A classroom experiment...

[Rami]

Hey guys,

This has nothing to do with flight simming, but I thought I'd pass along that I've been running a classroom experiment the last three months, and I've seen my students' test and quiz scores jump by about 15-20% per class.

The experiment? I asked the students if I could play classical music (mostly piano, some orchestra) during study blocks and during tests and quizzes softly, in the background.

I have a list of pieces I've been playing. Mostly well-known stuff, but some of my favorites as well.

Beethoven - Pathetique Sonata (All three movements)
Chopin - Nocturne Op. 32 No. 1 in B Major
Georges Bizet - Carmen overture and Toreador
Rossini - Barber of Seville overture
Chopin - Nocturne in EbM Op.9 No.2
Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Beethoven - Fifth Symphony (Scherzo)
Vivaldi - Double Trumpet Concerto in C major
Bach, - "Little" Fugue in G minor, BWV 578
Bach - Brandenburg Concerto #3 - 1st movement
Bach - Brandenburg Concerto #5 - 1st movement
Bach - Sheep may safely graze
Haydn - Emperor Quartet (Yes, I am aware of the significance of this )

The students have been asking me a lot of questions about classical music and are enjoying the pieces I select. This is only a partial list. My parents got me started on this when I was younger, emphasizing that it would help me concentrate while studying. It worked for me, and I have been doing it ever since.

 

[kelticheart]

Oh, definitely, yes!

Way to go, Rami!



I couldn't agree more with using good quality music as a tool to help mental relaxation, allowing a better concentration with the task at hand.

Didn't 8th U.S.A.A.F. pilots listen to Glenn Miller's and 1940's big bands radio broadcasts during missions to ease their minds from combat fear? It has to do with flying after all....

May I offer a small suggestion? I was tempted to say "Celtic Music", but the high energy effect of jigs 'n reels would not help a lot, yet.......the answer came right away:

Irish blind errant harpist Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738). Some music historians hold his harp music influenced contemporary composers, while he was surely an admirer of both Italian 18th century composers Luigi Boccherini and Antonio Vivaldi. In several of his compositions, particularly in "O'Carolan's Concerto", one can tell Boccherini's influence.

His music, albeit Irish, has a timeless connotation that can sit very well together with classic compositions. His harp compositions were used a lot in New Age recordings for relaxation and meditation, but look for unarranged recordings, just the harp, there are several out there.

Living in Boston, the heart first half, with Chicago being the other half, of Irish America, it shouldn't be very difficult locating some good O'Carolan's harp records.

I wish I had high-school teachers like you!.....

Cheers!
KH

 

[Worthless]

Don't know what grade you teach, but my sixth grade teacher did just that. It wasn't part of the curriculum and so far as I know she was the only one in our school that did this. That wasn't all, we had great classic art work from the masters, on the walls of our room. It has increased my appreciation for real music and fine art immeasurably. She use to play the music, identify it and then give pop quizzes later to see if we could identify the piece and the composer. Great stuff.

 

[Robert John]

Very interesting.

 

[brad kaste]

Rami,............I shouldn't be sticking my nose in here since I don't flight sim anymore,...but I still like to snoop around and see what's going on though in CFS-2. Anyway,...I'm a bit surprised you didn't have listed a Mozart piece or two. Such as his 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik' (A Little Night Music). Or maybe some pieces from the American composer Aaron Copeland?
...Jus' a thought.....

 

[Rami]

Reply...

Brad,

I said in the original post that this wasn't an exhaustive list.

I also have "Appalachian Spring" on my playlist, but "Fanfare for the Common Man" and "Hoedown" are a bit too bombastic for the environment I'm trying to create.

As far as Mozart, I not only have that, but his Symphony #40, the Marriage of Figaro overture, and my personal favorite, Rondo Alla Turca.

I also haven't forgotten Handel's Water Music, nor his Royal Fireworks Suite. (Messiah is a bit trickier, because of its content)

 

[brad kaste]

Rami,...Have you ever thought of introducing classical music which became the 'theme sound track' music in feature films? Three that pop into my noggin' are the Samuel Barber piece "Addigio For Strings" used in the movie 'Platoon' and R. Strauss' "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" used in '2001 Space Odyssey',.....or Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyrie" from 'Apocalypse Now.' However,...I'm not too sure what sort of calming effect (or adverse effect) "The Ride of the Valkyrie" would have on your students while taking an exam!


What I'm getting at feature movies do use classical music at times to set the tempo or theme of the movie itself.

 

[Rami]

Reply...

Brad,

Of course! You can do "themed" music.

Western?

Rossini - William Tell Overture
Copland - Hoe-down (Rodeo)
The theme from the Magnificant Seven

If I'm going to do "Ride of the Valkryes," you gotta do Apocalypse Now. However - this, like the Emperor Quartet and Handel's Messiah, gets tricky because they all have political / religious considerations.

And as far as "space" themed music, not only is there Also Sprach Zarathustra, but there is also "The Planets" from Gustav Holst. The John Glenn Marcury / Atlas launch from "The Right Stuff" leaps to mind.

If you're on the ocean - Mendelssohn's "Hebrides Overture" comes to mind.

And for war, "Adagio for Strings" comes to mind, certainly. Not only that one, but the "Light Cavalry Overture" by Franz Von Suppe, as well as some Sousa marches, also leap into memory.

 

[Shadow Wolf 07]

.

"...If you're on the ocean - Mendelssohn's "Hebrides Overture" comes to mind."

Or how about the soundtrack from "Victory at Sea?"

 

[MaskRider]

Much of the music written for "Victory at Sea" (Richard Rogers and Robert Russell Bennet) is quite relaxing and soothing, too, AND is CFS2-related! ;^)

MR

Whoops: Sorry Shadow. Didn't see your post! I agree!

BTW- I use a lot of the Victory at Sea music as background music in my MR scenery slideshows- linked below. ;^)

 

[_486_Col_Wolf]

Rami,

Music can be a wonderful stimulation for the mind in more than just the appreciation for the music itself. And classical can be really great for studying. Being a musician (guitar) I have a love for many different genres of music ranging from classical to military to big band swing. But also being a guitarist and a child of the 70's and 80's I'll always be a metalhead first and formost. BTW, for those of you who have never heard it, check out Iron Maiden's "Aces High". It's a tribute to the RAF pilots in the Battle of Britain.

 

[bearcat241]

Hey guys, This has nothing to do with flight simming...

Actually, for me it does. I've mentioned before here that this is what i like playing in the background when i'm immersed in combat flight simming, especially quick combat sessions. I started out with uptempo jazz, pop and funk for that "mental push" effect, but the classical joints seem to do better to sharpen my focus, situational awareness and just seem to deepen the overall gaming experience. So, i'm not at all surprised to hear its impact on in-school academics.

When my grands spend the weekends with us, they sometimes take naps. When they do, i tune our cable to classical music stations and let it play really low in the bedroom - just barely audible. I got this idea from doing this for myself during my own naps on my off days. Can't really describe the subconscious effects during sleep but i like it and i also like the way i feel when i wake. Its a good way of imbedding this music and its beneficial side effects in the spirit and soul.