Virgil Joy R.

Tiare MMME MP
The Mozart Effect for Children: Awakening Your Child’s Mind, Health, and Creativity with Music

Campbell, Don. 2000. The Mozart Effect for Children: Awakening Your Child’s Mind, Health, and
Creativity with Music. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Don Campbell is a researcher who has been writing books, exploring more than three

decades about the benefits music gives for “lifelong learning… and its role in education and

health.” (pp. 272) Not just a classical musician who has worked with symphony orchestras and

a health professional, he is also a music educator who helped schools and reached out to

children in thirty countries enhance their competencies to discover, learn, understand, and

perceive the gaiety of life through music.

The book, The Mozart Effect for Children: Awakening Your Child’s Mind, Health, and

Creativity with Music, is one of Campbell’s world-renowned and best-selling books for music

education that has been translated into a dozen languages. Though contradicting to the term

he used – “The Mozart Effect” – he revealed here the colossal strength not just of Mozart’s and

of classical music, but in everything, from nursery rhymes to rock music, as a whole. This book

exhibits and explains “the valuable extramusical properties of music and sound” (pp. 4) –

specifically how rhythm and tone abet improve child’s development from ere birth into middle

childhood and beyond, that solely begins with mother’s familiar voice tones that awaken child’s

ears invigorating language development, and the soothing maternal heartbeat rhythm that

relaxes the child before, during, and after the birth process. As the child’s social and academic
skills are enhancing, his inclination with music helps him delineate his expressions even more .

The bond with the family and the cultural heritage connection has also been strengthening.

Campbell also elucidated that music can make a child more intelligent. “Certainly it

[music] can increase the number of neuronal connection in child’s brain, thereby stimulating his

verbal skills” (pp. 4) – educating the child good study habits, aid in intuiting reading and

memorizing, and comprehend mathematical concepts with ease – but somehow, intelligence is

not only calculated by child’s capacity in reading, writing, memorizing, comprehending and

operating with numbers and equations. “Working in community, remembering visually and

aurally, moving, creating, interacting with grace and sensitivity, expressing emotion and

relieving stress, listening and trusting own inner voice” (pp. 5) – these are also enriched by

listening to and making music. A child lives in so many influences that contribute to the molding

of his life, and music shares a portion of it.

Though ”The Mozart Effect” has a lot of controversies, still Campbell genuinely believed

and stood firm on his argument – that music as a whole jazzes up brain development in young

children not only preeminent in musical talent but also have prowess in numerical analysis and

in I.Q. in general. He defended his argument by using dynamic and inventive examples that was

shown in each chapter – epicenters on a particular age – where he descried evidences through

probe. He integrated music into all sorts of day-to-day activities: “So put a CD of dance music

while you and your toddler sweep the floor to its rhythm… music gives kids a chance to develop

basic timing, coordination, creativity, and problem-solving skills.” (pp. 103)

 I personally recommend this book to all parents and educators who ought to improve

their children’s imagination by experiencing the enormous healing power of music and perceive

the gaiety of life through it [music]. To be a proficient in music is not necessary to use this book

because Campbell effectively elaborated concise examples to help the readers understand it

more. The book is full of lenient, easy, and practical suggestions to help children excel in school

and learn to fully appreciate music.