6 Reasons Not to Trash Classical Music

A recent study found that classical music is losing its appeal, particularly among the younger generation. However, before throwing out your classical music records, consider some of the things you'll be missing out on. 1. Better Focus Classical music, as argued by Marc Neikrug, could actually be very beneficial for kids – and not just for calming babies or helping their minds develop (an ongoing debate). In an age when children develop surrounded by constant stimulation and distraction, however, Neikrug sees a very particular value in classical music. “I’m concerned about a world in which there is an almost corporate, aggressive move to lower people’s attention spans, so that your brain actually can’t focus for more than half a minute on anything without needing some other stimulus,” he told me. “That’s terrifying. How do you even absorb and learn things? How do you expect kids to do well in school?” With TV viewing consistently on the rise, including among very young children, some studies have suggested that frequently watching television as a small children or infant can harm attention spans later in childhood. Where does classical music fit into this landscape? “I think it’s really important to let kids, at the earliest age, build some kind of ability to focus,” Neikrug said. “Great music can do that, because you’re drawn into what you’re listening to.” A two- or three-minute waltz may not seem so long to concentrate on, but it’s “a good attention span, for kids,” he said. “We picked the pieces very deliberately to be not too long.” Via Huffington Post Neikrug is a renowned classical composer that collaborated with the late Phil Ramone on the album “Sunken Cathedrals” a classical music album curated for children. Ramone, who dies in 2013, enjoyed a brand name that was unmatched among music producers. He works with Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Sinead O’Connor and Paul Simon. But the benefits of classical music are not just for the kids. Grownups also have a lot to gain from listening to Mozart and Vivaldi for a good number of reasons. 2. Improve Alertness and Memory One of them is the enhancement of their alertness and memory. People that benefit the most from this are those who tend to be more sluggish than normal when they have to perform tasks or answer questions. Listening to classical music can enhance your alertness based on the findings of Northumbria University. The researchers performed a study where they tested the subjects who had to listen to classical music by Vivaldi. The result of the test was that the respondents were able to perform their tasks faster and almost without errors compared to those who did not have any music playing in the background. Via Steth News It’s also been suggested that when kids learn to play instruments, this helps to ward off the mental challenges associated with old age, such as dementia. 3. Improved Self-Expression If you struggle with expressing yourself, then you may want to try classical music, [...]

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