The positive effects associated with using music as a learning resource are well documented. Professor Daniel Levitin of McGill University in Montreal is a strong advocate of the use of music as a learning stimulant. Stating “Music is effective at moderating arousal levels, concentration and helping to regulate moods through its action on the brain’s natural chemistry,”.

Professor Levitin has conducted a study that illustrates how music can affect the brain and personality. Research took into consideration listener’s response rate to music, using heart rate, respiration, brain waves and blood pressure as reliable measurable indicators.

Levitin concluded that “Music is effective at moderating arousal levels, concentration and helping to regulate moods through its action on the brain’s natural chemistry.  People, who use music daily, effectively provide feelings of comfort, arousal and both mental and physical fitness.”

The phrase “The Mozart Effect” has been given to describe the influence music can have on memory and well being, partly as a result of Levitin’s findings. Gordon Shaw a Californian physicist and Francis Rauscher a cognitive development expert tested the credentials of the “Mozart Effect” in 1993. Their results illustrated a temporary increase (approx 10 min) in pupils’ spatial-temporal reasoning.

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