What do an Italian Bambino sitting not so quietly in the back of a car, and Guitar Students at the Coventry Ricoh arena world record attempt back in 2012 have in common ?

The Answer, As You’ll see on the video above,

They both prove, using the EXACT same music that it’s not the Mozart Effect – it is more about

• The Meaningfull Music  effect, and even more about
• The Meaningfull Music Making Effect.

Andre

Ps On a More serious note – when The Mozart Effect started to take a hold in the 1990s, one of the original Irvine research team, a Theoretical Physicist Gordon Shaw suggested that complex music facilitates certain complex Neuronal patterns in high brain activities compared to simple music;

My take on that is, that because Mozart’s music is much more complex and rich, the suggestion is that itself will automatically engage everyone’s brain the same way.

I agree with Dr Thaut’s observation, that the Brain engaged with Music will change through it’s engagement.

But as I believe we all know,  ” one Man’s Musical wow, is another’s so What”

And this is the challenge of all Passive Music Listening programs – because it is really easy for someone who is not into Mozart to get distracted, and not really be listening and therefore not be engaged.

However I believe it is Meaningfull Music Making that really engages, when You discover how to take a more mindfull approach, where You are fully focussed on the Music You are making.

This would mean that You would get more out of

• Actually Playing a simple 3 chord song, for example that means more to You, and through focus, and yes practice, to discover how to make increasingly subtle shifts in tone  and your rhythm
• Than You ever would from simply listening to the Music of Mozart – especially if Mozart doesn’t happen to be Your thing.

Ultimately You do get much more from fully focussed actively engaged Music Making, than just listening to Music.  Using Sport as an analogy – We all know that playing a game of football is way better for You than watching a game of football – so really this whole idea of Making Music being better for You than listening shouldn’t be an issue – except it is – partly I think because in the past a lot of Music Therapies for example have focussed on listening – and sadly too many people are held back by limiting beliefs like I’m not musical, I’m too old, and that old chestnut ” I don’t have the time”!

So this is Why I go on about the Meaningfull Music Making Effect, which I believe is way more important than Passive music listening, because You can become distracted, or any one size fits all idea of the Mozart Effect which some people still do remember from the 1990s.

So this video above, if You haven’t watched it yet – is a light hearted way to make this point – though I believe it is a very serious point, and will become more and more important during the 21st Century.