Keeping Mozart in Mind

The "Mozart effect" was discovered by Dr. Gordon Shaw following a series of sophisticated experiments designed to examine how the brain works. Since the original findings were presented in 1993, the "Mozart effect" phenomenon has been widely discussed in both the scientific community and the general media and participants improved their scores in spatial-temporal tests after listening to one of Mozart's piano sonatas. Spatial-temporal agility is an important guide to mathematical abiity and aptitude. The original study has prompted further interest in research to explore the relationship between music, intelligence and learning. In this book, Dr. Shaw presents key information from his original research, plus the latest scientific findings on the effects of music on reasoning from his own research and that of other scientists around the world. Most astonishingly, results from playing a particular piece of Mozart, the first movement of Sonata for Two Pianos in D major have all been positive. But there is much research still to be done.

Mentioned in:
MULTIMEDIA & INTERNET@SCHOOLS- June 2005
LA TIMES- May 2005
NEW YORK TIMES- May 2005
NEW YORK TIMES (NATIONAL EDITION)- May 2005
ADVOCATE- May 2005
DAILY BREEZE- May 2005
LOS ANGELES TIMES (VALLEY EDITION)- May 2005
LOS ANGELES TIMES (ORANGE COUNTY EDITION)- May 2005
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS- May 2005
NEWSDAY (NASSAU EDITION)- May 2005
EDUCATION WEEK- May 2005
"Gordon Shaw and the M. I. N. D. Institute has made such great progress, spreading a wider net to help our students: from his initial Mozart "effect" (with no instruction) to the research involving curriculum and instruction in pre-school to the primary grades. What makes his programs so unique is that the learning involves joy. As we watch the students in these classes, their faces reflect pleasure and delight, eagerness and immense enthusiasm! When positive emotions such as joy and passion intersect with a discipline, learning soars to heights greater than can be imagined!"
― Drs. Diane Watanabe and Richard Sjolseth, consultants at the Institute of Learning, Teaching and the Human Brain in the Division of Curriculum and Instruction at the Los Angeles County Office of Education

"The second edition of Prof. Gordon Shaw's pioneering book Keeping Mozart in Mind contains a wealth of new research results on improving spatial-temporal reasoning using specific and innovative combinations of music and mathematics training. For example, Prof. Shaw and his colleagues at the M.I.N.D. Institute have worked with more than 1000 second to fourth grade students in classrooms in the Los Angeles area, most of the students coming from socio-economic groups where poor language skills and math illiteracy are prevalent. They used a special set of their mathematical video games to develop mathematical skills in these students. The documented improvements in the student's mathematical skills were substantial, even astonishing.

There are many other examples of the successful use of the Institute's music training and mathematics training programs. The new research is integrated with the author's model of how the brain carries out spatial-temporal reasoning. All together this is a very important book for all those interested in improving mathematics education, be they teachers, researchers, or parents."
―Professor Martin Perl at SLAC, Stanford University, 1995 Nobel Laureate in Physics

"'Music hath charms...' and Dr Shaw and the M.I.N.D. Institute now clearly show that these charms extend to spatial and temporal reasoning in a form that can be harnessed as part of the educational process. Children are here shown to possess remarkable innate reasoning skills, and by permitting them to develop these skills through keyboard-based learning, the M.I.N.D. investigators have introduced a new educational paradigm that has already proven itself capable of enhancing the learning of math skills. Keeping Mozart in Mind can be read with equal interest by parents and educators and by experts in the field of cognitive neuroscience."
―Professor Edward G. Jones, M.D., UC Davis, past President of the Society of Neuroscience

"It is a delight to see that a second edition of Keeping Mozart in Mind by Gordon L. Shaw will appear shortly and at a price that will make it available to a much broader demographic group. The book describes in a lucid form the discovery and application of a new approach to the teaching and understanding of mathematics and music. Rather than teaching by rote, Gordon Shaw and his colleagues at the M.I.N.D. Institute in California have found that spatial-temporal stimulation of the mind through music and suitably crafted video games can lead to a dramatic improvement in a child's understanding of mathematics. Children, regardless of cultural or ethnic background, appear to have an innate ability to master advanced concepts of mathematics if exposed to this type of stimulation at an early age. The program, which involves both music and math outlined in the book, is now offered at 43 schools to over 8,000 students. It is characterized by the infectious enthusiasm of teachers and students alike in stark contrast to the fearful attitude to the subjects so common among many taught under the old systems. On another level, the writing gives a rare glimpse of the unfolding of a brilliant synthesis of a scientific model of the workings of the brain. The new insights it has spawned gives one a warm feeling that the model has captured a critical piece of the real thing. Gordon has inspired a generation of colleagues and in the book he gives generous recognition of their contributions. It is a 'must read' for any educator or parent of school age children."
―William A. Little, Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Stanford University

"The brain research upon which this program is based is ground-breaking and provides us with a new pathway to reach students who are struggling with their understanding of mathematics..."
―Claudia Kreis, Principal of Burnett Elementary School, Long Beach, California