Will music really make my child smarter? This seems to be the question on everyoneÌs mind lately as the famous research study, The Mozart Effect, has come under fire. Two researchers from Appalachian State University, Kenneth Steele and John Bruer, have recently appeared on several national news programs and talk shows discrediting the research conducted by Dr. Gordon Shaw and Dr. Frances Rauscher that found that college students who listened to a Mozart piano sonata scored higher on intelligence testing.

The important point to remember is that this research studied the effect of passive listening, not active music making, thus many subsequent studies have failed to replicate the original. There are countless studies that affirm and go even farther in demonstrating music's benefits for very young children Ò most recently the Sam Houston State University research which showed significant increases in intelligence in children engaged in a year-long Kindermusik program.

The kind of research Steele and Bruer are questioning has nothing to do with what Kindermusik is all about. Kindermusik does not encourage passive listening, for example saying "Put a classical CD on in your baby's nursery, walk away Ò and just wait for her intelligence tests to soar!" Instead, Kindermusik encourages a child's active participation in an engaging, child-centered music and movement program where you, the parent, are at the center of the experience and all areas of your child's human development are nurtured. To learn and develop through music, the child must take part in, initiate, oftentimes lead, and most importantly, love the discovery process.

Bruer also argues that the belief that the first three years of a child's life are an important time for learning and development has been dramatically over blown. Research is against him, logic is against him and parentsÌ real-life testimonials are against him. In some respects, the "Mozart" link has been manipulated and diluted in the commercial realm. But that manipulation does not warrant a broad dismissal of the good work, solid research and parent affirmation that point to the wonderful things that happen when a child is engaged in creative, musical learning experiences. Even more important than scientific research are the reports of Kindermusik parents who see firsthand the benefits of a music program to their child's development Ò emotionally, socially, creatively and in language and thinking skills.

DonÌt be too concerned with the media frenzy surrounding what researchers are arguing is valid or not valid about The Mozart Effect. Simply enjoy your Kindermusik classes and feel certain that this experience will not only benefit your childÌs total development, but will create memories for both of you that will last a lifetime!

Psychology Journal Publishes New Findings on Benefits of Early Music Education:

Kindermusik at Center of Study

Early music training can improve intelligence and the amount of parental involvement in the music training can greatly affect the amount of improvement, according to a study by three researchers at Sam Houston State University. Results of the study will appear in the fall 1999 Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, published in December 1999.

To read more about this study, visit http://www.kindermusik.com/ and click on the Parent Page. Click on "Research News" to read a press release about KindermusikÌs involvement in this significant research study.

For More In Depth Reading

Keeping Mozart in Mind is Gordon ShawÌs newest book represents more than 25 years of his research on the effects of music on reasoning and learning. It is the only book about this subject from the team involved in the original "Mozart Effect" study. It is written in a very accessible style for parents as well as educators and researchers.

Interested in finding out more information on musicÌs effects on your childÌs development? Visit http://www.mindinst.org/, the home page for the M.I.N.D. Institute, The Music Intelligence Neural Development Institute.

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