Music is an art that has the capability of communicating our thoughts and feelings in significant sound forms by expressing the components of rhythm, melody, and harmony through voices and various instruments that are available (Jain M., & Gada J., 2019). In this era of technology, an effect is observed among different individuals, commonly referred to as the Mozart effect. It mainly refers to the increase in concentration and productivity when the individual/participants tend to listen to music composed by the Austrian musician, Wolfgang Mozart (Kumar N., et al.,). There is a claim was made by a researcher named Raucher in the year 1993 who talked about how the subjects started showing better spatial reasoning intelligence skills than after listening to instructions designed to lower the blood pressure levels of the body. However, the Mozart effect is limited to only spatial temporal reasoning and there is no enhancement of general intelligence.
There have been various explanations for these results. It has been observed through various PET scans and fMRI scans that listening to music tends to activate a wide range of areas that exist in our brains. The activated regions of the brain, like the prefrontal cortex, temporal, and precuneus regions of the brain tend to overlap with those regions of the brain which are mainly focused on spatial reasoning (Jenkins J.S., 2001).
In a study which was conducted in the USA in the year 2020, which involved studying the positive effect of music on the human brain, it was found out later on that listening to music indeed tends to have a very positive effect on memory and cognitive abilities. It has also been found in the same study that listening to music tends to enhance performance and reduce errors while performing in questions related to testing an individual's color memory (Zhang S., 2020). In another study which was conducted in Uganda, it was found that music skills help in improving the attention span of young children as well as improving the academic and reading skills of children. This leads to an overall improvement in the academic achievement of an individual (Nnenna U.J., 2023). In a study conducted by some researchers on patients with fibromyalgia, music was said to reduce the pain in the patient and increase functional mobility (Villareal E.A.G., et al., 2014). Similarly, it was found that music also helped in reducing stress by reducing the cortisol levels in the blood. In this study, it was found that those volunteers who were being given an IV while listening to music reported fewer stress levels (Novoteny A., 2013).
In conclusion, music is an essential part of our lives and existence and tends to influence each and every aspect of our lives.
References:
Jenkins J.S., (2001). The Mozart effect. National Library of medicine.
Kumar N., t al., (2016). The effect of listening to music on concentration and academic performance of the student: Cross-sectional study on medical undergraduate students. Research journal of Pharmaceutical, Biological and chemical sciences.
Zhang S., (2020). The Positive Influence of Music on the Human Brain. Journal of behavioral and brain science. 10(01).
Nnenna U.J., (2023). The impact of music education on cognitive development and academic achievement in adolescents. Kia Publication extension.
Jain M., & Gada J., (2019). Impact of music on students’ performance. International journal of research and analytical reviews.
E.A.G. Villareal et al., (2014). Music reduces pain and increases functional mobility in fibromyalgia. National Library of medicine.
Novoteny A., (2013). Music as medicine. American Psychological association.
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