Fact or fiction
Just what kind of effect does music have on a child's development? Will playing Mozart for my child really make her more intelligent? What about Bach or Beethoven? What about jazz or pop music?
With all the publicity generated around music's effect on a child's developing brain, especially the music of Mozart, the lines separating reality and fiction are often blurred. Here are a few of the more common anecdotes heard around the playground and the results of our own research as to whether they are fact or fiction.
Listening to Mozart increases your intelligence
Fiction: This rumor began in 1993 when psychology Profs. Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine Ky published a paper in
the journal Nature. They asked whether brief exposure to certain music could increase cognitive ability. Thirty-six
college students were divided into three groups and spent ten minutes in one of three conditions: listening to (1) a piano
sonata by Mozart, (2) a tape of relaxation instructions or (3) silence. Immediately after, they were tested on spatial/temporal
reasoning. The authors did find higher scores for the Mozart group than for the relaxation or the silence groups (spatial IQ scores
for the Mozart group were 8-9 points higher than the other two groups). However, the effect was very brief; it did not last beyond 10-15
minutes. And in later studies, the "Mozart Effect" was also found to be true using various other kinds of music.1
Musical training enhances creativity
Fact: Researchers studied the effects of 30 minutes of daily music instruction for an entire year on
first graders. All students were tested at the beginning and end of the year on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking
and also with the Purdue Perceptual-Motor Survey. A control class received no music education. [The study] found that
the music students exhibited significant increases in creativity. As it happens, they also developed a significant
increase in perceptual-motor skills. This study indicates that the creativity of children as young as first graders
can be enhanced by music education, apparently if it is a sustained part of the curriculum rather than as a periodic
addition to the school day for a few months. 2
Listening to music at an early age can help prepare children for complex learning
Fact: Psychology Prof. Frances Rauscher found that preschool children in Los Angeles who
received music training with keyboards performed 34% higher on tests for spatial-temporal reasoning than children who were
trained on computers or had no special training at all. In addition, she found that kindergarten students at the two schools
who took music lessons on piano keyboards scored 36% higher on tests of spatial-temporal reasoning than students who didn't
have the lessons.3
Non-musicians do not have the same musical competence as professional musicians
Fiction: Direct tests of the general population indicate a very low level of ability to distinguish between basic elements and
concepts in music, such as the interval between two notes, when compared to a professional musician. However, when tested under
conditions that allow them to relate test material to familiar songs, non-musicians can perform at the same level of experts.4
1.The Mozart Effect: A Small Part of the Big Picture
Copyright © 2000 Norman M. Weinberger and the Regents of the University of California.
2. Creating Creativity With Music
Copyright © 1998 Norman M. Weinberger and the Regents of the University of California.
3. Mark Ward, Science Matters
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 8, 1999
4. "Regular People" Have Musical Expertise
Copyright © 1998 Norman M. Weinberger and the Regents of the University of California.
Reproduced with permission.
Dr. Norman M. Weinberger and the Regents of the University of California
