Positive Effects Of Classical Music

Music, one of the many factors that enhance our lives, has been a widely ranged field. From Classical music to Hip Hop, there are listeners of all ages, each having their own preference of music. Through research, it has been discovered that memory can be affected by many different factors, including music. Music has been found to stimulate parts of the brain, alleviating stress and depression. Additional research also shows that music, especially Classical, enhances the storage and recall of memory. Therefore we decided to test the effect of music on memory to evaluate the changes and differences.

No one knows all the ways music can benefit the body but, it is known that music can affect brain waves, brain circulation, and stress hormones. Students who take music lessons have improved IQ levels and show improvement in nonmusical abilities as well. Listening to music composed by Mozart produces a short-term improvement in tasks that use spatial abilities. Studies of brain circulation have shown that people listening to Mozart have more activity in certain areas of the brain, which is called the Mozart effect. Although the reasons for this are not clear, this kind of information supports the idea that music can be used in many helpful ways. In general, music therapy done under the care of a professionally-trained therapist has a helpful effect, and is considered safe when used with standard treatment.

Does classical music really help you study better? Many recent research studies show that music idoes in fact improve cognitive thinking. In 1993, researchers at the University of California at Irvine discovered the so-called Mozart Effect - that college students “who listened to ten minutes of Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D major K448 before taking an IQ test scored nine points higher” than when they had sat in silence or listened to relaxation tapes. Other studies have also indicated that it doesn’t matter the artist; people retain information better if they hear classical or baroque music while studying.

Music can be good for the mind and soul. It can give us peace of mind and help a person to be able to concentrate. Some teachers play calming music during class to help students think. Music can be helped with our health. People use Music Therapy to help with many things. People use the therapy music such as the rain forest or low drum beats to help them go to sleep. Doctors use music to help cancer patients, children with ADD to help calm them down. Music is used to help overcome pain. (Scott, Elizabeth.)

Not only does classical music create benefits for society mentally and physically, it helps society with the study of history and

Music and the sounds that surround us have a way of affecting us before we even enter this world. David Burrows, a music teacher at New York University explains this concept by saying “An unborn child may startle in the womb at the sound of a door slamming shut. The rich, warm cacophony of the womb has been recorded: the mother’s heartbeat and breathing are among the earliest indicators babies have the existence of a world beyond their own skin.” (Storr). This is something a person never outgrows. Whether we intend on it happening or not, the sounds by which we are surrounded affect our mental patterns. Nevertheless, music has the ability to help us heal emotionally and combat our current mental state.

The effects of Mozart on today’s society can be seen just about everywhere. In marketing, they play music to make the consumer want to buy their product. In restaurants, they play music to help the customer feel relaxed in their establishment. People listen to music while driving cars. It seems that music permeates almost every aspect of our everyday lives. When people think of the birth of modern music, they often think of classical music. And when people think of classical music, they think of Mozart. During the 18th century, the musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed a total number of six hundred and fifty works. When he was younger, he toured Europe with his father, Leopold, and his sister, Nannerl, playing for Europe’s elite of the time. He put forth some major musical contributions that shape modern music today (Fiero 324,326). Classical music is the great grandfather of all modern music. Some people enjoy

i. Article in the Washington Post: music that we enjoy causes spikes in our dopamine and causes us to crave more of that good feeling, which keeps us listening to that genre and persuing the best of the best when it comes to our music taste.

Music has been apart of society for thousands of years and an outlet for people's stress and other problems they may be facing. It helps the brain function and understand conditions better by breaking it down and trying to comprehend it. Music has made and is still making an impact on the lives of people all around the world. Because of its impact on peoples lives neuroscientist wanted to get to the source and have been looking at the brain to determine the exact effects of music and they can now answer the question, what effects does music have on the brain? Listening to music can send pleasure to your mind, decide your emotions, lower stress, and improve learning.

It is not assumed that memory would increase in capacity as a result of classical music. But, that tasks related to short-term memory would enhanced by means of brain structures arousal and improvement of the participants' mood.

Music is composed of sounds intertwined with melody and rhythm that can have powerful effects on a person. It can help people focus on tasks or calm the mind. Research has shown that music has beneficial effects on the mind, body, and health of a person. A journal article by Rastogi, Solanki, and Zafar (2013) refers, on the contrary, to:

One of the most famous musicians around the classical period that was most influential on modern day artists are Beethoven and Mozart. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in a family full of musician’s .Beethoven played many instruments during his teenage years and played outstandingly well. Once in his late twenties Beethoven started losing his hearing this grew great concern for him; Ludwig lived for his music so when this occurred he had went into deep depression and also tried to attempt to commit suicide.

Famous music composer, Ludwig van Beethoven once rightly quoted “Music is a higher revelation than philosophy”. Indeed, music has higher magnitude than just being a mere form of entertainment- it plays a significant role in our society be it politics or religion or even academics. So important is music’s value that it has been recorded throughout history of mankind in numerous ancient writings including the sacred Hindu scripture, Veda. Thus it is no surprise that even today the value and contribution of music has not declined but on the contrary, risen.

The mind is greatly impacted by music by showing healthful changes (www.bellaonline.com/articles/). Doctors now use music for their patients’ treatments in order to help them stay healthy (www.bellaonline.com/articles/). Heart patients acquired the same benefits from listening to classical music for thirty minutes as they did from anti-anxiety medication (www.bellaonline.com/articles/). Musical therapy has been used to help people with heart problems, which worked quite effectively. (www.bellaonline.com/articles/). People who have had migraines frequently, were trained to use music and relaxing procedures to reduce their headaches. Studies have also shown that music helps students with their intelligence levels (www.bellaonline.com/articles/). A majority of students had higher test scores than others because they listened to Mozart before their exam. People who listened to classical music for an hour and a half while revising manuscripts increased their accuracy by 21% (www.bellaonline.com/articles) (Mish 725.).

The impact of music on positive psychology and emotion is a well known fact. Music has an extraordinary ability to change people’s emotions. In humans, music has the ability to invoke emotions of sadness, happiness and even fear (Goycoolea, Levy & Ramirez, 2013). The ability of music to alter human mood makes it one of the greatest subjects of positive psychology. Seligman (2011) argued that even though a lot of effort has been spent on psychotherapy and pharmacology, such interventions are not