Can Mozart make you clever?
Some people believe that young children should listen to classical music. They think it can change a child’s brain and make the child clever. They call this ‘the Mozart effect’.
This idea became very popular in the 1990s. Governments and universities spent a lot of money over the next twenty years to test if it is true. The research shows that it is not. Listening to Mozart does not have a permanent effect on your brain.
However, research shows that listening to music can help children learn. Mike Edwards teaches eight-year-olds. He works in a special school for children with behaviour problems. He is not a music teacher, but in his classroom there is always music.
‘I play the music at the beginning of the lesson,’ Mike says, ‘and it really works!’
Mike’s students are sometimes difficult to control. ‘They’re not stupid or lazy,’ he says, ‘but they’re sometimes noisy and rude and you have to be very patient.’ The music is calm and quiet. It helps the children to feel calm and quiet too. Then they can learn better.
‘I don’t think music changes a child’s brain or personality, but it helps them to concentrate so they can be more creative. They enjoy coming to class and it makes my job easier because they’re more polite and hard-working.’
So does Mozart make you a better student? Maybe. But Mike’s students are listening to the blues!
1 In the last ten years of the twentieth century, many people believed in the Mozart effect.
2 Research proved that listening to classical music doesn’t make students more clever.
3 Mike teaches children about music.
4 Mike’s students are always badly behaved.
5 Mike’s students aren’t listening to classical music in class.
1)T
2)T
3)F
4)F
5)not stated