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Today, it is not a secret that music can directly affect the emotional and physiological state of a person and his or her world perception and level of spiritual consciousness. Having an ancient long history of its origin, classical music, thanks to its special nature, instrumental content, unique rhythm, and tonality, can fill with energy and inspire, strengthen and restore, and soothe and treat. Therefore, classical music has a profound impact on a persons consciousness, and its features should be studied and examined in more details.
The Concept of Classical Music, Its Origins, and Historical Meaning
Classical music is one of the oldest genres and deserves attention due to its versatility, melody, clarity, and constant relevance at all times. Classical music or, in other words, academic music takes its name from the Latin definition of classicus, which means exemplary. Its formation began in one of the most creatively fruitful, albeit short, periods of history during the era of classicism at the end of the 18th century. The origins of the formation of classical music date back to antiquity. In general, the period of the existence of classical music in its various forms covers the times from Medieval (1150 – 1400) to Late Romantic (1860 – 1920) periods with the passage of Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism, and the era of Early Romanticism (Liu, Wei, Zhang, Xin, & Huang, 2013). Classical music based on the general principle of sound harmonization has changed over time. Composers of different epochs from the 12th to the 19th centuries supplemented it and gave it new forms and interpretations, which resulted in the formation of a rich heritage of classical music based on unified sound principles. Thus, Liu et al. (2013) include the Baroque era (1600-1750), the Classical era (1730-1820), and the Romantic era (1815-1910) into the periods of the formation of classical music.
The researcher Bertil van Boer (2013), subjectively does not quite accurately define the time of the appearance of academic music how the period from the death of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1750 to the Treaty of Vienna ending the Napoleonic Wars (1815), 1820, or the death of Beethoven in 1827. The origin of classical music in the late educational era of classicism was due to the desire of talented composers of that time to create a unity of time, place, and action. Thus, originally classical music was based on the imposition of instrumental and vocal accompaniment on the existing experience and ancient drama. Ancient subjects of opera and libretto, and the later oratorios and cantata combined clarity of meaning and conciseness of the plot of composition. The founders of classicism in music are rightfully considered Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Handel, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Fineberg, 2006). Ludwig van Beethoven, Giuseppe Verdi Frederic Chopin, and Felix Mendelssohn are also known around the world for their works. Classical culture in music could work throughout the centuries due to its truth, normative rightness, authenticity and beauty (Fineberg, 2006), which could be evaluated and determined. Due to the complex of harmony of its composition, relevance to any musical trends, classical music remains relevant to this day. In the original performance or complemented by modern cultural trends classical music is beyond competition and time.
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A number of outstanding musicians and masterpieces have been created in the 18th century, thanks to which today we have the most valuable musical heritage of academic music. Classical music is distinguished by the harmony of compositions, simplicity, and completeness of forms. It was in the era of classicism that the notion of tonics and the single theme of the musical work appeared as a thesis that has been considered and represented by music. There are an ensemble, orchestral, and solo directions of academic music. The predominant instruments participating in the orchestra were originally string and wind instruments in the 18th century. Later, within the framework of the work of Bach and his followers, a Viennese classical opera was created, comprising of a piano trio, quartet of stringed instruments, and quintet. The main role in classical music was assigned as a rule to violin, cello, and harp. Among the wind instruments the creators used a trumpet, trombone, flute, and later interpretations of a French horn. In classical music, the basic requirement is balance and harmony in the performance. Selective studies of the work of various music composers of the time were conducted by Liu et al. (2013) and were aimed at studying the evolution and development of classical music. The generalized results of the work showed that in the framework of adjacent notes in music the greatest change in tonality was established from Bach to Mendelssohn. The pitch fluctuation function, constructed with respect to the works of various classics, recorded approximately the same high treble following a bass, so that no definite dependence was revealed. Thus, classical music is a historically developed ancient direction of instrumental opera character, based on the principles of clarity and harmony of sound, which has received various interpretations in the works of the composers of the 17th-19th centuries.
An Influence of the Classical Music on Peoples Consciousness
The Mozart Effect
The influence of music on a person can have a different character. From this point of view, classical music as one of the oldest musical trends, originating from the very first stages of the cultural development of mankind, deserves pecial attention. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the world-famous Mozart effect, published and significantly hyperbolized in Nature in 1993 (Hahne, 2012). According to the Hahnes (2012), the Mozart effect was revealed at the end of the 20th century on the basis of the Stanford-Binet control group of students whose mental productivity based on the results of the IQ tests for 15 minutes increased after listening to Mozarts Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, compared to relaxation music and silence. However, the continuation of the study by its head Frances Rauscher over the next two years, as well as other independent scientific experiments of 1994, 1999, and 2001, demonstrated the ambiguity of the results of 1993. According to the generalized data provided by Hahne (2012), it can be concluded that the Mozart effect does not have a direct impact on the spatial knowledge of a person, but influences his or her activity only in the short term. The essence of the effect lies in the excitation, which classical music causes in the brain activity of a person, but its nature is not completely clear. This phenomenon requires further research, where control would be introduced in relation to several individuals over a period of time to demonstrate if cognitive changes can be maintained (Hahne, 2012). Despite this, the results of the study on the consequences of listening to classical music, using EEG machines, the fixation of the electric activity of the participants brains, demonstrated an increase in the alpha power index and heart rate of background activity in all ages after listening to K.448 by Mozart (Freeman, 2015). Thus, classical music influenced the structure of brain wave activity associated with intelligence (IQ), memory, cognition, and constructive logical thinking. Hyperactive children, as well as children with a lack of attention, are recommended listening to classical music. It can be said that classical music can have a harmonic effect in many cases
The Nature of Classic Music Influence
According to the researchers (McAdams, 2017), classical music has an impact on the human brain and mental potential, but it does not provide a direct increase in intelligence. The improvement of intellectual efficiency occurs due to the fact that the sound of classical music creates a certain calming and coordinating effect. As a result, the body produces a substance that causes pleasure, such as dopamine, and limits stress hormones. As a consequence, a persons good mood clears his or her thinking and releases intellectual potential for a certain period of time (McAdams, 2017). Most often, its admirers are people of an introverted psychological personality type. Classical music develops creative and logical thinking. It calms and heals depressive and restless states of a person. Sharma (2017) claims that according to Chinese medical theory the classical music is able to cause comfort and relaxation, and listening to classical music is recognized as favorable for pregnant women and newborn children. It has a relaxing and toning effect on the mind and body, and can be used during any occupation. In his study on music, Sharma (2017) underlines that listening to classical music is useful during yoga, meditation, or other physical exercises. Thus, the music has positive effect on the human body.
Using of Classical Music
To date, there is no doubt about the existence rehabilitation properties of classical music. The musical therapy is widely used today in the field of medical care and public health services to help people with memory and nervous system problems. In addition, classical music was introduced into innovative systems of adaptation of newborn children to the vernal environment in medical institutions of such developed countries as the USA and Germany. Mozarts music here has a special place because one of its distinctive characteristics is the frequent repetition of the same melodic line that creates a continuous harmony and integrity of sound. There is no sharp fluctuation in tone, which makes it possible to completely eliminate interruptions and justify the subconscious expectations of listeners. The first studies of the influence of music on living organisms were conducted on animals. An experimental analysis of the group of male mice response to various types of music during the postoperative recovery period was conducted at Tokyo University in Japan (Sharma, 2017). Based on the results of the experiment, the life expectancy of mice that were listening to the classical works of Verdi and Mozart was twenty days longer than those who heard the Irish songs of En-ya, other single-frequency music, or nothing at all. Also it has revealed a direct therapeutic effect of the listening to classical music on patients who have suffered a stroke of the right hemisphere of the brain (Sharma, 2017). An effective tonality of classical music is also helpful for the treatment of other diseases. For example, classical music can enhance the level of mindfulness, visual perception, and memory. Also according to Sharma (2017), Mozarts Sonata for Two Pianos, K.448 reduces total seizure activity and recurrence in epileptic patients by 65%, when compared with silence. All these facts clearly demonstrate in practice the essential importance of classical music for all spheres of human life.
Classical music is also used in surgery. According to McAdams (2017), the famous doctor Claudius Conrad listens to Mozarts sonatas during the surgery himself and gives listen to his patients in the postoperative period. The research conducted by him in 2007 gave shocking results. Practical application of classical music to patients after surgery during the recovery period contributed to a decrease in soreness, lowering blood pressure, and increasing stress resistance. Dr Conrad even revealed that listening to classical music increases the amount of pituitary growth hormone by 50% and, thus, reduces inflammation and accelerates the healing process (McAdams, 2017). Moreover, taking into account the characteristic properties of classical music and its disorienting and relaxing effect on human consciousness, in developed countries today it is used as a preventive measure and for maintaining law and order. Acknowledgment to that is the introduction in 2004 of musical accompaniment from classical compositions of Bach, Handel, and Mozart in a network of railway stations of England. According to McAdams (2017), as a result of the creation of such music spaces, it was possible to achieve both a significant reduction in violations of law and order and an increase in the general culture of citizens and their behavior in public places. It can be summed up that classical music today is capable not only of bringing aesthetic pleasure, but also of being useful in many spheres of life.
Every person is drawn to music. In one form or another, it surrounds people everywhere. It increases peoples productivity, shapes their mood, heals the body and consciousness, and makes them feel deeper. In the end, it characterizes every individual. As a result, the role of music in the life of everyone is difficult to overestimate. Especially it concerns classical music, long-term observations and researches of which have proved its developing, calming, healing, and rehabilitative properties for the human body.