Just a few days ago, I decided for some reason to play one of the
Handel CD's I bought over a year ago. I
haven't listened to classical for quite some time. And, I tried to believe that I was getting
smarting just by listening to it! Again,
I encourage you to just play classical music.
If nothing else, at least make sure your children hear classical music. There are different types. All composers are different. Some I like, some I don't. So, if you don't like something, don't give
up. Keep at it til you find something
you enjoy. Ask your local music store
for suggestions. Go on Pandora and type
in "Clair de Lune," and see what other music compares with that; or
other songs that you all ready know you like.
Debussy - Clair de Lune; the great Beethoven
Einstein
GJ Whitrow said, "Einstein often told me that one of the most
important things in his life was music.
Whenever he felt hat he had come to the end of the road or into a
difficult situation in his work he would take refuge in music and that would
usually resolve all of his difficulties."
Einstein: "Improvise and
arrive at solutions. Improvise and come
up with solutions."
I, for the first time, just finished reading one of the short
stories about Sherlock Holmes; there being 56 in all. It's called, "The Red-Headed
League." In the middle of solving a
case, Holmes said,
"And now, Watson, that does it. We're ready for lunch, and then off to our
violin concert, where there are no red-headed clients to bother us."
That
afternoon, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson sat in St. James Concert Hall, with
the great detective - himself a talented musician and composer - waving his
long, thin fingers in time to the music.
When the concert was over and Holmes and Watson were leaving the hall,
Holmes finally brought up Jabez Wilson's case again.
"I
believe, Watson, that a serious crime is being planned, but I feel that we have
a chance of stopping it."
And, of course, in the end, he, Sherlock, did stop the crime. But, music appears to even have a great help
in thinking of solutions to crimes! True,
Sherlock is a fictional character, but at end of the "About the
Author" page it says, "Probably no other author has been able to
create a fictional character who has become so real to his readers as Arthur
Conan Doyle did with Sherlock Holmes."
I would guess that Doyle himself was a music lover, if not a musician. Also, once Holmes was established as a worldwide legend, Doyle himself was regarded as an expert crime solver and solved many real-life cases.
And, think about it; a TV show, or movie with NO music. Movie producers even know the value of having background music playing to help it's viewers more fully soak in the message trying to be conveyed. A scary scene is not nearly as scary without the scary, intense music (As if to prove my point, my granddaughter just now said, "They always play really scary music for the bear hunts." "I know, I can hear it," said her sister.) The girls are in the living room and my husband is upstairs watching the hunting channel. But, pretty weird, right? So, yes, music is very important! A romantic scene wouldn't be nearly as sweet without the beautiful music.
But, putting things simply, there is something about classical music and the way it connects to the brain that helps with many things, especially in math and science, and of course, in learning musical instruments. But, before those concepts, comes learning to read, which I believe is also greatly helped by the enhanced brain connections. If you want detailed reasons for "why" google "Classical Music and the Brain." You will fine nearly 7 1/2 million articles! Just reading the titles alone are quite convincing!
Next time, I'll be talking about the effect different kinds of
music can have on personalities.
Doreese
