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Trying to find an answer
Greek philosophers were among the first to talk about the influence of music on learning. Plato argued that musical sciences reveal in a person his inner moral qualities and awaken the desire to learn. Aristotle adhered to a similar point of view - according to him, music appeals to emotions, therefore it prepares the mind to accept new knowledge.
Many years later, the scientific community began to consider this issue not only from a philosophical point of view. A research team from Japan and the UK examined the results of more than 50 studies from 1986 to 2019 on how playing a musical instrument affects thinking. During the analysis, the experts noticed a large number of errors associated with the interpretation of empirical data, and concludedthat learning to play instruments does not improve cognitive ability .
Music lessons develop exclusively musical skills - the effect does not extend beyond this area. The scientists published their work in the prestigious journal Memory & Cognition . In turn, representatives of the American Academy of Sciences note that playing musical instruments helps to develop certain brain functions associated with the recognition of sounds and speech, but they also say that it does not affect the cognitive component.
Such conclusions are confirmed by a study conducted bypsychologist Glenn Schellenberg of the University of Toronto back in 2013. He evaluated the performance of 130 schoolchildren aged 10 to 12. Pupils who studied at the music school actually had higher grades. However, Schellenberg also found that their academic performance was not related to their ability to play the guitar or piano. The psychologist noted that social factors played a major role . The parents of these schoolchildren had a high income, were educated and paid special attention to upbringing, so the children studied better.
Mozart effect
Similar studies are conducted not only among those who are engaged in music, but also those who just love to listen to it. Thus, French physician Alfred Tomatis in his book Why Mozart? argued that sounds of a certain pitch contribute to the development of the brain, and it can be trained using the works of Mozart. Three specialists from the University of California undertook to prove the hypothesis in practice . They conducted an experiment - participants were asked to answer questions from an IQ test after listening to Mozart 's Sonata for Two Pianos in D major K. 448 and after resting in silence. The result was interesting - the respondents showed a significant improvement in spatial thinking : by 8-9 points.
The work of scientists led to the birth of the term "Mozart effect".
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You are what you listen to
A number of experts argue that there is a relationship between the level of intelligence and the preferred musical genre. Several years ago, a group of scientists from the University of British Columbia surveyed more than 1,600 respondents from different social categories.
They found that country, disco or hip-hop fans were less educated than classical, rock, pop, blues or jazz fans. But there is an opinion that such studies are not representative. They often fail to account for a wide range of outside factors.
As in the situation with the undetected relationship between student performance and music lessons, the greatest influence is exerted not by the fact of listening to compositions belonging to a particular genre, but by social factors and the general level of well-being and prosperity. The causal relationship between education and a particular genre has not really been identified .
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