Music, serious gaming, and concentration skills – with the app, children discover the magic of classical music through interactive games.
Listening to classical music promotes concentration
A targeted evaluation with children who were exposed to classical music over an entire school year showed the following result: A large number of children feel calm and focused when they listen to classical music. This confirms observations and reports from parents and teachers.
The Apollo Music Projects Impact Report 2021
Apollo Music Projects has been conducting targeted evaluations since 2018 and 2019 to explore the impact of classical music on children, particularly the impact of listening to classical music.
Over an entire school year, the study followed children who were exposed to classical music. The researchers first investigated how the children felt when they started listening to orchestral music. Many children feel calm and focused when they start listening to music. Interestingly, these feelings of calm and concentration are not related to the emotional content of the music itself. Rather, the children seemed to experience calmness and concentration through the act of listening to the music.
To explore this further, the children were asked to say how they felt not only at the beginning of listening to the music, but throughout an entire concert. Again, the children consistently reported feeling calm and focused, regardless of the emotional content of the music they were listening to.
These results support the evidence and observations of teachers and parents that children experience a profound and sustained level of concentration and flow through listening to classical music.
Three key questions answered in the affirmative
The results of the study show that children achieve the following three outcomes through the act of listening:
- Development of an emotional connection with classical music.
- Experiencing emotional well-being through engagement with classical music.
- Feeling that classical music is accessible and available to them.
The results were clear and consistent. The children were able to articulate complex, personal and appropriate responses to classical music.
The data collection methods developed specifically for this research included written questionnaires, facilitated group sessions, creative writing responses and interviews and informal conversations with teachers and pupils.
Unexpected result
The analysis of the research material revealed another unexpected effect of classical music:
The children reported that they felt positive emotions when listening to classical music, suggesting that active listening has an impact on children’s well-being.
A positive relationship between the practice of focused, active listening and overall emotional well-being may indicate that projects such as Apollo Music Projects or Fortissimo not only provide children with access to classical music, but also result in a profound aesthetic engagement with far-reaching effects.
Further research in this area of study is forthcoming.
The Fortissimo App
And if you want to increase your children’s concentration in a relaxed way, get the Fortissimo App.
It’s free and helps children acquire musical skills easily and playfully.
