The "Mozart Effect" is a term coined by Alfred Tomatis, a French physician who has devoted his life over the past fifty years to the physiological effects of sound. He observed that, of all types and composers of music, Mozart created the greatest healing effect on the human body. This has been attributed to the rhythms, melodies, symmetry and high frequencies of Mozart's music, its purity and simplicity. More recently, Gordon Shaw and Frances Rauscher at the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (University of California - Irvine) conducted specific research studies where listening to the music of Mozart was shown to improve spatial skills. The term has become generalized and popularized to refer to the beneficial effects of any type of music.
Music as a learning tool.
Effects on health.
Frequencies may be critical for some effects. Alfred Tomatis suggests that because the ear's vestibular function influences several muscles and through the vagus nerve connects to several organs, auditory vibrations from the eardrum interact with parasympathetic nerves which regulate all the major organs of the body.
There are Tomatis listening centers throughout the world for listening disabilities, vocal and auditory handicaps, and learning disorders.
The Rauscher / Shaw Study.
36 undergraduate students from the psychology department scored 8 - 9 points higher in a spatial IQ test (part of Stanford-Binet intelligence scale) after listening to 10 minutes of Mozart "Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K448." The effect lasted 10 - 15 minutes. There have been several follow-up studies and trials in schools.
Scientists suggest that listening to Mozart helps organize the firing patterns of neurons in the cerebral cortex, especially strengthening creative right-brain processes associated with spatial-temporal reasoning.
Publications and Recordings.
Leaders and Thinkers.
Courses and Conferences.
Related: Music Therapy. Sound Therapy (Tomatis). Arts in Education. Music Education.
Updated October 13, 2000