{"id":48878,"date":"2024-10-22T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ba8c95e3-b673-4b6c-9477-194dd1122c13"},"modified":"2024-10-22T12:07:33","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T10:07:33","slug":"the-mozart-effect-does-listening-to-mozart-really-make-you-smarter","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/the-mozart-effect-does-listening-to-mozart-really-make-you-smarter\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mozart Effect: does listening to Mozart really make you smarter?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"><\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Tuesday, 22 October 2024 at 09:30 AM<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p><strong>We&#8217;ve all heard it said: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/mozart\"><strong>Mozart<\/strong><\/a><strong> makes babies smarter. But is that <em>actually <\/em>true? Does listening to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/what-symphony\">symphonies<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-sonata\">sonatas<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/what-concerto\">concertos<\/a> of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart turn us into geniuses? Let&#8217;s look into the science behind listening and playing the music of Mozart \u2013 what does the research show?<\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Incredibles but it\u2019s only Kari The Babysitter\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0lyT76QiNdw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kari, the babysitter, discusses The Mozart Effect in the Pixar film, <em>The Incredibles<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-the-mozart-effect-and-does-listening-to-mozart-make-us-smarter\">What is the Mozart Effect \u2013\u00a0and does listening to Mozart make us smarter?<\/h2><p>&#8216;The Mozart Effect is an apparent improvement in scores on IQ tests found in students who listened to classical music compared to other conditions, such as repetitive music, silence or <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/relaxing-piano-music-the-most-soothing-pieces-in-classical-music\">relaxation<\/a><\/strong>,&#8217; says Professor James Goodwin, Director of Science and Research Impact at Brain Health Network. &#8216;But the effect is modest and temporary. In a review of 16 such studies, it amounted to about two IQ points.&#8217;<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/best-classical-music-to-boost-your-mental-health\">Best classical music to boost your mental health<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Nevertheless, it&#8217;s known that listening to a\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/mozart\">Mozart<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0symphony can provide a thorough workout for the brain. Sound waves travel as electrical signals through the auditory nerve to the brain stem. The brain then deciphers those signals, connecting each note to the next. It effectively rebuilds different elements of the signals (such as\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-pitch\">pitch<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and rhythm) as the mathematical structures we recognise as music. That&#8217;s a lot of very complicated work!<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">But does <em>playing <\/em>Mozart make us smarter?<\/h2><p>&#8216;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/these-are-the-7-things-to-look-for-when-youre-choosing-a-music-teacher\">Learning to play an instrument<\/a><\/strong> has been determined by psychologists to be a &#8220;cognitively stimulating activity&#8221;,&#8217; says Dr Goodwin. &#8216;That is, it helps to maintain our thinking skills and translates into better function in everyday life, something psychologists call &#8220;far transfer&#8221;. But such transfer is completely dependent on the extent to which the learning process challenges the brain.&#8217;<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/is-music-good-for-you\">Is music <em>actually <\/em>good for us?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Playing music doesn&#8217;t just make us smarter&#8230; it helps us live longer<\/h2><p>Dr Goodwin continues: &#8216;There is also evidence that playing and listening to music improves our cognitive reserve \u2013 our capacity to deal with the adverse events of life. Numerous studies, many involving large data sets (for example, a study in 2015 analysing 3.4 million health records), have shown the pernicious effects of both social isolation and chronic loneliness. <\/p><p>&#8216;Both are associated with an increased risk of mortality. And loneliness in particular is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day or drinking a bottle of gin per day. (I would recommend neither!) <\/p><p>&#8216;Singing or dancing together is a good way to increase social connections with other people and reduce loneliness, which is good for brain health, reducing the risk of cognitive decline.&#8217;<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/science-of-music\/does-listening-to-music-help-your-mental-health\">This is why music is good for your mental health, according to scientists<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/playing-the-piano-improves-memory-of-older-people\">Playing the piano drastically improves the memory of the over-40s. Here&#8217;s why<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Mozart Effect&#8230; Music can boost our mood and mental health<\/h2><p>So, perhaps listening to or playing Mozart doesn&#8217;t significantly increase our IQ in the long term&#8230; At least not without consistent and committed practice. Still, according to\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Johns Hopkins Medicine<\/a><\/strong>, music can \u2018reduce anxiety, blood pressure and pain, as well as improve\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/the-best-classical-music-for-sleep\">sleep<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0quality and mood.&#8217;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mozart: Symphony No. 40 \/ Rattle \u00b7 Berliner Philharmoniker\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0sGqkMU-mGQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Simon Rattle conducts Mozart&#8217;s Symphony No. 40 with the Berlin Philharmonic<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>Music boosts the brain\u2019s production of the \u2018pleasure\u2019 hormone dopamine, which helps relieve feelings of anxiety and depression. This is because music is processed by the amygdala \u2013 the part of the brain involved in mood and emotions.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/why-playing-instrument-can-boost-your-mood\">Why playing an instrument can boost your mood<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>It\u2019s very similar to the way that aerobic exercise can boost mood and positivity through increased levels of serotonin in the body. A highly effective &#8211; and natural &#8211; way to boost our mental health!<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Tuesday, 22 October 2024 at 09:30 AM We&#8217;ve all heard it said: Mozart makes babies smarter. But is that actually true? Does listening to the symphonies, sonatas and concertos of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart turn us into geniuses? Let&#8217;s look into the science behind listening and playing the music of Mozart \u2013 what does [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":48879,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/the-mozart-effect-does-listening-to-mozart-really-make-you-smarter.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/the-mozart-effect-does-listening-to-mozart-really-make-you-smarter-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/the-mozart-effect-does-listening-to-mozart-really-make-you-smarter-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/the-mozart-effect-does-listening-to-mozart-really-make-you-smarter-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/the-mozart-effect-does-listening-to-mozart-really-make-you-smarter-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/the-mozart-effect-does-listening-to-mozart-really-make-you-smarter.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/the-mozart-effect-does-listening-to-mozart-really-make-you-smarter.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Tuesday, 22 October 2024 at 09:30 AM We&#8217;ve all heard it said: Mozart makes babies smarter. But is that actually true? Does listening to the symphonies, sonatas and concertos of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart turn us into geniuses? Let&#8217;s look into the science behind listening and playing the music of Mozart \u2013 what does&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/48878"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}