I’m working on a art multi-part question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.
- You may have heard of “The Mozart effect†growing up. What were the claims of this particular study, and what problems does Levitin have with it?
- What are the long term effects of music not related to the Mozart effect?
- Music preferences of children may relate to brain development at maturation. Reflecting back to the music of your childhood, does this seem true? What pieces did you listen to as a small child(up to approximately the end of middle school)? Is there a shared repertoire that most of us possess? If so, what might that say about the function of music during this period of life?
- According to Levitin, about what age do children “take on music as a real interest� What music were you listening to at this age?
- What two reasons do Levitin give that make the age fourteen so important in forming music preferences?
- Levitin posits that most people have “formed their music tastes by the age of eighteen or twenty†(p.226.) Why or why not do you agree with him?
- What does Levitin say about the connection between music and a person’s social development? How does your own life experience or support contradict this idea?
- Levitin states “schemas are everything†(p.228). What is a schema? How do schemas affect how we understand our lived experiences?
- How does a piece of music’s “simplicity†or “complexity†influence our preferences? What present day examples can you supply? How does this connect to your schemas?
- “Each musical genre has its own set of rules and its own form†(p.233) What are the “rules†to the music you listen to? How do you know what they are? How could you describe them to someone else?
- Levitin discusses the influence of Richard Wagner’s music. Who was Wagner, and what type of music did he compose? What are Levitin’s issues with this music? Does Levitin have the same issues with popular music? How do you feel about this concept of music’s influence?
