part one of music paper its interesting read it!!!!

Stephanie Otte
Music Appreciation
L Brezna
April 17, 2008

The Effects of Music on Our Brains

We have all been there, around a bunch of women talking about when they are due and how old their children are getting along with how bright they are when the conversation always seems to turn to classical music having positive effects on their brain development. Well, is this just nursery room chatter? Or does music in early life actually have positive effects on the child’s learning abilities? This is commonly known as the Mozart effect, and yes music early on does help brain development. When babies are born they have billions of brain cells and in order to make use of these cells pathways are created. The more pathways the more creative thinking patterns individuals have. Although classical music at older ages can also have a similar effect, only when the brain is developing do these new pathways remain permanent. “The music most people call "classical"--works by composers such as Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart--is different from music such as rock and country,” (Diane Bales, PhD). It is important for the music to be complex in order to achieve the full effect of the spatial reasoning skills it opens. “Classical music has a more complex musical structure. Babies as young as 3 months can pick out that structure and even recognize classical music selections they have heard before,” (Diane Bales, PhD). So when a child is exposed to music at very