Calm Brains Learn

Yes, classical music. It’s called ‘classic’ for a reason. It’s, wait for it, classic. It has stood the test of time. Much of it is centuries old.

The point of playing music while students learn is to create a sense of calm. Once my students overcame their frustrations with it, classical music became integral to their days. More students noticed its absence when it wasn’t playing. They became more engaged if they found out the background of why the composer wrote the music.

Classical music was never a distraction. It blended with the day’s learning like the background music in a store.

Note the word–background. It was never upfront. I selected pieces that I knew would blend and not overpower.

Calm brains learn. Anxious ones don’t. Angry brains shut off the receiving centre–the hippocampus. Did my classical classroom music feed anger among students? It might have, but the anger was already there. The music didn’t cause the anger. Something else did.

Did it have a calming effect? It did once the regular responses were out of the way. You know the ones–can we play something else? Why do we need to listen to music written by dead people?

Music, like any art form, is a dynamic, vibrant one.