Interview with
Don Campbell
One afternoon in September, I enjoyed a very relaxed and informative telephone interview with Don Campbell. Don is well known as the author of 18 books, including Rhythms of Learning and The Mozart Effect, which has now been translated into 25 languages. His latest book is Harmony of Health (published in 2006 by Hay House).
Don is on the board of the American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is also Director of Audio Systems Quality Music for Health Care. He has been a frequent keynote speaker at IAL conferences going back to the days when we were known as the Society for Accelerative Learning and Teaching (SALT).
Here is what Don had to say:
What path led you into music?
“I am a classical musician. My mother and father valued music highly, so there was always music in my home. At the age of 13, I went to France to study piano, organ and music theory with the renowned teacher, Nadia Boulanger. I also trained in Music Education and Conducting.
As a young man, I spent seven years in Japan in an international school teaching music and humanities. By the 1970s I was discovering the importance of music to improve language proficiency, creativity and subject matter.
In the 1980s I came into contact with both Georgi Lozanov and Dr. Alfred Tomatis. These two contacts led me to the decision to dedicate my life to the role of music in education and health with a special emphasis on neurological and physical functions.
Over time, I began to realize the connection between creativity and movement and how the mind could integrate these things with music.
In the 1980s I became involved with the Guggenheim project along with Peter Kline and others. The purpose of the project was to improve elementary education in a low income area of Chicago through Accelerated Learning. The results were extremely positive; we clearly demonstrated how art, music, movement and imagery could enhance learning.
The next stage in my life was writing a book titled Rhythms of Learning with Chris Brewer (available through Zephyr Press). This book gives clear evidence and examples of the importance of music in Accelerated Learning.
What is the power of music?
Music stimulates connections and interactions on multiple levels of brain function. It enhances language learning and long-term memory, and it affects the mind-body connection in a relaxed, integrated way. Music improves the learning environment, dampens distracting outside noises, and provides an opportunity to teach subject matter in an optimal way through active and passive concerts.
My own experience with passive concerts and fifteen 5 th graders was particularly revealing. The children loved this special moment of the lesson, when they could relax, recline in their chairs, and simply listen as I read something from the subject matter that we would work on actively the next day.
One evening the mother of one of the fifth graders called me to say that she was very concerned we were hypnotizing her daughter. I immediately invited her to come to school and experience the passive concert for herself.
She showed up the next day. After participating in our foreign language class, she came up to me smiling. She said that she worked in a hospital and that this was the same kind of relaxation technique the hospital used with heart attack patients. Her conclusion was that her daughter would never have a heart attack—even if she didn’t learn a foreign language!
I believe that music is particularly effective in stimulating the brain during passive concerts for several reasons. First, the rhythm speaks to the older part of the brain. Second, it causes responses from the mind-body link that are deeply imprinted. Third, the harmony of the music speaks to the part of the brain connected to our emotions and feelings. Finally, the melody and words speak to the newer brain, called the neo-cortex.
Taken altogether, music stimulates the whole brain in a unique and awesome way that can only enhance learning.
What do you say to people who claim that young children don’t hook up to classical music because it’s too hard for them?
“It’s not about what you like or don’t like. The object is to embrace them with a creative focus…to bring them to attention so that they are able to learn more quickly and effectively. If the musical diet is always about the “sweet” things, is this the best diet? If we keep putting only the pretty favorite things into our ears, we don’t get the nutrition of sound.
I have recorded three CDs of music by Mozart especially for children. The first is Tune Up the Mind, which is recorded in the higher frequencies. The second is Relax, Daydream and Draw, which is recorded in lower frequencies and is designed to open up the right hemisphere of the brain. The third is Mozart in Motion, which is designed to accompany movement and motion, so important in the learning processes of young children.
When I work with university students, I begin by asking them what keeps them from studying. They answer that they’re tired, bored, lack motivation, can’t settle down, feel scattered, or are over/under stimulated. Music, I tell them, will help them re-adjust their brains.
Okay, Don. So what do you say to people who work in the corporate world and feel that they don’t have time to listen to music and play silly games with it?
Of course with adults, the use of music is self-regulated. The way in which they use it depends on the type of person they are, their age, the health of their minds, their ability to focus, and their levels of stress.
Mozart, for example, wrote music that is organized, so it organizes the mind and allows the brain “to settle.” In the corporate world and in hospitals, this means that music used appropriately can stabilize and focus the mind. It can reduce the levels of stress and foster new, creative ideas.
I couldn’t end this interview without a more specific mention of The Mozart Effect.
My work with Mozart began in 1958 with Dr. Alfred Tomatis (www.tomatis.com), who was working with people who had listening and learning disabilities. He used Mozart in particular because the highly organized focus of the music calms the brain and brings about a relaxed stimulation.
However The Mozart Effect encompasses more than just Mozart. It is about the way sound is organized so it tunes up our minds. It is about being able to learn faster and more effectively while enjoying the learning process more. It is about the way we speak in a highly rhythmic way, changing speed, tone and volume. It is all we have learned about sound and our ability to listen. It is about ear dominance, which is similar to being right- or left-handed. And it is about our ability to use music as one of our most powerful teaching tools. If you want to be smarter, listen to music.
Music is essential in Accelerative Learning. It is not just about playing music in the background or creating games with it, but about the rhythm of the voice, harmonic rhythm, and the true magic of active and passive concerts. Putting music to the forefront in training stimulates better focus, results in less stress, and leads to remarkable results.
For more information about Don Campbell, please go to www.mozarteffect.com
By Bonnie Tsai
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