Why Choose Mozart for Focused Listening?

Now that we know from the Tallman Paradigm how stimulation of the ear alters mood and behavior, we can appreciate why classical violin music was found effective by Alfred Tomatis for correcting the auditory problems of some patients. The stapedius muscle in the middle ear is pivotal in the transfer of high-frequency sound from the middle ear into the inner ear. The vibrations of high-frequency sounds made by violins exercise that tiny muscle, improving its tonus: strength and flexibility. A tonic muscle is more responsive to nerve impulses. It has more endurance. It can transmit sound frequencies more accurately and with maximum force.

Mozart violin concertos are rich in high-frequency sound and are fast-paced, which further packs more energy per second into the music. The variety of sounds produced by the instruments in the orchestra enrich the sound, requiring more nuanced work by the stapedius muscle.

The advantage of using the same genre of music that Tomatis used allows the listener to more easily compare individual results with his patients’ results. Tomatis filtered the low-frequency sound from the music he used for treating patients. When you use quite different music, as Bérard did when he adapted the Tomatis Method to his own practice, you introduce a complicating factor and have made the comparison of results more difficult. Scientific knowledge builds on the replication of results from many experiments.

On the other hand, the ear and the brain also thrive on variety! Once a person has felt the healing effects of sound, she or he may find some styles of music more effective than others. The dissonances in some music have had remarkable healing effects on my ears. Sounds that are not musical or pleasant, such as the wailing of a smoke alarm, have awakened my injured ears. Bérard’s departure from Mozart into a wide variety of musical genres may be effective for certain purposes, although I take exception to his emphasis on the left ear, except in cases of depression. 

You are free to experiment but please do so wisely with moderate volume and by limiting your time using headphones to two hours per day. Do keep notes on what works best for you and let us know what you have learned!