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The Music Effect: Fact or Fiction

Parent Inspiration
Updated on Mar 21, 2011

Have you heard about the "Mozart Effect"? The truth about the effect of classical music on children's intelligence.

What You Need To Know

In recent years, an industry has sprung up around the belief that classical music can raise a child's IQ. In fact, this so-called "Mozart effect" stems from a much-debated study conducted on a group of college students in the 1990's. Here are the facts:

  • The effect only lasted for a few minutes.
  • The boost in brain power affected only spatial-temporal reasoning.
  • The study did not test children.
  • Related studies on children were not able to fully support the theory.

How Can You Help

Be informed. Before you lay out money on books, CD's, or other products that claim to be able to increase your child's learning through the "Mozart effect," consider the lack of current research to support it.

Having your child study an instrument has many benefits, among them discipline, confidence building, and an appreciation for music. Allow your child exposure to music, singing, and rhythm, but do so because your child enjoys it, not because of any expectation of a higher IQ.

For more on this topic, see the complete article:

 

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