Spring, 2001:

An Update: A year or so ago we ruminated on the so-called Mozart Effect, a theory which claims that music listening can improve the developing minds of young children in significant and even dramatic ways. Capitalizing on his research, author and investigator Don G. Campbell has published several books with provocative subtitles like "Awakening Your Child's Mind, Health and Creativity with Music"and "Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind and Unlock the Creative Spirit." Campbell also offers a boxed set of cassette recordings suitable for these purposes.

As so often happens, the claims and hype have gone pretty far overboard. There is no magic formula, including immersion in music, for transforming children or anyone else into roaring geniuses, and many well-meaning parents could even run the risk of turning their kids into neurotics instead.

Nevertheless, there really is such a thing as the Mozart Effect. According to the latest research, as reported in a recent issue of Time, regular exposure to good music, though not doing much for artistic creativity, does in fact enhance spatial organization. The effect is temporary, however.

We believe that this far more modest endorsement still gives scientific credence to the long held belief that music can be a powerful enhancement to one's mental and psychological well-being. Moreover, in the case of musicians and music lovers generally, the effect might be more or less permanent, because it would be constantly renewed. We certainly hope that the subject will continue to be researched and clarified.