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Excerpt from GENIUS INTELLIGENCE: Secret Techniques and Technologies to Increase IQ:


Baroque and classical music in general � especially the works of Mozart � have been shown in some studies to aid students when learning new things or recalling information. In The Orphan Trilogy, we mention this form of music is played to our orphans from when they are babies in the womb right through their childhood.

The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit, by Don G. Campbell, was one of the first books that introduced this idea to the masses when first published in 1997.

This book mentions scientific studies which proved that listening to specific Baroque and classical music � especially Mozart � allows humans to study and remember information better. It even mentions how a study at the University of California apparently demonstrated that this music raises IQ scores by 9 points on average for subjects.

As mentioned in the post on polyglots in this section of the group, Bulgarian psychiatrist Dr. Georgi Lozanov devised a system for rapidly learning foreign languages, using Baroque music at its core. Dr. Lazanov claimed his radical and controversial education system � called Suggestopedia � proved that foreign languages can be mastered in a tenth of the usual time by listening to specific Baroque pieces while learning.

Although similar studies have proven inconclusive, or even contradict such claims, subscribers to this theory maintain super learning is possible with Baroque music because many recordings of this form of music have a tempo of around 60 beats per minute. The explanation is that when a person hears one beat per second of music, their heart rate and pulse relax to the beat, blood pressure decreases and the entire body unwinds. In this relaxed state, the brain is able to concentrate more easily.

An article titled The Mozart Effect: A Closer Look by University of Illinois� teacher and musician Donna Lerch, mentioned that Lois Hetland of the Harvard Graduate School of Education “attempted to replicate earlier Mozart effect studies in broader depth, including a total of 1014 subjects. Her findings were that the Mozart listening group outperformed other groups by a higher margin than could be explained by chance, although factors such as the subject’s gender, musical tastes and training, innate spatial ability, and cultural background made a difference in the degree to which the Mozart would increase test scores.

“Other researchers agree,� the article continues, “that there are neurological foundations for music’s effects on cognitive ability. John Hughes, a neurologist at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, examined hundreds of compositions and concludes that music sequences that regularly repeat every 20 - 30 seconds, just as Mozart's compositions do prevalently, "may trigger the strongest response in the brain, because many functions of the central nervous system such as the onset of sleep and brain wave patterns also occur in 30-second cycles".�

As mentioned though, as many studies appear to disprove the theory of Baroque and classical music aiding learning as studies that seem to prove it.

Perhaps a Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) article by reporter Mary Plummer, may explain the wild discrepancies between different studies. This article suggests familiarity and enjoyment of musical pieces is crucial to learning in this fashion.

“Peter Webster is vice dean for the Division of Scholarly and Professional Studies at USC’s Thornton of Music, and he says it depends on the music � and the listener.

“Some people will find that [music] distracting,� Webster is quoted in the article as saying. “Others, though, who sort of enjoy listening, let’s say to a Mozart opera or something, might find putting that on in the background might in fact encourage their study skills.�

“Researchers know the brain lights up when music is played,� the SCPR article continues, “creative thinking and analytical processing are activated. But new music can easily distract you � stealing your brain power away from that physics study.

“But if it’s a piece you know well and find soothing, Webster says it's more likely to help you take in information.�

Besides Mozart, researchers claim composers whose works are most conducive to learning include Vivaldi, Bach, Pachelbel and Handel.

The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit

Georgi Lozanov

Georgi Lozanov (July 22, 1926 in Sofia, Bulgaria � May 6, 2012 in Sliven, Bulgaria) known as 'the father of accelerated learning', was a Bulgarian scientist, neurologist, psychiatrist, psychologist and educator, creator of suggestology, suggestopedia and integrated psychotherapy.(Suggestopedia was created as an experimental branch of suggestology for use in pedagogy.) He developed suggestopedia/suggestopaedia, a learning/teaching theory based on his early-1960s study of suggestion which is known as "suggestology".

When I found out that the music of Mozart seemed to have a positive effect when listened to by athletes before a game I gave it a try before my bowling league years ago.

I had remarkable results and won several trophies. The music seemed to help me focus as I recall.