# The Mozart effect

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mozart-effect/611101>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 29, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mozart-effect/611101 "2012-01-29T18:48:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Aleph-oxen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/82dd89/32.png) [@Aleph-oxen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aleph-oxen)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mozart-effect/611101/1 "2012-01-29T18:48:45Z")

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Some people say that listening to Mozart or baroque music is good for your cognitive functions.

Having heard this numerous times I started to doubt its validity.

Is this a myth or does listening to classical music really make you smarter?

Does this work for other genres of music as well?

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**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mozart-effect/611101/2 "2012-01-29T19:11:58Z")

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This would indicate there’s little, if anything, to it:

[Mozart effect-Schmozart effect: A meta-analysis](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289610000267):

> [@](#):
>
> On the whole, there is little evidence left for a specific, performance-enhancing Mozart effect.

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**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mozart-effect/611101/3 "2012-01-29T19:38:57Z")

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Perhaps listening to J.S. Bach, and trying to concentrate on the polyphony, will help you think about two or more things at once? Or maybe listening to the lead line will help you be more cognizant of what else is going on in the music (or in life)?  
Just a thought…

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**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mozart-effect/611101/4 "2012-01-30T16:57:31Z")

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Apparently the music center of the brain is next to the mathematical center of the brain, so stimulating the music center at an early age make you better in math.

At least that’s what I was told by another math teacher heavy into brain-based learning.

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**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mozart-effect/611101/5 "2012-01-30T17:29:08Z")

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> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> At least that’s what I was told by another math teacher heavy into brain-based learning.

Do you know any teachers who advocate non-brain-based learning?

> [@Darwins\_Finch](#):
>
> This would indicate there’s little, if anything, to it:
> 
> [Mozart effect-Schmozart effect: A meta-analysis](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289610000267):
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > On the whole, there is little evidence left for a specific, performance-enhancing Mozart effect.

Perhaps it would be worth translating this for those who are not native speakers of academicese. It means:

> [@](#):
>
> We looked into this thoroughly, and found that it is all a bunch of horse-shit.