The Mozart Effect

Ryan Zimmer
Mr. Allen
English 12
1 February 2008
Mozart Effect:
Can we enhance our mind just by listening to music?   Most people are not intellectually gifted at all, and most people strive to learn to become wiser and more informed about the world around them.   Studies show that listening to classical music can have positive effects on learning and attitude.   This occurrence is called the Mozart Effect, and it has been experimented by many scientists.   Different types of music have different effects on the mind.
The earliest stages of learning for young children are the most important.   The fundamentals of learning are locked into a child at a very young age and how much importance is placed on these can have dramatic effects on the future of the child's learning.   Music, when applied in a productive way, can have positive effects on a child's learning and help them in many ways.
Putting music lessons into a child’s normal activities can make learning easier for a young child.   A small study was done two years back involving ten three-year-olds who were tested on their ability to put together a puzzle and the speed at which they could do it (Learning Keys 24).   After the first test was taken, five of the children were given singing lessons for 30 minutes a day and the other five were given piano lessons for 15 minutes a week (24).   The lessons were conducted over a six-month period of time, and after the six months, all of the kids showed great improvement in the speed they could

put together the puzzle (24).   The researchers believe this skill in putting pieces of a puzzle together is similar to the reasoning that engineers, chess players and high-level mathematicians use.   In this study of inner-city kids, their first scores were below the national average, but afterwards their scores nearly doubled (24).   Abstract reasoning is the term they give to the type of reasoning and thought that goes into putting pieces of a puzzle together.   By teaching... [continues]

Read full essay