Music Therapy:

Classical Music, Mozart Effect can improve Brain Health

Classical Music Alters the Brain–Here’s How

The main difference between classical and pop music is that classical music has unique rules that the brain likes.

Clear Evidence

One study published in the 1990s in the journal Nature drew people’s attention.

Three groups of participants were instructed to either sit in silence, listen to a relaxation tape, or listen to Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D major (K448). Ten minutes later, the group who listened to Mozart’s music showed a significant improvement in spatial IQ score—nearly 10 points higher than the other two groups.

The Mozart Effect

Certain types of classical music not only enhance cognitive abilities but also are used to treat brain disorders such as epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease. “The Mozart effect is clear evidence that you can alter the brain function and abnormalities with music,” Dr. Michael Trimble, professor emeritus of neurology and neuropsychiatry at the University College London Institute of Neurology and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, told The Epoch Times. Sometimes, epilepsy is more difficult to control with medication, and using carefully selected and edited classical music to “train” the brains of epilepsy patients can normalize their brain waves and electroencephalographic abnormalities.

What the Brain Wants

Regarding the effects on the human brain, the main difference between classical and pop music lies in “the complexity and structure,” Clara James, who has a doctorate in neuroscience and is a professor at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Geneva, Switzerland, and Privatdozent at the University of Geneva, told The Epoch Times.

“Classical and pop music differ in so many ways,” Dr. Trimble continued. Pop music contains continual repetition around the same musical sequences, conveying information that is often vague and banal without the subtle development and variation that occurs in the progression of classical music.

Furthermore, the live sound volume at modern pop music concerts can be deafening, and the singers’ and fans’ behavior can be quite wild. “You can’t hear the music because people are screaming all the time,” Dr. Trimble said.

Classical music can be more effective than other music for reducing stress and anxiety, as it typically includes moments of relaxation and calmness.

classical music chart — Tension level in Rock vs. Classical

“Every piece contains slow sections that help you relax,” Ms. James said. In certain therapeutic settings, such as hospitals, especially in intensive care units, the works of Mozart, Bach, and some Italian classical composers are often preferred for their superior stress-relieving and pain-reducing effects.

Contrary to classical music’s anxiety- and depression-reducing effects, some modern genres of rock music bring about excessive excitement and melancholy. When discussing young people’s preference for stimulating music, Dr. Trimble stated, “I do not believe that helps your emotional state.” Instead, he believes this music arouses anger and negative emotions.

In an older study, 144 participants of various ages listened to different music categories for 15 minutes, filling out the same questionnaire before and after listening. The results showed that classical music significantly reduced feelings of tension. Contrastingly, New Age music, while reducing feelings of tension and hostility, also lowered people’s mental clarity and vigor. Rock music not only significantly increased feelings of hostility, fatigue, sadness, and tension but also reduced people’s mental clarity and vigor and their feelings of caring and relaxation.