does classical music make you smarter?

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I think the culture of classical music is much more educated than the culture of other music, and it is because of this culture, that people naturally get intellectually stimulated.

In addition, classical music is not redundant nor does it only go for 3 minutes (typical song), a classical piece can go from 1 minute to 5 hours. A typical Mahler and Bruckner Symphony is usually over 60 minutes, and an Opera can go for 4 hours. Because of that, the classical lover has trained his mind to remain focus and to concentrate.

In addition, classical music usually follows a sonata form of composition which is usually in 6 distinct stages (introduction, exposition, development, recapitulation, coda)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonata_form hint. Think of a novel or a play. Because classical music follows this pattern it is much more enriching and intellectually stimulating.

Contemporary music with the exception of Jazz is basically a song with a catchy tune, divided into 2 parts, verse and chorus, and at times a bridge.(Not really stimulating and because of this it becomes redundant)

In addition households that enjoy classical music tend to be educated, therefore their children will naturally be in an environment that fosters pursuit of knowledge.
 
Slippery said:
In addition households that enjoy classical music tend to be educated, therefore their children will naturally be in an environment that fosters pursuit of knowledge.
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What point are you making towards all the folk on here that listen to Hard Rock, etc.? Thar are sum perty smart peeple on hear. ;)
 
Great thoughts Keon. Probably too many variables to determine a definite 'yes' or 'no' but intuition tells us that the answer should be yes. Classical music contains more of the 'logos' - the rules of order. Sound and noise occurs in a patternless chaos for the most part. The rules of orderliness represented in classical music not only make sounds that are pleasing to the ear and soul but also contain the same rules (tools) of reason that God has given us to discover truth. In classical music, dissonance is used to create tension and the tension forms a contrasting background for orderliness to play against and overcome. The person who understands this 'rule of order' alone will approach life with a greater wisdom and clarity.

So I say, 'YES'. However, those same elements can be found in other genres of music but they seem to be most focused in the baroque, impressionistic and romantic periods.
 
As you know Brad, I don't believe anyone does it better than DreamTheater but the thing that makes them great is that they know the rules because they are classically trained. I'm presently listening to McCartney's new album. The songs are so simple and yet amazingly melodic. He seems to have been born with the rules instilled in him so we get to hear God's glory in his music even though he is probably an unbeliever. In my humble opinion Mozart is the greatest possessor of God's rules of order as expressed through music.
 
Sometimes I think I'm smarter after listening to some of these:

:scholar:

Supper's Ready - Genesis (22:50)
A Change of Seasons - Dream Theater (23:08)
The Great Nothing - Spock's Beard (27:18)
Duel With the Devil - Transatlantic (26:43)
When The Water Breaks - Liquid Tension Experiment (16:57)
The Invisible Man - Marillion (13:37)

But then last night I listened to part of Rush's 2112 (20:33) and felt stupider. :duh:

:sing:
 
"Stupider" sounds more stupider than 'more stupid'. You should say 'more stupid' unless you want people to think you can't talk too good.

Excellent list!!!
 
Slippery said:
I think the culture of classical music is much more educated than the culture of other music, and it is because of this culture, that people naturally get intellectually stimulated.

In addition, classical music is not redundant nor does it only go for 3 minutes (typical song), a classical piece can go from 1 minute to 5 hours. A typical Mahler and Bruckner Symphony is usually over 60 minutes, and an Opera can go for 4 hours. Because of that, the classical lover has trained his mind to remain focus and to concentrate.

In addition, classical music usually follows a sonata form of composition which is usually in 6 distinct stages (introduction, exposition, development, recapitulation, coda)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonata_form hint. Think of a novel or a play. Because classical music follows this pattern it is much more enriching and intellectually stimulating.

Contemporary music with the exception of Jazz is basically a song with a catchy tune, divided into 2 parts, verse and chorus, and at times a bridge.(Not really stimulating and because of this it becomes redundant)

In addition households that enjoy classical music tend to be educated, therefore their children will naturally be in an environment that fosters pursuit of knowledge.
Click to expand...

However, Mahler and Bruckner can hardly be considered 'classical'. They would fall more into the Romantic period as would the 'sonata allegro' form.

The other thing to consider is that the standards of the 'Classic period' (Mozart, Haydn, Handel etc) have stood the test of time. We no longer listen to the garbage of the Classic period. (Yes, there was some) Perhaps 200 years from now we will have the 'standards' of the 'Rock and Roll period' and parents will be playing the Knack's "My Sharona" for their infants while they sleep. Who knows?
 
Draught Horse said:
does it make you smarter?

or does it only work on young toddlers?
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Yes, but I think there are different aspects.

First, if as an adult you just passively listen to Classical music, it may not be much different from listening to any other pleasant music. For toddlers it may make a difference because they do not listen passively, but intensively.

I base this assertion on watching kids vs. adults when they happen along a street musician. The kids want to stop and stare, the grown-ups want to move along. Also, most kids will hear a melody and sing it all day long, make up variations, and have a lot of fun with it. That's why I think it is important to make sure kids are exposed to intelligent and even intricate music at a young age. It helps shape their observation powers rather than dull them.

For adults I think it works similarly to studying Greek or grammer or math. It takes an amount of discipline to figure out what is going on. As you pay attention, it helps your mind identify new patterns that are analogous to reality. It may sound sort of mystical, but it's not. You can look at a rock and think "rock". Or you can look at a rock and a solid musical theme blasts into your head. (Actually happens to me sometimes: the opening measures of the third movement of Beethoven's 9th). It opens the imagination and allows for different sorts of analogies that help cognition. The rock isn't just there, it was put there by something dynamic.

For example, I love Bach fugues. Sometimes when I ponder something like DNA replication or aerodynamics I actually think of his musical techniques of inversion and sequencing. But I never would have thought of those things if I hadn't actively studied his music (as opposed to just listening to it).
 
I certainly think that a lot of classical music is more stimulating to the mind than contemporary music. Its structure and lack of redundancy is conducive to productive thought.
 
Mozart is one of my least favourite composers, actually. For genius, choose Bach. For beauty, Dvorak. For power, Rachmaninoff. For consistency, Brahms. For simplicity, Elgar.
 
x.spasitel said:
Mozart is one of my least favourite composers, actually. For genius, choose Bach. For beauty, Dvorak. For power, Rachmaninoff. For consistency, Brahms. For simplicity, Elgar.
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:lol: I can see this turning into something like a Baptism debate.

In my youth, I thought Mozart was a weeny. Powdered wig and overly refined homophony, etc. But then I sang in a chorale doing the Mozart Requiem. Dies Irae pinned my ears back, stood my hair up, and otherwise scared me.

Then I started playing some of his piano sonatas and realized how much he was influenced by yet different from Bach.

I agree Bach is the genius, he's my favorite composer of all. But Mozart is one of those guys that makes me want to put sackcloth on my head every time I try to write music.
 
victorbravo said:
:lol: I can see this turning into something like a Baptism debate.

In my youth, I thought Mozart was a weeny. Powdered wig and overly refined homophony, etc. But then I sang in a chorale doing the Mozart Requiem. Dies Irae pinned my ears back, stood my hair up, and otherwise scared me.

Then I started playing some of his piano sonatas and realized how much he was influenced by yet different from Bach.

I agree Bach is the genius, he's my favorite composer of all. But Mozart is one of those guys that makes me want to put sackcloth on my head every time I try to write music.
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He died at 34 after over 600 compositions, most of which are still beloved today. 'Nuff said...
 
x.spasitel said:
Mozart is one of my least favourite composers, actually. For genius, choose Bach. For beauty, Dvorak. For power, Rachmaninoff. For consistency, Brahms. For simplicity, Elgar.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of a line from Room With a View by E. M. Forster (Chapter 11):

"But her music!" he exclaimed. "The style of her! How she kept to Schumann when, like an idiot, I wanted Beethoven. Schumann was right for this evening. Schumann was the thing.
 
I doubt it. I've been listening to classical music for decades and I'm still as dumb as I ever was.;)
 
Amadeus:

Salieri: On the page it looked nothing. The beginning simple, almost comic. Just a pulse - bassoons and basset horns - like a rusty squeezebox. Then suddenly - high above it - an oboe, a single note, hanging there unwavering, till a clarinet took over and sweetened it into a phrase of such delight! This was no composition by a performing monkey! This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing a voice of God.
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That said, In my humble opinion, among my favorites, Beethoven is excellent; Bach is best. :cheers2:
 
I prefer Beethoven to Bach. Just a wee bit less mechanical (or perhaps mathematical; somehow mechanical seems like the right word).

Second favorite would be Schubert.
 
If you notice, in movies evil geniuses always listen to classical music...maybe classical music makes one eeevillle...
 
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