book The Mozart effect popularised the claim that music makes children smarter. This book created a public interest in music and brain development. The book uses Rauscher’s experiment as an example of what Mozart’s music can do which in this experiment shows a temporary increase in spatial reasoning, this however was misinterpreted by the public as an increase in IQ. The popularisation of the...
Dowd, Will. "The Myth of the Mozart Effect." Skeptic 13.4 (2007): 21-23. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.)
Campbell, D. G. (1997). The Mozart effect: tapping the power of music to heal the body, strengthen the mind, and unlock the creative spirit. New York: Avon Books.
It can be proven, through literary research and personal experiences, that music has a positive effect on learning and memory. It can be concluded that these positive effects have an impact on patients with Alzheimer’s, on the motor skills and auditory memory of mentally disabled children, on students attempting to remember subject manner that they are learning, and on the affectivity of advertisements. On a personal note, music has facilitated my ability to remember things, both positive and negative, a number of times. For example, in high school I memorized the days of the week in French by singing them along with a tune that was already familiar to me. I have also had multiple experiences in which I remember things that I do not want to remember such as advertisements and negative experiences because they were accompanied with specific music. Despite the miniscule negative effects of music on memory, the powerful ability of music to trigger memory production and recall is undeniably beneficial. The profound effect of music on memory and learning makes music a great tool for helping people who want to improve cognitive function, whether they need to receive treatment for a mental disease or learn new information.
Summers, Alex. "The Important Role Of Music In Learning."Edudemic. N.p., 19 Apr 2013. Web. 14 Mar 2014.
"The Mozart Effect." Index Page - PositiveHealth.com - United Kingdom. Web. 24 Feb. 2010. .
Music has incredible effects on the brain and body! Ever since the beginning of time, music has been around. It can influence the way a person thinks and behaves, and also social interactions. Teens are more susceptible to this (Revatto 1). Music can be used in therapy by helping people with depression, and can even be a more natural way to heal the body (“How Music...” 1). In some cases, songs and melodies can help or make diseases worse. Music is a powerful thing and can affect your brain and many other things in your body in numerous ways.
Cooper, Belle. " How Music Affects and Benefits Your Brain."lifehacker.come. N.p., 11 22 2013. Web. 3