The indelible words of my friend and mentor glide through my mind as soothingly as Mozart’s sonata in D major.
“
Creative
mode… listen to Mozart.”
It has become one of my writing rituals and one that works for me, but I have an inquisitive mind and the inevitable question lingered in my
thoughts. What effect does music have on the brain and body?
In a study conducted by Neuroscientist Anne Blood, McGrill University Montreal, the findings revealed that music can activate different parts of the brain, depending on what music is listened to. From the moment we were in our mother’s wombs we have been receptive to sound. It reaches our brain and runs through our bodies. In its most fundamental form, sound is a field of vibration that makes up tone. An organised field of vibration gives birth to language, communication of thoughts, ideas, expression, and music.
We are all different, and thankfully so. We react differently to sounds and various forms of music, so why does music in the genre of Baroque, or composers such as Mozart touch an appeasing accord on so many? The Centre for New Discoveries in Learning, have found from their research that Mozart and certain Baroque pieces recorded around sixty beats per minute, left students feeling calmer and stimulated right brain activity; the
creative part of the brain. The even one beat per second music also affects our physiological conditions and is linked to reduced blood pressure and pulse rate. Personally, I have found that it is a powerful means of relaxation and stimulation. Once in right brain mode, I have often been surprised by the expression of thoughts and ideas that I am able to write afterwards.
Don Campbell, author of nine books including his 1997 best seller, The Mozart Effect, provided evidence on the influence of particular rhythms and sounds on mental performance. The Mozart Effect shows how music can be used both psychologically as well as physiologically, from improving health to unlocking creative impulses. Mozart’s music has been the most researched and is popular mainly because it is not over stimulating, the flow and structure of the rondo, sonata-allegro form are similar to the ways in which the brain becomes familiar with the development and familiarity of ideas. It helps to clarify time/space perception. This being said, it is also true for composers such as Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach. Campbell’s volume three, entitled “Unlock the Creative Spirit”, has been created for those who want to access the creative mind.
I hold fast to the words of my mentor, and understand now why. It works for me, why not give it a try… and if Mozart is not your thing, try something with a beat per second to induce those creative juices.