Music and Cognitive Functioning Essay Example for Free

melody and Cognitive Functioning Essay harmony is an wile form and one of the most popular media utilized to convey ideas, views, and emotions. It plays various, signifi jakest part in everyones life. It can calm ones mood and emotion. It can relax a persons tensed body. However, it can also hype and motivate people. Music is also a message that we can manipulation to express our ideas and messages. It can also be an extension of our personality and a manifestation of our identity. The type of symphony that we listen reflects what kind of person we argon.It is often suggested to meaning(a) women to listen to classical practice of medicine for it is believed that listening to classical harmony stimulates the babys activity inside the mothers womb. It is also believed that listening to music by pregnant women increases the probability that their tyke leave alone be intelligent. Some students can also psychoanalyse their lessons well while listening to music. The melodies and tunes launch the environment conducive to conditioning. They tend to absorb and visualize their lessons well while they are listening to their favorite songs. This idea poses the possibility of enhancing peoples cognitive strength through music.Thus, this paper aims to discuss the relationship of music and a persons cognitive capacity, and whether music increases a persons intelligence. Music Music is an art, a craft, and an organized representation of sounds, silence, notes, and melodic tunes subjected in a time framework. Music includes a wide array of activities. It could be in the form of a mother putting her child to sleep through a lullaby, a meeting of kids singing their favorite nursery rhyme, a rock band playing their heart throbbing hits, or simply a person humming unconsciously (Miller 3).Music is a succession of arranged tones that produce a rhythm (Miller 3). This definition does not cover the characteristics of music, but it covers the description of the diff erent genres people whitethorn be affiliated with. Music is relative and subjective. It conforms to the taste and preference of the person. Music lessons taught us that music is comprised of notes, staffs, pitch, and voice. These are the superficial discernible characteristics of music. These are the things you will learn in your music class. Music has different forms in various cultures, and it is experienced by individuals through different ways.Music has two subdivisions based on culture. These are the high culture and low culture types of music. High culture music is eminent in U. S. and Europe. This type of music includes the music of the western world form during the different periodsClassical, Baroque, and Romantic, among others. It is considered as the art music and is performed in the concert halls and churches. It is treasured by people in the conventional music industry. The other type of music includes the contemporary kinds of music like jazz, blues, country, rock, pop, etc.Nowadays, the distinction between the high and low culture of music is widely accepted for it separates the quality of music of wear quality, more advanced art music from the music played in the nightclubs and dance halls. Music and Intelligence People always look for ways and means to increase their intelligence. This is inherently true for parents, especially the first-time parents who want to practically boost the cognitive functioning of their children. There is news proliferated by the media that the music of Mozart can genuinely make a person smarter.Due to this evidence, some educators and policy makers even suggest that playing Mozarts music in elementary schools should be mandated (Nairne 346). Everyone has been bestowed a gift to excel in different fields. Everyone has his or her own discernible characteristics that enable him or her to take on tasks. However, it was believed that people with high musical readiness possess low academic aptitude. Nevertheless, in r eality, there is no clear correlation between musical proclivity and affinity and the academic performance or ability of a person (Gordon 22).Recently, there has been a media fuss questioning if the involvement in music makes a person smarter. There is a large query of whether there is a Mozart effect if a person is involved in music. Does music enhance a persons cognitive capacity? There are various studies reporting that music increases learning capability, while other research conducted shows otherwise. Hence, this only shows the limitations and the discrepancy in studying the impact of music on cognitive ability (Crowe 143).The researches conducted regarding the relationship of music and cognitive skills fall under music cognition. This particular field of study involves examination of the different aspects of cognition, including how music is processed by its listeners. It seeks to understand the underlying processes over the standard practices of analyzing, composing, and li stening to music. Music has a meaningful impact on the brain processes. Learning is a complex process that cannot be reduced to a simple human process or experience.In learning, the development of a particular ability will enhance the abilities of a person (Crowe 143). There are really no sufficient analyses on the cognitive effects of long-term exposure to music and motionless listening of music on intelligence. The most celebrated short-term effect of music on the increase in intelligence was the interpretation of the 1993 Mozart Effect study. Researchers claimed that 10 minutes exposure to compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart could increase general IQ scores by 8 points (Brown and Volgsten 137).However, there are claims that the study lacks sufficient evidence that exposure to Mozart songs actually designate the improvements on the cognitive functioning of an individual. An interesting article that was written by the proponents of the studies on Mozart effects states that t here are other types of music which render similar effects, such as folk music, minimalist music, and other types of music that cause relaxation. They also compared the tests of their participants and saw no particular difference on the returns on the tests which required remembering numbers and general tests of intelligence.Yet, the Mozart effect manifested in tests which required recognizing visual patterns and mentally rotating objects. The researchers, therefore, concluded that the exposure to Mozarts composition only affects the persons spatial- argumentation abilities (Miche 16). Mozart songs may result in improvement for its omnificent and innovative schema. These songs activate the part of the brain which controls our spatial-reasoning tasks. Thus, this suggests that the persons involved may relish so relaxed and in a good mood, which allows them to perform the reasoning tasks better (Nairne 346).Furthermore, listening to Stephen Kings stories could also render Mozart effe ct, for the listeners find it enjoyable and entertaining. It relaxes them and enhances their spatial-reasoning skills. On the other hand, a study was conducted exposing participants to slow and sad selection of classical music, and earthshaking findings failed to produce the Mozart effect. It greatly suggests that it is indeed the setting of the mood and arousal that are responsible for the improvements of the spatial-reasoning abilities of people (Nairne 346).The numerous studies mentioned earlier in the text only shows how psychological findings could be inaccurate and misused by the popular media. Although the various studies present valid findings, the improvements on the peoples abilities attributed to music were relatively minute and scarcely focused on a particular part of brain functioning. There are no stipulated evidences that suggest listening to Mozart or Stephen King produce fixed increase on the general intelligence. However, there may be ephemeral effects on the le vel of intelligence of a person.For instance, consuming anything that will make a person feel good and light would render the same improvements discussed by the researchers of Mozart effect. Thus, relaxing music makes one feel better about perform tasks, but it does not make hi or her smarter in any way (Nairne 346). Conclusion Music plays a significant role in everyones life. It is a tool for expressing our ideas and messages through the lyrics, melody, and rhythm of a song. It is an extension of our personality. We manifest ourselvesthe kind of people we arethrough the genre of music we listen to.Music inclination and intelligence have no significant correlation. There is a celebrated study which created hype in the media that exposure to Mozarts composition have a significant increase on the general intelligence of a person. The Mozart effect is a study conducted which concluded that exposure to his music activates the brain functioning which controls the spatial-reasoning abili ties. Another study conducted suggests that using slow and sad classical compositions to increase cognitive capacity.However, these types of music failed to render similar effects as the impact of Mozarts songs. It therefore concludes that anything that makes you feel good and relaxed can make you perform a task better.Works CitedBrown, Steven and Ulrik Volgsten. Music and Manipulation On the Social Uses and Social Control of Music. New York Berghahn Books, Inc. , 2006. Crowe, Barbara J. Music and Soulmaking Toward a New Theory of Music Therapy. Maryland Scarecrow Press, Inc. , 2004. Gordon, Edwin E. A Music Learning Theory for Newborn and Young Children. Chicago, IL GIA Publications, Inc. , 2003.