Most people have most likely heard the rumor that listening to classical music as an infant can make your baby smarter, but is it true? I know for a fact that I did not listen to classical music as an infant, however, I am attending a world class university. Some studies say yes, that for some reason when you are an infant listening to classical music will make you smarter, others say no way.
The initial tests were done by people at University of California Irvine in 1993 and 1995 regarding classical music listened to by college students for a few minutes before a test, they found that that would help students perform better on exams, but what if those students were primed to perform better on their exams anyway just because they happen to get better grades in school or possibly studied many more hours than the people who did not listen to music, in this case, correlation may have not equaled causation.
At Appalachian State University they also did a study on whether or not listening to classical music helps people before an exam and they found that the answer was no, as they were unable to replicate the results.
The question was also asked whether or not playing classical music for unborn babies could help make them smarter. I do not feel that putting headphones to a woman’s fetus could help the intelligence of the unborn child whose ears only recently exist. Neither do studies, studies do show however it may allow the unborn baby to become closer with the mother and maybe allow them to appreciate classical music more than others growing up, but if moms are looking for better grades in college, they may have to look elsewhere.
Unfortunately for parents the results of whether or not listening to Vivaldi, Mozart and Bach can help your kid, but studies don’t show that it hurts the child’s mental growth. So moms are going to keep trying this method regardless of the result because who knows, maybe it does work and science just hasn’t figured it out yet.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_the-mozart-effect-classical-music-and-your-babys-brain_9308.bc
http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/ask-heidi/week-20/influences-on-the-womb.aspx
http://www.educationoasis.com/resources/Articles/building_babys_brain.htm
I am confused as to where you are going with this article. You titled it, “Babies and classical music,” and then begin to discuss test taking and students. You should try and narrow your topic to a specific one. I did find this interesting because I can remember my mom playing “baby mozart,” for my little sisters, I doubt she did it to make them smarter, but rather to keep them occupied. You did not include a study done on infants and classical music, but instead on unborn babies and college students. To help your case, you should probably find one on the effect of classical music on babies and toddlers. I feel it is hard to test whether music is making babies smarter simply due to the fact that babies don’t really have much intelligence in the early stages of life. A baby could be naturally smart regardless of the presence of classical music.
Do you think that those who play instruments and are able to work the mind while listening to what they play at an early age helps to make them smarter also? Check out this article I found suggesting that mastering instruments allows kids to, “improve their ability to pick up mistakes and fix them quickly.” Interesting! I do not think that listening to music can hurt, but I don’t necessarily think it has a huge positive and noticeable impact.
I like classical music/instrumentals because of the lack of lyrics–it helps me focus a lot more than having a hundred words thrown at my ears in 20 seconds by certain rap songs. Maybe the effects of classical music are due to their often calming and soothing nature, which may help babies in utero relax (and not be overstimulated by quick and loud lyrics).
I do not understand what specific group you are targeting in your post. If you are targeting babies in utero, then there may not be more healthy effects. However, it has been proven that as a child grows up listening to and performing classical music, then they have an easier time understanding logical subjects.
This was a very interesting post to read! I absolutely love listening to classical music, especially while doing homework or studying. I find that it relaxes me and keeps me focused. Although it is not exactly clear whether or not it actually works on the brains of babies, I found this article about the psychology of classical music and its benefits to the listener to be very interesting: http://www.classicalmusiccity.com/search/article.php?vars=121/Psychology-of-Classical-Music.html