Search - Daniel Lichti, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Tamas Gal :: The Mozart Effect: Music for Dads and Dads-to-Be

Unexpectedly Enlightening!

viktor_57 | Fairview, Your Favorite State, USA | 05/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My wife gave this disc to me as a father-to-be, knowing full well that as a neuroscientist, musicologist and pianist, I put absolutely no stock in the so-called "Mozart effect" (TM). Not only has no one reproduced Rauscher and Shaw's original results in a peer-reviewed journal, but their own results simply showed a slight and temporary improvement in performance of spatial reasoning tasks by subjects after listening to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K. 448.



Furthermore, it seems reasonable to me that if any music is to develop the temporal-spatial capacity of the brain, it would be music that is both complex and ordered, i.e. music having melodic, harmonic and rhythmic variation involving multiple voices constrained within self-consistent rules of composition and development. By these criteria, many of Mozart's compositions would satisfy, but the disc "Mozart Effect: Music for Dads and Dads-To-Be" contains either fairytale singspiel, the most sedate and uninteresting movements of mediocre works, movements from divertimento--music designed to be the aural equivalent of wallpaper, or youthful examples of high-spirited immaturity. The most interesting sample may be the theme and variations third movement of K. 481.



Given these biases, how could I reasonably be expected to listen to, much less enjoy, such an ill-conceived compilation? Such were my thoughts as I played the disc in order not to hurt my pregnant wife's feelings. The music played in the background as I was busy editing a paper on RNAi-mediated modulation of apoE expression and formation of neurofibrillary tangles in mice. The disc was pleasant enough, so I played it again as I resumed my month-long struggle to visualize the pathways involved in paranodal junction desensitization, when suddenly everything clicked into place with a photographic flash. I sat back, quite pleased with myself, and began to consciously listen to the music. As the disc progressed from track to track, I began to notice relationships between the different movements that were subtle but profound. I could not name what harmonic, melodic, tonal, or rhythmic synergy was at work, but I could feel the alchemical change within my brain as deeply buried potentials became unlocked and my temporal-spatial awareness expanded to illuminate all the crevices within the dark cave I used to call my mind.



I am a true believer now, and have abandoned my Alzheimer's research to pursue the neurophysiological and neurochemical basis behind the profound, mind-enhancing experience of listening to "Mozart Effect: Music for Dads and Dads-To-Be"."