Music's Effect On The Brain

Music definitely has an effect on the mind of the listener, and can be used to enhance the creative process. A very long time has passed since the Neolithic Age when the initial development of technology started. However nearly every culture or race has some kind of music or singing, some that induces calmness or excitement like effects. Recently I have come to know the strong relationship between creativity, intelligence and music.

Music affects the intellect of humans in various ways. In specific, it affects infants more than any other age group. Music has shown to improve learning, test taking, and concentration skills. With so much research behind the music-mind connection, a lot of research spans across all various areas. An individuals

After a period of 4 months the students were measured on abstract reasoning tests, and the piano and keyboard students on average scored 34% higher than other children.

In 1993, two scientists Gordon Shaw and Frances Rauscher from the University of California designed an experiment to prove that listening to Mozart’s music had a positive effect on the human brain. This research gave birth to the “Mozart Effect”

Shemel, M. (2008, March 26). Trance Music: Modern Shamanists at Work. Deejay.

Even hypnotists also use a repetitive tone consistently in their practice so that they can induce a state of mind to treat the patient. Currently in the age of Post modernity, the new sort of electronic music such as trance and techno has also shown to produce similar effects. Those who study the human brain say that a sort of brain wave called the Theta Wave is responsible for calmness and relaxation.

Weinberger a neurobiologist from University of California. Music exists in every culture and even young babies have musical abilities that are not explainable by learning. Mothers around the world sing to their babies to make them calmer and happier. He even explained of the “Mozart Effect” that when college students listened to Mozart they become smarter but the effect only lasted for a few minutes.

In addition, Musicologist Julius Portnoy states that music has the ability to change metabolic rates, effect blood pressure, and even digestion. According to his research classical music was found to have a calming effect on the body and increase feel good hormones such as endorphins. To such an extent that 30 minutes equal to the effect of a single does of Valium.

In contrast music has been also shown to cause sickness and act like a poison to the body. Loud rock music caused plants to die, and soft classical music made them grow faster. In the book “Secret Power of Music “ by David Tame, the author mentions, “music is more than a language, it is the language of languages. It can be said that of all the arts, the is none other that more powerfully moves and changes the consciousness.”