Mozart for children: how to raise a genius

Mozart for children: how to raise a genius

The phenomenon of Mozart will probably never be solved. This is the most famous case of the earliest manifestation of genius in a small child. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in the family of composer and music teacher Leopold Mozart. Almost from infancy, my father noticed manifestations of musical abilities in him, and he began to fully engage with him when Wolfgang turned 3.5 years old. In 4 small Amadeus already played technically difficult pieces on the harpsichord and violin.

The story of his childhood seems like a fairy tale. A boy who needs a special chair with an extra pillow, barely reaching for his hands at different ends of the keyboard, performs easily and masterfully the most difficult passages, improvises and composes a new one. He and his sister, Nannerl, are happy to see him in the august houses of Europe; he is accustomed to have dinner with crowned ladies who speak favorably to him. The demand for small artists going off-scale - Salzburg, Vienna, Munich, Mannheim, Prague, Paris, London, an endless tour of the capital and provincial cities with concerts for the aristocracy.

Behind all this was monstrous work and discipline. Traveling at that time for the people of the wealth of Mozart was not at all "pleasant and stressless." On the contrary, an uncomfortable britzka in which one had to shake for hours, to sleep sitting, blown by all winds and little protecting from dampness - this was what was a daily reality. From all this, the children were constantly ill, until the end they could not be cured, fatigue accumulated for months. Sometimes the tour lasted 3 years, then a short rest in Salzburg, and again the trip.

And endless music making. Probably, if today a child of six years began to study for so many hours every day, he would also demonstrate certain successes inaccessible to his peers. Fortunately or not, this does not occur to anyone today. Leopold Mozart raised in his offspring diligence, demanding of himself and modesty.

With almost 6 years Wolfgang began to write music. Unusual talent did not make him a "small adult", his works of those years are full of childlike spontaneity and radiant energy. The wonderful world of a child in a harmonious and bright sound is quite clearly guessed. But even later, with the acquisition of life experience, and, moreover, not always optimistic, his music did not become "harder." She has kept the grace and childlike sincerity.

Until now, sometimes mistakenly, Mozart's music is treated as if it is light, light, "pop", not loaded with a special meaning. This is because it is devoid of external "special effects", but all the emotional expressiveness and strength of its impact are enclosed in complete forms according to the principle "Perfection is not when there is nothing to add, but when there is nothing left to remove." The external impression of perfect harmony, melody, absolute symmetry of rhythm comes from the highest musical and compositional mastery. And the inner content of his music, especially of the adult period, is full of deep experiences, psychological crises, and life dramas.

Mozart effect

The famous art historian, musician and teacher, Mikhail Kazinik, in one of his broadcasts of the TV project “Ad libitum, or in free flight,” expresses his author’s view of the “Mozart effect”. He has the basic idea and concept of Mozart's creativity - the victory over death with the help of perfect music. Wolfgang, as a truly Catholic believer, every night, going to bed, thought that tomorrow might not wake up. Every new creative day, every new work he perceived as the last. And, according to Kazinik, this struggle of life with death, a battle in which vital energy always wins, is reflected in the music of Mozart. And it feels everyone who listens to her.

But still the expression "The Mozart Effect" has a completely different meaning and scientific rationale. It all started with simple superficial observations, during which it was noticed that after listening to the music of Mozart:

• memory improves;
• calms the nervous system;
• optimized brain function;
• listening to this music on fetal fetal development has a beneficial effect;
• newborn babies develop faster.

All the positive changes associated with the music of Mozart, but the real scientific research was ahead. For example, an experiment on rats, when the subjects were placed in labyrinths, one part was put on music, the other was looking for a way out in silence. After listening to the Sonata C major, the first group began to navigate faster than the second by an average of 28%!

For the first time the term "Mozart effect" was used by the French phoniatrist Alfred Tomatis in the middle of the 20th century. After the publication of his book of the same name (“The Mozart Effect), experiments were conducted by other scientists who only confirmed the theses published by Tomatis. In educational institutions they conducted tests - students from 3 groups were given tests that were performed with a different background:

1. silence;
2. sounds of nature;
3. music of mozart

Performance measurements were done twice - before listening and after. This is how the indicators of the participants of 3 groups changed:

1. by 9%;
2. by 16%;
3. by 65% ​​(!).

Such a significant difference required an explanation. The case was attracted to a technique - a magnetic resonance tomograph, which showed which areas of the brain are connected to work depending on the background. In silence, concentration occurs faster, neutral sounds relax stress stress in the brain a little. But the most amazing facts showed a diagram taken while listening to Mozart - almost all of the cerebral cortex was activated!

There is no scientific explanation for all these facts. The brain and its work are the least studied in modern science. This is the subject of cognitive neuroscience, one of the youngest scientific disciplines. But the music of Mozart has the greatest influence on children. This is due to the fact that neural connections (synapses) and nerve structures in the brain are formed in the first 3 years of a child’s life. It is the music of Mozart that activates the work of both hemispheres, right and left, evenly and strengthen the connections between them. It simultaneously affects those areas that are responsible for emotional perception, and those that are responsible for logic - the music of Mozart has mathematical precision.

The Impact of Mozart's Music on Children

The doctor A.Tomatis, already mentioned above, proved that the ability to hear develops in the fetus inside the womb as early as 4.5 months! Therefore, he often used the methods of music therapy in the management of pregnant women. Moreover, he believed that it was best to reproduce the music of Mozart for therapeutic purposes.

This music also had a strong influence on newborns:

• premature babies developed faster, gained weight and caught up with fully-worn babies in all respects;
• in case of birth injuries and damage to the nervous system, the music of Mozart accelerated recovery several times;
• all children, without exception, this music has a calming effect.

Their all well-known methods of early development listening to the music of Mozart stands apart. This is not even a technique, but the enormous influence of his music on children up to 3 years of age has been scientifically proven. Compared with peers in children who are regularly given to listen to Mozart:

• higher intelligence (the foundations of intelligence are laid in the first 3 years of life);
• better developed memory;
• the nervous system works quietly, there are no cramps and stress, they are easier to concentrate on the task;
• better spatial orientation;
• in general, the level of performing mental operations is higher;
• creative imagination is developed, the emotional circle is wider;
• more successfully developed communicative function.

In addition, hearing develops, due to the harmonization of the work of both hemispheres, the whole body and the immune system are strengthened, speech develops - in the music of Mozart there are many speech intonations. French actor Gerard Depardieu with the help of Mozart's music cured ... stuttering. Her rhythms coincide with the ideal rhythm of a healthy heartbeat - this explains the soothing effect of his music. The work of the smooth muscles of the body and all internal organs is also leveled - this helps improve digestion, blood circulation, and normalizes pressure. The length of the sound waves of Mozart's music is 30 seconds, which corresponds to the cycles and rhythms of the nervous system. The therapeutic effect of his music has also been proven by scientists using instruments.

How to teach a child to listen to the music of Mozart

This music is unobtrusive. You can put it in the background all day, no matter what you do - when you put your baby to bed, when you feed him, when he plays.

Separately, you can put a little louder music and talk with your child about her - tell what this music is about. Here the bird seemed to have flown by, but a quiet trickle murmurs, leaves rustle in the wind, the hare jumped - all these images excite the imagination. Such active listening is better to spend no longer than 30 minutes every day for kids. And with children older than 4 years, you can actively listen to this music more often and more than 40-50 minutes.

Children are very sensitive to the music of Mozart. She is emotional, in spite of the laws of consonance and form that restrain her rhythm. You will notice that your baby is not only capable of experiencing a large palette of feelings and emotions, he is already able to control them, they do not frighten him with their strength. He will have a more developed figurative thinking, and later in school he will be easier to be given mathematics.

It will also help the child learn how to manage their behavior. This is an important step towards the socialization of the child. Until a personality is formed, it does not learn to interact with others, it will be waited for by conflicts and disappointments. Thus, listening to the music of Mozart helps to bring up a harmoniously developed personality.

He will have a more developed figurative thinking, and later in school he will be easier to be given mathematics. In addition, the ear develops - the music of Mozart is full of high-frequency sounds, it strengthens the muscles of the middle ear. And of course, the musicality of the child develops, his perception of the world around us becomes richer, fuller, more colorful.

If you begin to regularly listen to the music of the great Mozart during pregnancy, you will notice later, after the birth, the baby recognizes familiar melodies and motifs. And if you listen to Mozart with him from birth, perhaps you will grow a little genius.

VAMozart, music for children up to 3 years:

• Lullaby
• Angels song
• This is Love
• Wings of Love

VAMozart, music for children over 3 years old:

• "Little Night Serenade"
• Concerto for cello №5, К.219
• Concerto for cello №2, К.211
• "Turkish Rondo"
• Variations for Piano F Major, К.398
• "Symphony №40"
• Overture to the opera "Le Nozze di Figaro"
• Excerpts from the opera "The Magic Flute"
• Concerto №23 for piano and orchestra, II part
• Concerto for piano in D minor, K.466
• Fantasy in D minor
• Symphony №25 in G minor
• Symphony №41 C major "Jupiter"

Unusual facts about the music of Mozart:

• When listening to this music, people increase IQ and EQ (emotional intelligence) by several units, this has been proven by scientific tests;
• It alleviates the condition of Alzheimer's patients with epilepsy (seizures and epileptic attacks become less common);
• In Canada, at busy intersections and dangerous sections of city roads, Mozart’s music is played to reduce the number of accidents. And in Sweden, the protocol has been officially approved - putting Mozart's music to women in labor, doctors believe that this helps to reduce the risks of birth injuries and child mortality;
• Gerard Depardieu overcame his stutter with the help of Mozart's music. And another Frenchman, Marshal Rishillieu Louis Francois de Vignrot, at the age of 78, prepared to die. He asked me to listen to Mozart’s favorite composition for the last time and ... recovered from his illness. He lived in good health to 92 years!

Humanity and science have yet to discover all the secrets of the influence of Mozart’s music on children and adults. Much may still remain incomprehensible. Divine talent or talent - the inheritance of the elect. This is an area that is almost impossible to improve with the help of the will or to buy for money. Maybe that's why talent has always been the subject of the blackest envy.

But today it has been proven by scientists that the Almighty gave not only his pet Mozart. Perhaps through his works all the others can touch the beautiful and the sublime, as well as approach one more small step towards genius.

All parents want for their children a better fate, success, abundance. However, if you carefully study the fate of brilliant people, it becomes clear that talent does not always accompany success and recognition. Many of the greatest minds lived hard and died in oblivion.

Nevertheless, it is quite possible to help your child develop memory, thinking, imagination. Today, the philosophy of success dictates an increase in personal efficiency, more time for others, more creative ideas. And for personal happiness, a person needs to be developed and harmonious. All this contributes to the early development and the formation of the foundations of the individual.

The music of Mozart is a complex phenomenon of colossal strength and power. She is beautiful and full of life-affirming energy. Its healing effect will surprise us many times. Perhaps the scientist who manages to explain all this will be awarded the Nobel Prize. It will be a historic moment. And now you can just enjoy another secret creator.