The Mozart Effect for Children: Awakening Your Child's Mind, Health and Creativity With Music [Hardcover]

Don Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2000

In his groundbreaking bestseller, The Mozart Effect, author Don Campbell confirmed that music has the power not only to soothe the soul but to heal the body as well. Now he offers essential guidance that will enable parents and educators to better understand music as an aid to growth, development, mental and physical health, and creative awakening in our most precious human resource.

A recent study found that visual tracking, eye-hand coordination, and other positive behaviors developed more rapidly in babies whose mothers participated in a pilot program of prenatal exposure to music. Another study found that remedial first graders who were given seven months of music instruction and visual arts training soon caught up in all subjects with an average group of children not exposed to the arts, and actually surpassed them in math.

It has been proven time and time again that music is a powerful implement for stimulating a child's brain, nourishing his spirit, and strengthening his body, even prior to birth. Giving your daughter or son the incomparable gift of music helps your child rapidly and decisively reach his or her emotional and intellectual potential, and stimulates wondrous areas of mental awareness and creative discovery that might otherwise lie dormant.

In The Mozart Effect for Children, author Don Campbell shows that music is the perfect tool to improve children's language, movement, and emotional skills at home, school, and play. He presents a wealth of dynamic, inventive ways for parents and teachers to invigorate a child's imagination with music, sounds, and songs, supplying simple exercises and fun activities tailored for each age group and stage of development, from prenatal through age ten. Campbell offers ideas and exercises both practical and profound, from special ways for parents to bond with their newborns to tips on fostering good study habits and stress reduction for elementary school students.

The Mozart Effect for Children is an invaluable resource for any parent and every child, as well as for grandparents and educators. With Campbell's fascinating, informed, and compassionate guidance -- and with the incredible, uplifting power of tone, rhythm, and melody you can help the child in your life aspire, achieve, and grow healthier in mind, body, and spirit.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Don Campbell's reputation runs the gamut from serious educator bent on improving the health and intelligence of his audience to clever marketer, making a fast buck from specially trademarked pseudoscience. In The Mozart Effect for Children, Campbell explains early on why Mozart's music is thought to have such amazing powers, and while he cites no statistics or studies, his lyrical explanations of Mozart's simplicity and elegance will have many reader's heads nodding in agreement--it's difficult to disagree with "his music is at once deeply mysterious and accessible, and above all, without guile". A few pages are devoted to descriptions of studies done by French specialist Dr. Alfred Tomatis, and "Spotlight on Specialist" pages throughout the book are an attempt to add a more clearly scientific feel. Still, most of what passes for science in this book is anecdotal and will not make a satisfying read for those looking for original research.

Each chapter is devoted to a particular age, from prenatal to mid-elementary school, and parents and educators can find excellent musical menus, practical suggestions, and entertaining games to play at the end of every chapter. The menus include suggestions for appropriate times to play the various pieces, as well as a brief description of the type of music, helpful in case you're not immediately familiar with "Adagio from the Divertimento" or "Concertante from the Serenade No. 9". Games range from simple variations on pat-a-cake to rhythmic chanting designed to improve memory skills, and parents will enjoy playing at least as much as their children will. Perhaps you child's IQ will magically improve from listening to Mozart, perhaps it won't. At worst, Campbell opens up a world of music-related learning for your family that can be both enriching and entertaining. --Jill Lightner

Review

"Parents, awake! Don Campbell is the Dr. Spock of music. With updated research and practical hints, every family can use this book to tune up the brains of parent and child alike. THE MOZART EFFECT FOR CHILDREN spans the arts into the deeper meaning of sound, joy and language for a full life." -- Elaine de Beauport, Ph.D., Founder, Mead School; Author, THREE FACES OF MIND

"THE MOZART EFFECT FOR CHILDREN is a modern phenomenon, blending neurological and physiological research with vibrant testimonials and rare compassion. Children around the world in the first, most impressionable decade of their lives have found a true champion of their potential in Don Campbell...today's children, tomorrow's Mozarts." -- Karen Williams Romeo, Ph.D., Board, National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, Author of RENAISSANCE KIDS

"THE MOZART EFFECT FOR CHILDREN is about so much more than music, so much more than teaching! THE MOZART EFFECT FOR CHILDREN is an invaluable resource to be cherished not only by parents but by grandparents, teachers and any professionals who work with children and their families." -- Marti Glenn, Ph.D., President, Graduate Institute for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health

"THE MOZART EFFECT FOR CHILDREN provides decision makers in government, medicine and public health with a brilliantly written resource on infant child development and the intrinsic language of music in nurturing happy, creative and intelligent children. I loved reading the manuscript and found myself compelled to re-read sections, musing on the profound eloquence of so many of the passages throughout this gentle book. It is a classic before it is printed. Campbell's genius as a writer resonates in the gentle and yet provocative descriptions and data underlying the development of the uterine brain-mind. The story unfolds on many levels for music aficionados, blending music listening and appreciation, so that the general reader exclaims delight in the discovery of the intrinsic power of music in shaping human growth and development throughout the ages. A masterful story and authentic resource for everyone's library!" -- Linda C. Duffy, Ph.D., Executive Director, The Women & Children's Health Research Foundation; Board Member, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institute of Health

"We need the tools to help parents and teachers to introduce, motivate, and help children--indeed, people of all ages--to learn through music and the other arts. Don Campbell's THE MOZART EFFECT FOR CHILDREN is a bountiful compendium of research, teaching, and learning strategies, and innumerable other resources that enrich and stretch the human mind, body, and spirit to new dimensions." -- Dee Dickinson, CEO, New Horizons for Learning

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (August 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380977826
• ISBN-13: 978-0380977826
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,562,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pro - Babysitter plays Mozart, September 25, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Mozart Effect for Children: Awakening Your Child's Mind, Health and Creativity With Music (Hardcover)

Every week I go to Shane and Susan's house to babysit for their 5 year old boy, Michael. I like my job, but Michael is sometimes hard to put to bed. A few weeks ago, The Mozart Effect for Children was on the table next to the TV. I like music alot and play in the band in my school.

I understood the chapter about five and six year olds and I used the exercises. They work....and the music helped him go to sleep. I know music is smart and that this book must be read by every parent and babysitter.

Thanks....Dana

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parent - therapist gives a standing ovation, October 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mozart Effect for Children: Awakening Your Child's Mind, Health and Creativity With Music (Hardcover)

This book is outstanding. As a parent and nearly a grand parent, as well as a music therapist, I welcome this clear and creative book. There is no doubt you can use the Mozart Effect in your home the way Campbell defines it. It is more than just a scientific study, it is about knowing how to nuture a child and a family with music . Campbell is neither elitest nor arrogant. He inspires and informs. All types of music are included and the book takes a step by step, age by age, approach to brain and body development. He shows us that The Mozart Effect goes back to research in France over forty years ago and continues in centers throughout the world today to help children with ADD, speech problems and dyslexia.

As a music therapist, I hope every family will use this book. It can improve listening and communication. It can inspire us to look at a much bigger picture in child development. Thanks Don Campbell for doing your homework so well.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book Sings !, October 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mozart Effect for Children: Awakening Your Child's Mind, Health and Creativity With Music (Hardcover)

This book will make me a smarter parent. I am amazed at how this book blends the practical, the scientific and the artistic into common sense. I am not a fan of Classical music, but this book has helped me understand more about the healthy qualities of music.

Mr. Campbell gives me the evidence I need to show my school district that music classes must be included in every child's schoolday. The book is well referenced and gives many ways to help children improve their minds with music. This book sings the heart, the brain and the body of music!