Adventuring - The Bear Creek Commentaries

--- Intelligence 5 ---

Mozart...heh.

The Mozart effect has been pretty much blown out of the water. Playing Mozart while a baby is still in the womb - well, it's a pleasant pastime and, if you think you're doing something special, more power to ya'. There probably will be some salutary effects - but it won't be the Mozart effect - sorry.

But it is amazing how even academics get caught up in new trends - Mozart, Laetrile, anti-vaccination, hyper-light particles - they come and go.

But there is, of course, something to music.

I had a bipolar friend who could not take the drug of choice - lithium. He, like many, experienced serious side effects from the drug. I and several others mentioned music therapy to him. As a result, he came completely off his medication and did fine.

One of my earliest counseling clients was completely nonverbal and rather violent when aroused. I used music therapy to "interact" with him and, eventually to much reduce his outbursts.

I have no doubt that music is very powerful in a counseling environment. As indicated in the article by Michael Vollero, "Nurturing the Body and Mind in Physical Education with Mozart", there is enough research that indicated that music has a beneficial effect on physical and academic learning, and may even improve the scores on intelligence tests (Vollero mentions a quote by Fredrick Goodwin, past director of the Institute of Mental Health, that quotes increases as much as 20 IQ points."

Well, I've said what I think of IQ scores, but I'm all sold on music.

The Doreen L. Canzanella piece, The Musical Learner: Rhythm and Reading emphasizes the use of music in learning (remember all those mnemonic songs you learned in grade school ("Thirty days hath September.....")). Again, it's an interesting article but the exercises are very specifically for kindergarten aged children.