Use Of Math In Mozart Effect

Introduction

Human memory has always been a controversial topic in many disciplines. This is especially with regard to the things that affect or have an impact on it. Recent times have seen increased interest in the manner in which music affect’s an individual’s memory. It goes without saying that background music has gained widespread usage at a personal level, as well as in varied public areas such as airports, malls, waiting rooms of every office type, as well as grocery stores among other areas. This underlines the acknowledgement of the Mozart Effect. The Mozart Effect is a phrase that underlines the transformational powers that music has on education, health, and wellbeing. It exemplifies the general utilization of music in reducing depression, stress and anxiety, as well as activating the body, enhancing awareness or memory, and inducing sleep or relaxation. Research shows that the experimental and innovative usage of sound and music may be effective in alleviating dyslexia, autism, listening disorders and attention deficit disorder, among other physical and mental disorders and injuries.

Studies involving Mozart Effect were initiated by Dr. Alfred Tomatis in France in late 1950s. Dr Tomatis pioneered his research in auditory stimulation on children with communication or speech disorders (Swartz, 2009). These experiments were rapidly replicated all over the world with hundreds of centers using Mozart’s music incorporating high frequencies, more so symphonies and violin concertos, in order to alleviate the conditions of children suffering from autism, dyslexia or and speech disorders. Dr. Tomatis’ experiments have been incorporated as recently as 1990’s, where the University of California in Arvine experimented on special intelligence and Music (Swartz, 2009). On the same note, new experiments have been carried out in England, where the effects of Mozart’s music on epilepsy have been studied.

On the same note, there has been renewed interest on the benefits that music has on educational performance. Scholars note that music targets a single area of the brain so as to stimulate or fuel the utilization of spatial-temporal reasoning known to be crucial in mathematical thinking (Rauscher, 2002). A study was carried out aiming at determining whether the Mozart effect can enhance the performance of students on result evaluation in mathematics. The study was carried out in the course of six key tests that had been given to three college classes taking trigonometry. A CD of Mozart music, would then be played for the entire duration of the examination. The sample size for the study was 69. Its results were then compared to those of three trigonometry classes whose sample size was 59, undertaking the six key trigonometry tests but with no Mozart music. The result of these experiments showed that the students who had Mozart’s music playing in the background in the course of their tests had significantly better performance than the ones that had no music playing (Steele, 2001). This underlines the validity of the Mozart Effect as an effective technique for enhancing the performance of learners.

In conclusion, the Mozart Effect has been widely used in clinical settings. However, recent times have seen its widespread usage in the academic settings with particular interest in its enhancement of academic performance in mathematics (Steele, 2001). I feel that mathematics was a tool for understanding what had already been created. Nevertheless, as much as the incorporation of Mozart music may not make individuals geniuses, research shows that music in general and especially Mozart Music is extremely effective in educational settings, as well as therapeutic settings.

References

Rauscher, F. H (2002). Mozart and the mind: Factual and fictional effects of musical enrichment. In J. Aronson (Ed.), Improving Academic Achievement: Impact of Psychological Factors on Education (pp. 269-278). New York, NY: Academic Press.

Swartz, L (2009). The Mozart Effect: Does Mozart Make You Smarter. Retrieved 22nd March 2013 from HYPERLINK “http://xenon.stanford.edu/~lswartz/mozarteffect.pdf” http://xenon.stanford.edu/~lswartz/mozarteffect.pdf

Steele, K.M (2001). The “Mozart Effect”: An Example of the Scientific Method in Operation. Psychology Teacher Network. Retrieved 22nd March 2013 from HYPERLINK “http://www1.appstate.edu/~kms/documents/Steele2001_PTN.pdf”http://www1.appstate.edu/~kms/documents/Steele2001_PTN.pdf