Why is Mozart good for you?

Mozart was born on Jan. 27, 1756, over 253 years ago. He died a pauper and was buried in a mass grave because there wasn't even enough money for him to be buried properly (what a contrast to Michael Jackson). I am often humbled when I play Mozart's music in concerts that the amount of money I have earned from performing his music is vastly more than he ever even dreamed of earning. Perhaps he was born in the wrong time. Herbert Brugger of the Salzburg tourism office says that if Mozart were alive today he would probably be 'a pop-star -- somewhere between Prince, Michael Jackson and Robbie Williams.

It may be that Mozart's legacy to his future and our world today cannot possibly be measured or quantified in terms of dollars, pounds or euros, unlike much contemporary so-called art and music.

In 2006 Peter Gumbel wrote an article in Time magazine January 16, 2006) entitled 'The Power of Mozart'. He makes the point that Mozart is supposed to be good for our health.

Amongst other things listening to Mozart is claimed to be good for healing many childhood ailments such as stuttering, of which Gerard Depardieu is a notable example. It has also been shown to be helpful in combatting slow learning and hyperactivity. In adults it has been known to be a good antidote to depression and anxiety. Some more recent claims have been made that Mozart's music is good to listen to whilst revising and being involved in other learning actvivities, leading to better exam results and greater absorption of information and knowledge.

So great are the effects of Mozart's music that a Paris physician named Alfred Tomatis actually pioneered treatment in his institute, using Mozart as a prime ingredient. Although few national authorities recognize the treatment and many music therapists are skeptical, Poland is introducing Tomatis' methods to help children with learning difficulties.

A 1993 article in 'Nature' found that college students listening to Mozart's Sonata in D major for 2 pianos performed better in a spatial reasoning test involving mentally unfolding a piece of paper. Further interesting results involving rats finding their way out of mazes have shown similar enhancements of brain power associated with listening to Mozart.

As a result of the above findings there has been a surge in the production of CD recordings featuring the music of Mozart either in short bite-size exerpts or full performances of symphonies, concerti, operas and religious choral works. Some titles include 'Mozart for Mommies' and 'Daddies-Jumpstart Your Newborn's IQ'. The U.S. of Georgia even handed out classical CDs to parents of infants, and example followed by Colorado, Florida and elsewhere.

Don Campbell, a U.S. musician was quite quick to trademark the term 'Mozart effect' and he has apparently written two books on the subject. He says that 'in an instant, music can uplift our soul. It awakens within us the spirit of prayer, compassion and love'. He also states that 'it clears our minds and has been known to make us smarter.'

Others have indicated that Mozart may not be as important for the brain as the general sense of mood of arousal brought about by something that is enjoyable. This assessment seems to me to really be the key to listening to music by Mozart and also to listening to music by many other composers.

When considering the music of Mozart, is it the well structured balance of the phrasing, the logical but often predictable harmonic progressions, the unmistakably straightforward melodies, the clean and pure texture of the instrumental writing or the clean and effective vocal lines, or a combination of some or all of these factors that make it so sublimely musical? To me it is more than this that moves me, it is the sheer joy and celebration of life which he brings to his art which makes it music of the highest calibre. I intend to continue listening to and performing it for many years to come and I hope you do also.

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Erik's Musings

Music is such a vast subject that I hardly know where to start. I have written blogs on all sorts of subjects and topics but have hesitated to start writing about what is supposed to be my specialist subject.

I am fascinated by the websites and questionnaires where they ask you to specify or tick your favourite kinds of music. I always end up ticking a whole load of boxes and adding a few extra categories wherever space is left to do so. With the possibilities which have opened up to me of listening to an almost endless number of internet radio stations, I have begun to explore various genres and music from farflung regions of the earth (world music) which at one time I would never have contemplated listening to. I intend to explore the subject of internet radio in a later posting, my concern here is with listening to music in general.

As a performing artist and a teacher I have mainly been associated with Classical music throughout my career, but I occasionally dip my toes into jazz, middle of the road and even pop and classic rock music. However, when it comes to my listening habits, these are much more diverse. I have always enjoyed listening to classic rock music, specifically Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Eagles and Bob Dylan, but more recently I have taken to listening to Folk, Persian, Indian, Klezmer and Latin music which at one time I would hardly have known existed! This has been most enriching and I believe it has opened my mind to looking at news ideas in the philosophical, religious and political aspects of my life as well as to absorb news concepts in scientific and technological development. Having said this, I do not profess to know much about the kinds of music I listen to, particularly Persian, klezmer and Indian music. However this lack of understanding doesn't seem to impair my appreciation of these types of music.

I have read some recent papers where they claim that music is most effective when it coincides with the brain and body functioning processes such as breathing, alpha rhythms and the rate it takes us to process our thoughts. Another article I have seen claims that it is possible through MRI scanning to actually listen to the 'music' of the brain. They hope that by listening to 'brain music' in different people they will, for example, be able to understand the variation in brain patterns between schizophrenic and other people. Whilst these kinds of investigations are in the early stages, there is no doubt that listening to music can have a profound influence on our behaviour and mood patterns and is undoubtedly of high therapeutic value.

I recently undertook a questionnaire which addressed the question of which metal group I represented. I know these kinds of surveys are often rather whimsical, but imagine my complete surprise when the answer given at the end of the questions asked was Limp Biskit. The instructions given were for me to never darken the doors of the world of metal music ever again and to go back to listenening to my rap music. I happen to like listening to quite a number of metal bands, some heavier than others, but if there is one band I feel least inclined to listen to I would say it is Limp Biskit, and the genre I find the least appealing of any I have ever heard is rap music!

I wish you all great joy and happiness in your music listening, playing and exploration of the vast world of music.