Introduction
There have been many studies on the impacts listening to classical music can have on health, mental health, and learning. The results from these experiments have been astounding. Classical music has the ability to stimulate multiple areas of the brain which can yield positive health benefits for the listener and optimise their ability to learn. Playing chess by itself has a plethora of benefits pertaining to mental health and learning, when paired with the health benefits associated with listening to classical music it is a potent recipe for success. Being able to relax and focus on a chess game is important and the soothing atmosphere classical music tends to create has led to many organisations playing classical music at their places of work. From schools to offices its common to find students and workers busy at work with the ambient sounds of classical music playing in the background. For those that are currently studying at school for exams and those that have already been through the education system we can all remember the one and only genre of music permitted which is classical music, the classical music of Beethoven, and Mozart in particular.
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What Impact Does Listening To Classical Music Have on Learning and What is the Mozart effect?
Dating back to the early 1990’s there have been numerous studies on the benefits that listening to classical music can have on learning and the results of these studies are interesting to say the least. During the mid-1990’s scientists were enamoured with the impact listening to classical music could have on the minds of developing children. The theory was that listening to classical music could lead to greater levels of intelligence for children and adults. Further research on the benefits of listening to classical music for the enhancement of areas surrounding productivity and overall intelligence revealed something interesting. According to the empirical evidence that was gathered through conducting various scientific studies regarding classical music’s effects on the mental performance of children and young students it was proven that classical music has the potential to improve cognitive function. The main experiment involved dividing students into two groups and exposing one group to Mozart’s Sonata for ten minutes whilst the other group sat in silence for ten minutes before completing a series of mentally challenging tasks such as predicting how folded up pieces of paper would look when unfolded. The young students who listened to Mozart’s Sonata before completing the mentally challenging task performed slightly better than the young students that did not, the term “the Mozart effect” was used to describe the phenomenon.
Even though the experiment took place after the group of young students listened to classical music, the lingering effects that the classical music had on the group of young students in the challenge lead to slightly better results compared to the group of young students who meditated in silence before completing the challenge. For a long time, academics have theorised that the patterns in Mozart’s music could stimulate similar patterns of cortical firing in the brain which could lead to better results when solving complex tasks such as solving spatial puzzles. Numerous studies were conducted starting from the early 1990’s up until 2010 with some of the first studies involving babies. Some farmers believed that playing Mozart to their buffaloes multiple times a day could even lead to the production of better-quality milk. The results of many of the studies did confirm that listening to classical music like Mozart’s Sonata could improve cognitive functions in the brain however only for a brief period which ranged from 10 to 15 minutes after listening to classical music. Although listening to classical music can be beneficial when undertaking challenging tasks, studies have also shown that learning to play classical compositions on the piano with regular practice over prolonged periods can have longer lasting effects and can raise your IQ by as much as three points.
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What Are The Differences Between Listening To Classical Music vs Modern Music?
Compared to listening to modern music, specifically music with vocals, classical music which is solely instrumental allows the listener to detach from the world which is essential for clearing the mind and a key component of many meditation practices. The effects of listening to instrumental based music such as classical music compared to vocal music varies hugely. Vocal music guides the listener into a world of thoughts, some of which are pleasant and others unpleasant whereas the effects of listening to instrumental music or classical music is much more meditative by nature. Scientific studies have proven that listening to classical music has positive effects on the hippocampus which is responsible for numerous brain functions such as learning, regulating and processing emotions and memory. An important aspect of learning any skill such as chess is the ability to take in and recall information. Having a good memory has always been associated with effective learning as the more information you are able to store, and retrieve allows you to recognise and take advantage of more opportunities using the information that is readily accessible. Classical music is made up of many different components which when put together can assist with learning as well as produce healing for the listener. The structure of classical music in terms of the notes that are used, and the arrangements of the notes used to produce classical music is composed of geometrical and symmetrical sound waves which have immensely positive effects not only on the human mind but also the DNA of the listener.
Classical music has the ability to deconstruct degenerative genes associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s and kickstart the production of genes associated with the regeneration of healthy cells. A question that may cross your mind would be if classical musicians had an innate knowledge of the impacts their music had on health on such a profound level or whether they were oblivious to the fact. The appropriate answer to this question may involve looking beyond just the composition of the classical music itself and into the inner mechanics of sound, vibration, and frequency. Upon further inspection the main benefits associated with listening to classical music stems from both the complexities of the sounds within the music in addition to the underlying frequency of the music. Before the 1970’s most or all musical instruments were primarily tuned to 432hz which is a frequency of sound that has been known for its powerful healing benefits and mind enhancing abilities. An understanding of the period that classical music was produced in and the frequency of music that was most prevalent during that period and which was used by default in the majority of music from that era is important to note when using classical music as a learning aid, as the benefits of listening to classical music may be overlooked in our current era. In contrast modern music is typically tuned to 440hz which is not as conducive to health as music tuned to 432hz and can have negative detrimental effects on biological systems such as the heart rate and can also cause listeners to exhibit nervousness, anxiety, and aggressive behaviour.
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What Is The Relationship Between Learning And Emotions?
There is a strong relationship between the mood you are in and your ability to learn which are both functions that are regulated by the hippocampus. Being in a negative mood can severely hamper your ability to learn whereas positive emotions that are associated with states of happiness and relaxation can aid in facilitating a richer learning environment. The human brain functions optimally when dealing with one task at a time to achieve the best results and being in a negative state of mind due to stress, agitation, or frustration signals to the brain that the environment is unfavourable which causes the mind to shift its focus to restoring a sense of comfortability. This shift in focus means that the mind will direct less attention on whatever task you were completing and more on attempting to restore a feeling of peace and tranquillity. Being able to focus is important when completing any task especially when playing a game of chess which requires a great deal of focus in order to achieve the best results. The addition of classical music or any music that can enhance positive emotions and the feeling of peace and relaxation to the background of a chess game is a great way to create such an environment that’s optimised for focus.
Feeling strong positive emotions such as curiosity, interest, excitement, and enthusiasm whilst in the process of learning or when completing a task can significantly improve your ability to recall information about that particular experience due to an interesting phenomenon called emotional memory enhancement. The amygdala is responsible for the process known as emotional memory enhancement and plays a crucial role in the learning process because it can link emotional events associated with memory and learning and enhance the consolidation of emotionally charged events. Cultivating positive mental attitudes such as optimism, hope and persistence can be extremely beneficial when playing games such as chess as they can enable players to attain and maintain positive emotions when facing stronger opponents or when faced with challenging positions on the chess board and increase the likelihood of finding solutions to perplexing problems by accessing the memories associated with overcoming similar challenges in the past. It’s much easier to make sound decisions and find solutions to problems when you are relaxed compared to when you are frustrated and so being able to transmute a negative emotion into a positive emotion by cultivating a positive mental attitude is a desirable skill to have when learning how to improve in chess or any other subject. Music can be a powerful tool for changing your state of mind and your mood if you struggle to do so naturally.
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Can You Use Sounds To Recall Important Memories In Chess?
The ability to recall memories can be enhanced by numerous factors, one of the most effective methods that can be used to recall important memories is listening to familiar sounds. Cultivating certain emotions can also be used to enhance your recollection of important memories. It is well known that familiar sounds can trigger the recollection of important memories for instance a familiar song you have not heard in a while can take you back to a certain time and place in memory such as a distinct event that happened in your childhood. Auditory memory is the term used to explain the relationship between auditory stimuli and the ability to store and recall information that is associated with meaningful events and experiences which can also be enhanced if the memories are emotionally charged. Memories that are associated with certain sounds and emotions are much easier to recall than mundane or neutral memories. Playing chess whilst listening to your favourite song can have long lasting positive impacts on your memory of chess games, especially if you have winning streaks under your belt. The storehouse of memories associated with chess can and will be unlocked by encountering familiar sounds. By making a mental association between your most successful chess games and the prevalent sounds and emotions you experienced at the time can have positive benefits on your ability to retrieve information about the chess game.
Listening to calming music whilst maintaining a positive mindset and having success in chess such as enjoying a winning streak or even a losing streak as much more is learned from failure than success can lead to a greater ability to store and retrieve important memories. Sounds can also be used to memories the movement of specific chess pieces, opening lines, strategies, and tactics by associating unique sounds to each aspect of the game. For example, associating a specific sound to the movement of the knight in chess can help you to remember how the knights move when learning how to play chess, assigning a specific sound to a chess opening you are learning can help you to memorise the sequence of moves within the chess opening and assigning a specific sound to strategies and tactics such as pins and skewers can help you to identify them on the chess board and specific sounds can also help you remember how to take advantage of specific patterns when you see them on the chess board. Sounds are powerful as they can trigger the recollection of important memories and signal when a specific action should or should not be taken which is a great way to enhance your understanding of chess as well as other subjects. Using sounds and emotions to deepen your understanding of chess is an excellent way to accelerate your learning process.
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Is Chess A Game That Is Based On Skill Or Memory?
Chess is a game that is based on both skill and memory, as a beginner having a good memory of concepts such as chess piece movement and opening patterns is important because it will enable you to accelerate your understanding of the game and increase your ability to spot patterns when they arise on the chess board. As your understanding of chess increases skill becomes much more essential to your success especially when playing against higher rated chess players. Being able to memorise opening positions and specific patterns on the chess board is important however experienced chess players usually have an excellent understanding of the strategies and tactics within numerous popular chess openings and can minimise the effectiveness of popular strategies and tactics that are used against them. Utilising unorthodox strategies is much more important than memorisation skills when playing against experienced chess players which is a tactic that higher rated chess players use when playing against other high rated chess players. The best chess players tend to have many years of experience and have mastered the art of memorising chess openings, strategies and the chess board and tend to focus primarily on improving their skills. Beginners in chess will benefit the most from memorising the basic principles of the game however as your experience level increases and you begin to play higher rated chess players your focus should shift towards increasing your skills and your use of strategies and tactics.
Although memory and skill are important in chess, psychology also plays an essential role in chess, and it is one of the main components that distinguishes higher rated chess players from lower rated chess players. Chess games can be very intense and emotionally charged as chess players can easily get excited and overconfident when they are winning and angry and frustrated when they are losing. Remaining calm and clear headed is crucial whether you are in a winning position but especially if you find yourself in a losing position. It’s also important to remain calm and clear headed whether you are playing against a high rated chess player or a low rated chess player. It’s common for lower rated chess players to become nervous or discouraged when playing against higher rated chess players which can cause lower rated chess players to lose the game mentally before the game has even begun which is something that has happened to me personally on many occasions. Overcoming nervousness when playing chess against higher rated chess players can be as simple as cultivating a positive mental attitude and cultivating positive emotions through mediums such as music. Another way to overcome nervousness when playing against more experienced chess players especially online where you can see their Elo rating is to focus on the game instead of the Elo rating of your opponent.
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How To Improve Your Chess Skills With Classical Music
The best way to improve in chess like any other activity is by dedicating a sufficient amount of time studying and playing the game however there are certain things that you can incorporate into your studies to accelerate your learning process. Listening to classical music whilst playing chess is an excellent way to improve your chess skills simply by taking advantage of the Mozart effect. Classical music can also be used as an associative tool to help with the memorisation of different components of chess such as the memorisation of the movement of chess pieces, chess openings, chess strategies and tactics. Developing your memory of the different components of chess in conjunction with utilising strategy, vision, creativity, and a winning mindset will also significantly improve your skills in chess. Spending time studying and practicing chess openings and learning how each move made during the game can affect the overall results of the game will naturally lead to an improvement in one’s chess games. Studying chess whilst listening to classical music will exercise many areas of the brain which will naturally lead to enhanced cognitive abilities and will accelerate the improvement of your skills in chess. The very act of playing chess with the intention to improve is enough to begin the process of developing a better game plan that will be effective when playing against any opponent.
The best way to improve in chess is to consistently implement the skills you learn from your studies so that you can ingrain them into your mind and playing style which is something that classical music can assist with. As chess is a game of strategy studying chess strategically using tools such as classical music is an excellent way to approach your study of chess which is a method that can also be implemented outside of chess. Mentally ingraining the principles of sound chess by associating unique sounds to each component of the game will enable you to remain well informed on the intricacies of the game. According to one of the early experiments on classical music’s ability to improve the mental performance of students and their ability to solve mentally challenging tasks, listening to Mozart’s Sonata enabled one group of students to accurately predict how a piece of paper would look when unfolded slightly better than the other group of students in the experiment. Listening to classical music whilst playing chess may also improve your ability to assess your position on the chess board and accurately predict future outcomes better than your opponent’s allowing you to spot potential traps and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves according to the results of studies done on the Mozart effect’s impact on student’s mental performance.
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Conclusion
In conclusion listening to classical music whilst playing chess can positively impact your chess games and the development of your skills in chess. Listening to instrumental music or any music that has the ability to foster a sense of peace and relaxation whilst playing chess will also have positive impacts on your skills in chess. The correlation between classical music and learning has been studied for many years and has yielded many fascinating insights into the benefits music can have on learning. An interesting fact is that many of the greats in the field of classical music were also strong chess players. Another interesting fact is that Mozart spent the majority of his life tone deaf and has never actually heard any of the music he produced. Although Mozart lacked the ability to hear the musical genius he inherently possessed, Mozart was able to produce some of the most incredible music.
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