The listening to classical music spilled over into Superlearning and Accelerated Learning.

They use 40 to 60 beats a minute Baroque music, as this is supposed to take you into the Alpha state, which is a brain rhythm state where you naturally learn. Superlearning and Accelerated Learning were two

systems based on a learning system that came out of Russia that used special Baroque music. They were very popular back in the 1980s and 90s but now not so much. The Russian system called Suggestapedeology never really took off in the West.

It was mainly used for learning foreign languages, and I haven’t heard about it for years now, but the Mozart and Baroque music is still being played.

I think the problem with these systems is people have trouble believing some of the claims and don’t even try them out. I used Baroque music, 60 beats a minute, when I was trying to learn a foreign language, but I don’t know if it made a difference.

Learning a language is like learning to read.

It takes time and more time and lots of persistence. There are so many setbacks. You have to have fixed, reachable goals that you stick to even when it goes in one ear and out the other. If your persistence dies so does the language, and it doesn’t matter how much Baroque music or Mozart music you listen to.

When reading I think having some music, preferable Mozart, on in the background could be a good idea as it breaks up the silence when the child is trying to say the words. And we never know it might make a difference, but if the child doesn’t want any music switch it off. Let them decide about how they want to learn. It’s their time so let them be the boss.

For more information about teaching reading courses I recommend including a Montessori course see our Teach Reading page.