The Mozart Effect

Everyone is familiar   with name Mozart and when it is mentioned our mind goes “Ooh he has to do something with classic music”.

The topic “Mozart Effect” I separated it in two parts:

• The life of Mozart

• What is “Mozart Effect”

The life of Mozart

Birthplace of Mozart

Mozart was born on 27^th January 1756 in Salzburg and baptized in Salzburg cathedral with the name “Joannes Chrysostomomusn Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart” but he is well known as “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart”.  Mozart was undoubtedly a musical genius of his time.

Impact of his father in his life

In Mozart’s life big impact had his father Leopold, as he was well educated at that time he become Mozart’s “teacher, advisor, assistant, secretary, nurse, press agent”.

Mozart never attend school

An interesting fact was that Mozart never attends school because his father taught him everything from variety of languages to how to play different instruments like piano, violin.

Musical career

Mozart started his musical career at the very young age. At age three he played piano, at age five he wrote first short composition at age eight wrote his first symphony and composed his first opera at age of twelve.

Performance

Also his performance started at young age, by age of six he performed for Pope, and then for Emperor. From this time he also perform for reach people and held concerts in different cities like Paris, Munich, Vienna, Prague, and other cities to show his talent.

Incredible ability

The ability that Mozart had was incredible because he was able to write one symphony and at the same time to thing for another piece of music.

Another astounding ability

It is astounding ability because he was able to write not only one but in different genre like: concerto, symphony, opera, sonata etc.

Death of Mozart

Mozart was still working on several compositions when he died on 5^th December 1791.

What he left for us

He died at age of 35 but he left behind over 600 pieces of music. Some of them are still unheard.

What is “Mozart Effect”

Music as therapy

To use music in therapy is not something new it has been   known     over   three    thousand years   by great ancient civilizations of Far Eastern, Mediterranean, China and     others. The ancient Chinese used to combine             traditional medicine treatments with specific musical       pieces       composed      especially for their treatment.

Alfred Tomatis, 1950

In 1950 a French physician Alfred Tomatis started to use music while he was working   with children with learning and communication disorders. The music that he used was Mozart’s music and from this time when someone uses music for any kind of therapy it is called “Mozart Effect”. Alfred in his research saw that Mozart’s music helped his patients to improve because Mozart’s music has different variety   of tone, it is very easy to hear and it is simple and all sound are so pure.

Rauscher, Irvie, Shaw, experiment for spatial reasoning skills

 It is believed that if you listen Mozart’s music your IQ will increase and you will become smarter.

To prove this in 1993 a group of physicist Rauscher, Irvie, Shaw, did an experiment. They use college students and students were separated into three groups. The first group had to listen to a Mozart’s “sonata for Two Pianos in D-major (K.448) for 10 minutes, the second group had to listen relax music and the third group had to sat in silence.               Results of this experiment shown that the first  group  has increased spatial reasoning skills than the two other groups.

Experiment with rats

Also experiments are done with rats which were separate in two groups. The first groups were exposed in utero for six days and then for another six days after birth to Mozart’s music and the second group stayed in silence. The two groups had to show their ability to solve the maze. The Mozart group completed the maze test significantly more quickly and with fewer errors.

The Mozart Effect for epilepsy

An interesting fact of “Mozart Effect” is for epilepsy. The patients whom took part in this experiment firstly they were examined and were measure they  seizure.  After this they had to listen to the Mozart “sonata for two Pianos in D-major (K.448) for six months. They were reexamined and the numbers of seizures were decrease after six months.

Don Campell “The Mozart Effect for Children”

Dom Campell is a great admirer of Mozart’s music which wrote the book “The Mozart Effect for Children” and he gives us reasons why we should listen Mozart. Based on him music is not only beneficial but also curative for almost everything from headaches, toothaches, arthritis to drug or alcohol addiction.

Other fact of Mozart’s music

Other facts tells that Mozart’s music can stimulate brain growth in the womb and in early childhood, enhance motor development such as how to walk and run, to improve language ability like vocabulary, social abilities, to improve reading, writing, to improve academic skills, as well ability to remember and to memorizes.

Music as healer

In other hand other research shown that music can serve as a healer. If premature babies listen to classic music while they is at intensive care units they gain more weight, leave hospital earlier and have better chance of survival.

Music at hospital

Some researchers suggest that it would be better for hospitals to use classic music for health of their patients, when they have to do any kind of scan tests. It is impotent especially when patients are preparing for surgery to make them to feel more calm, to lower blood pressure, to calm heart bit and to control stress.

Mozart Effect as a placebo

Overall not every researcher support and accept the “Mozart Effect” phenomena. For some it did not make any difference in background if you listen Mozart’s music or another relaxes music. Others believed that the “Mozart Effect” can cause nothing else just a placebo effect for whom that believes in it.

Different experiments for Mozart Effect

The “Mozart Effect” has been tested in a variety of experiments by different researchers and for that we have mixed results.

It is true or hypotheses

If  “Mozart Effect” phenomenon is true or hypotheses we do not know it for sure.

My conclusion

To conclude my research one thing is for sure that Mozart’s music is going to be heard who knows for how many more years.

Level: Advanced
Group: Parrots
Teacher: Nasire Bala Rizaj
Student: Albulena Mustafa

References

• Campbell,D.,2000, The Mozart Effect for Children
• Sorensen,L.,2008,Mozar on the Brain
• Pascas, P., The Mozart effect today
• Bangerter,A.,Heath,Ch.,2004,The Mozart effect; Tracking the evolution of a scientifically  legend
• Jank,J.S.,2001, The Mozart effect, Journal ,at the Royal Society of Medicine.
• O’Sullivan, K., The Mozart Effect in the Classroom.
• Ryan, M., Sweeny, B.A,M.A.,2006, Making sense to the Mozart effect: correcting the problems created by null hypothesis significance testing.
• DeJader,M.,2010,Uncovering the Truth of Mozart.
• Roth, E.A., Smith,K.H.,2008, The Mozart effect: evidence for the arousal hypothesis.
• Gerhardt, M., Part I: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart-Brief Biography, Part II: Mosart and the Piano Concerto.
• Rauscher,F.,Hinto,S.C.,2006, The  Mozart Effect: Music Listening is Not Music Instruction