Music Interview: "The Mozart Effect" by Don Campbell

by Joshua Packard, Fullness of Happy

I have just finished reading a wonderful book called "The Mozart Effect" by Don Campbell about the healing and other positive effects of music.  The subtitle of this book is "Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit".  This book will change the way you understand and listen to music.  The author talks about the effects of music, starting by talking about how even from the beginning stages of life in the womb, the developing human being hears and is impacted by the sounds and music and voices it hears.  Children developing in the womb can hear and learn to recognize the singing or reading voice of the mother, and particular music can improve the intelligence and cognitive functions of the growing child.  I recommend this book for anyone with children, or expecting children.

The book describes the positive effects of many kinds of music, from cultures all around the world, but as the title suggests, the music with the most universal healing effect is that of Mozart.  Reading this book made me want to dive back into the music of Mozart, which I have always had a difficult time getting interested in.  I usually would gravitate more to the complex music of Beethoven or the highly mathematical and contrapuntal music of J.S. Bach.  I had a 170 CD set of all of Mozart's music which I never really could get myself to listen to, partly because I felt it sounded all the same throughout.  But lately I have been listening to the various CDs at home in my room and in my car on my CD player as I drive.  I can feel the relaxing and uplifting effects of listening to Mozart, and now he takes his place as my favorite musical composer.  His music seems to radiate simple joy, and this is what I need in my life now.  Just simple joy.  His music does something I can't find anywhere else.  But I think it enriches my appreciation for other music as well, and Don Campbell discusses a lot of the benefits and uses of other kinds of music as well.

I personally think this book should be read by everyone in the world.  You should especially read it if you are involved in fields such as education, child care, any sort of medical or healing profession, and many other areas.  Anyone can benefit from the insights in this book, and this is one of those books that I consider life changing and universally uplifting and inspiring.

This book can be purchased here on Amazon.

There are also many other related books and CDs you can purchase with selections designed to produce the effects described in the book.

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