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You may recall a hubbub some years ago about classical music and its beneficent effects on developing young brains. It was 1993, to be exact, when Nature published a little article titled “Musical and Spatial Task Performance,” which described how students who listened to Mozart while performing a complex paper-folding task enjoyed an IQ boost of up to 10 points. Naturally, in a culture where giving your kids a competitive advantage is a top concern of parents (especially if it’s as easy as pushing “play”), the study had a major impact: classical music sales jumped, and franchises like Baby Einstein were born. Not only that, but legislation was passed, too: in 1998 Georgia mandated that new mothers be given classical CDs, and not about to be left behind in the great Southern baby brain race, the same year Florida required day care centers to pipe symphonies through their speakers.
But has foisting the masterworks of long-dead Austrian composers on the ears of our Britney-loving kids really accomplished anything? According to a recent Scientific American article, many scientists don’t think so. Citing a New York psychologist who tried to reproduce the now-famous Mozart experiment on his own, “The effect is only one and a half IQ points, and it’s only confined to this paper-folding task.” Furthermore, a team of German Ministry of Education researchers dug deep into the supposed phenomenon, and concluded that “there is no compelling evidence that children who listen to classical music are going to have any improvement in cognitive abilities,” adding “It’s a myth.”
On the other hand, there are plenty of researchers — like author of The Mozart Effect for Children Don Campbell — who maintain that certain types of music have beneficial organizing effects on the brain, and help to relieve stress, modulate mood and, yes, think more clearly. So, the jury is officially still out, but now we’ve got to know — does listening to music (classical or otherwise) help you think?
Comments (33)
Comment
Two years ago I never would have expected to hear myself say (type?) this, but I’ve found techno/trance music to be even better than classical for background noise while I’m working. (Anything with lyrics runs the risk of my singing along, which causes my cats to howl, which distracts me.)
A friend gave me a Thievery Corporation CD for my birthday last year and I’ve been playing it alongside Mozart’s Requiem ever since. The more upbeat-rhythm is more energizing than many classical pieces, although there is certainly a myriad of exceptions. (Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 3 comes to mind…)
posted by Marina @ Sufficient Thrust on 9-17-2007 at 9:59 am
I listen to classical music on my drive to work in the morning…if anything, the music helps me NOT think about the boring drive……
posted by Chris Thorpe on 9-17-2007 at 10:05 am
Classical music is always on in my home-
Blame it on my years of ballet training and teaching if you will, but I find classical music the most relaxing and encouraging music for a family that puts the fun back in dysfunctional!!
Even the labradors seem to thrive~
posted by Ann Nicholas on 9-17-2007 at 10:45 am
I only listen to classical music when I’m reading, ads it helps drown out the other noises around me. When I’m working or studying, I prefer to just listen to the music on my computer, or Pandora.com. It’s mostly punk and alternative music. And, no, I don’t think listening to any type of music has any effect on your IQ, but maybe some types of music just get you distracted.
posted by PeteRepeat42 on 9-17-2007 at 10:48 am
Regardless, putting headphones on babies, as in the picture, has got to be dangerous…..
posted by Jim on 9-17-2007 at 10:51 am
Good point, Jim. DON’T PUT HEADPHONES ON BABIES!
posted by Ransom on 9-17-2007 at 11:00 am
A side note that this post made me think of: somewhere recently (I’m bad at citations) I heard that the Baby Mozart or Baby Genius movie things are really bad for the mental development of babies, as they are so random and babies learn by what they see and then imitate. So now every time I see something semi-related I think of that and laugh to myself.
posted by mev on 9-17-2007 at 11:04 am
Anecdotally, my younger son’s verbal development hit full stride about a month after we started playing classical music for him. However, he does have his own musical taste, and it does not include Mozart.
posted by C. on 9-17-2007 at 11:09 am
the spatial reasoning or the like is apparently validated and lasts for 5-15 minutes. once the music is gone so goes the iq. sorry.
posted by johnny on 9-17-2007 at 11:28 am
i also heard about the baby einstein video study. kids that grew up on the videos are now old enough to test, and have been found less able to concentrate than kids who did not watch the baby einstein videos.
i tried watching one with my baby when he was small. it was basically a big toy advertisement. it was just short clips of toys running with mozart playing over it. it even included a toy buying guide at the end. how thoughtful! in any case, my kid didn’t seem all that interested, he would rather play with the empy dvd case.
posted by lindsay m on 9-17-2007 at 12:40 pm
I think best when listening to music. My first choice for the past 20 years has been Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”. If that’s not available, most classical will do the trick.
posted by roslyn on 9-17-2007 at 1:20 pm
Classical music helps me think when I’m doing homweork. I’m just starting to listen to it at times other than homework time. As Marina said, anything with lyrics prompts me to sing along, which is very distracting.
posted by Catie on 9-17-2007 at 1:32 pm
This true proven correlation is with children playing music, which actually provides a long lasting improvent in cognitive function.
posted by Robert on 9-17-2007 at 2:21 pm
I don’t know about IQ benefits, but I do use classical while I study. I’m with the others in that I can’t listen to anything with words, and classical is good background noise. Of course, so is a decent white/pink noise track. I’ve found that if I can have complete silence, that’s the best thing for concentration.
posted by scoobnut on 9-17-2007 at 2:57 pm
I discovered in college the best music for my writing is Radiohead, especially the bends or ok computer.
I dont believe listening to classical music as a baby (at low volumes) could possibly hurt. At the very least it might instill a love of music, and that’s reason enough for me.
posted by ac on 9-17-2007 at 5:27 pm
Perhaps the researchers were focusing on the wrong thing - just because there is a correlation, does not mean that there is a direct cause/effect relationship. Maybe the parents who put on a bit of Mozart in the house were more educated themselves and were thus able to provide role-models for their children’s own learning skills and habits?!
posted by Nige on 9-17-2007 at 5:33 pm
I think Nige makes the best point…
Also, if a parent is inclined to play music then he is less inclined to play videos/turn on the TV. Then, judging simply on the what is involved in both activities it is easy to recognize tha listening to music frees children and adults alike to focus on other activities, the effect being more profound in children, i would think. When a child is glued to the TV for hours everyday, he does not have the time to engage on other physical and intelectual activities.
I think, for all involved, music is relaxing enabling us to focus better making us more efficient. Also, all music is essentially made up of repeating patterns that I assume would have some sort of positive effect on neural pathways??!?!
just another thought…
wouldn’s effects on adult brains be amplified in children, leading us to believe that the vehicle is more effective?
posted by EC on 9-17-2007 at 6:52 pm
Glenn Schellenberg’s (U Toronto) work on this topic is the most convincing I’ve seen but doesn’t seem to be mentioned in the article.
I heard him give a talk and my recollection is that his findings suggest that any music that elevates your mood (like Marina suggests), makes you “smarter” (i.e., you at least perform better on certain cognitive tasks). I believe he pitted the Mozart piece against popular children’s songs and the children’s songs won the day. His website should have a link to his publications (can’t link it here).
posted by Fred on 9-17-2007 at 10:29 pm
LISTENING to music doesn’t do anything other than teach rhythm, which, according to some researchers is genetic coding - see the 3/4 time signature - it’s the rhythm of the heartbeat - babies will bounce in time to whatever is piped into their area. (See the morons in my neightborhood who happily bounce down the road with their stereos on ‘brain death’ settings.)
Learning to PLAY music, on the other hand, has been shown to teach cognitive and math skills and eye-hand coordination.
posted by Doc on 9-18-2007 at 7:25 am
Perhaps listening to Mozart may not effect a permanent increase in IQ, but classical music’s calming effects can certainly relieve stress and help improve concentration, which will definitely aid test scores.
What about learning to *perform* Mozart? Can’t *that* make you smarter?
posted by Phil on 9-18-2007 at 10:44 am
I cannot concentrate on anything that requires much concentration at all with music playing. Maybe this is because I am REALLY into music (a musician myself). So maybe it has more impact on me because my brain views the music as a higher priority than people that music plays a more passive role in their lives. Classical music is especially distracting. I think it may be the lack of words. The lack of words may cause my brain to switch into “this song is only half finished” mode and try to focus on putting lyrics to it to finish it, robbing the focus from whatever work I’m trying to get done. But all music ruins my focus, especially if it is songs I don’t know. The place where I buy DVDs also sells CD’s, and has new albums playing over the loud speakers. I have an infuriatingly difficult time choosing a DVD because the music keeps distracting me, I can’t even remember from one aisle to the next what DVD I was just looking at. Shopping isn’t difficult for me most places. I think it’s that the music there short circuits my mind.
posted by Melissa on 9-18-2007 at 12:18 pm
Personally, i feel that listening to classical music while i work, actually has negative effects for me. I think because i enjoy classical music, and its complexity, i get distracted by listening to it, as opposed to Pop music which is easier for me to tune out.
posted by Annie on 9-18-2007 at 4:22 pm
There is some evidence, apparently, that listening to the same music (whatever that happens to be)that one listened to while studying will improve one’s performance if listened to when one writes the exam. I’ve never tried this as I prefer to read or study in complete silence, or with the TV on!
posted by George on 9-19-2007 at 7:07 am
Point #1: Why do so many people assume that the music of classically trained composers is supposed to be “relaxing”? Ever heard of Stravinsky? Bartok? Beethoven?
Point #2: If you’re trying to make your baby smart, do you plan to teach that child to read yourself? Odds are, he or she won’t learn to read in school.
posted by David on 9-19-2007 at 7:39 am
Back in college I would listen to Gaming FM while studying. The background music of old NES classics helped me focus on accomplishing tasks as if I was saving Hyrule.
posted by RJ on 9-19-2007 at 8:44 am
I like jazz so that tends to be my music of choice. I also listen to Scottish music (Old Blind Dogs, Tannahill Weavers). Up tempo seems to keep me going, particularly when it’s an onerous job, like balancing the checkbook or paying bills. I just got my first Joshua Bell CD and enjoy that in the car. I think it helps calm the nerves when other drivers do stupid things or it’s an hour from point A to point B. I think any appreciation of the arts adds to your IQ, making you a more well-rounded person and that can’t be a bad thing.
posted by Debb on 9-19-2007 at 9:32 am
Ok, I’m rather…erm…musically inclined, to say it without being a jerk, and trained in classical and modern theory and composition and all that, but whenever I study I listen to heavy metal. Grunge, industrial, death, mostly grunge. When I would do my homework in high school, my brother would have it playing on the other side of the wall every night. It became a sort of comfort object. Except, you know, one that’s not tangible.
posted by Elisa on 9-19-2007 at 7:55 pm
PeteRepeat- thank you for mentioning Pandora.com. I logged on and have been loving it! I was listening to the indie station on MTV Radio- it’s OK, but terribly repetitive (granted I only have begun at Pandora)
Thanks!
posted by Lisa on 9-19-2007 at 10:03 pm
My youngest daughter listens to music every day with my husband (we’re talking everything from Sirius Kids channel to heavy metal that sounds like the noise of hell). She is 1 1/2 years old and sings the words to many songs, even stuff that comes on the car radio. She’s best at the ABC song, Elmo’s World and Frere Jacques.
I have to believe that this early interest in music is helping her cognitive skills. Her recall and her verbal skills are very superior to those of her classmates in daycare.
We’re not all that interested in classical music, but we do believe that music helps with a child’s IQ. Our daughter is a perfect illustration.
posted by Jena on 9-20-2007 at 11:08 am
Can’t quote sources, but have heard/read several studies that declare that teaching music in school helps improved math and reading scores in young children. Also have had friends who are teachers and who teach a second language to very young children — and they all declare that the kids learn quickly and end up speaking both languages without accent of any kind.
I studied piano, clarinet, saxophone from a very early age and have always done extremely well in math and music. My favorites to listen to while working — and believe me, bookkeeping requires great concentration and focus — is still classical music and someetimes jazz on Pandora.com … all of which, of course, is instrumental. Like several previous entries in this comment section, lyrics disrupt my thinking process and I too pause to sing along.
posted by Miki Davis on 9-23-2007 at 11:23 am
P.S. I believe the photo of with the earphones on the newborn is just a photo op and a very momentary thing for illustration purposes.
posted by Miki Davis on 9-23-2007 at 11:53 am
I find that if I’m not listening to music while doing something else I get distracted. I listen to music whenever possible, and generally speaking there is a visual that I associate with the music. For example, I was flying a 12 hour flight when I read the latest Harry Potter, and listening to a CD- the same one over and over b/c my MP3 player broke, so now when I listen to that same CD, I get Harry Potter images in my mind. I see the words on the page in my mind’s eye (to some extent), and I see what I visualized when I was reading the book. It’s not always books or written word that comes back to me, I listened to one CD the summer before last a bunch of times when I was visiting people in the States, and now I get images of that particular area in the US when I listen to that CD. But there are songs I grew up with, for example, “Born in the USA,” that my mom had on tape when I was younger (we’re talking 15 years ago now). Whenever I listen to it now, I get a specific section of highway in New Jersey in my mind, because we took that section of highway home a lot, and my mom wouldn’t change her tapes too often.
I have used this to my advantage when taking tests and stuff. I listen to the same music over and over while reviewing material, and then when I’m taking the test, I simply start the song in my mind and I remember stuff better. (or if it’s really tricky stuff, I listen to the music right before I take the test)
posted by greenstrawberries on 9-24-2007 at 3:38 am
I think just about any music you like can help you concentrate - depending on who you are and how you are………
I listen to music I enjoy and it helps me with homework.
posted by W3~Itachi on 9-26-2007 at 8:28 pm