The Musical Side Of Accelerated Learning

You may already know from earlier articles that 'accelerated learning' means finding ways to optimize the activity of the mind to enhance the learning experience. A proven method of doing so is to incorporate music in the accelerated learning curriculum.

Some types of music may not aid the learning process, and could even be detrimental. Music which contains a prescribed number of beats per minute, however, has been shown to accelerate the learning process. This is because that kind of music actually 'entrains' brainwave activity to open the mind to learning.

When we discuss brainwave activity, we're talking about the frequencies emitted by the neo-cortex (learning center) as having the greatest effect on learning acceleration.

One of the pioneers of accelerated learning, Dr. Georgi Lozanov, determined through his research that music played at 60 beats per minute resulted in the type of brainwave activity needed for learning. Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major K 448, for example, is written in this meter.

Dr. Alfred Tomatis, in his 1991 essay, "Pourquoi Mozart?", coined the term "Mozart Effect" when he shared his research conclusion that Baroque music, particularly Mozart's, was written in the perfect meter to stimulate the brainwave activity necessary to accelerate learning.

Additionally, though controversial, research by the University of California, Irvine, also concluded that specific pieces of music composed by Mozart, when played in a controlled learning environment, could enhance the student's ability to absorb new information quickly, and even raise certain IQ test results temporarily.

A phrase that cropped up during the expansion of this field of research is "accessing the genius mind", or putting the mind into the best state for unfettered learning, in part by using music.

An intriguing offshoot of this field is the work of Dr. John Diamond of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Diamond's work with subjects whose hearing he artificially restricted proved what many scientists in this field believe, that even the hearing impaired can benefit educationally from the introduction of music of varied patterns into accelerated learning curriculum.

One final giant in the field of music and accelerated learning must be included in our discussion. The late Dr. John-David created three brilliant works which include music to entrain the brain waves of the listener. Those works-Environmental Learning, Brain-Mind Expansion Intensive and Eliminating Self Sabotage, can be investigated further at the BrainSpeak.com.

The inclusion of music, whether to create the best environment for learning, or to entrain the very activity of the brain, is an essential part of your best accelerated learning program.