Research cited by Laurence O'Donnell III found that listening to Baroque music and music by Mozart that is 60 beats per minute activates both sides of the brain, which can increase general learning and retention. His report "Music and The Brain" published on Cerebromente.org points to findings that show students can learn foreign languages with near perfect proficiency in only 30 days when listening to classical music pieces that have a 60 beat-per-minute pattern, and that four years later language recall is almost 100 percent.
The famous study "The Mozart Effect," performed by Dr. Frances H. Rauscher and Dr. Gordon L. Shaw, revealed that preschool children who took keyboard lessons performed 34 percent higher on tests for spatial reasoning than their peers who had no lessons, as reported by Teacher Vision.
Particular types of classical music are said to encourage problem solving and goal-setting activities. "Pianoforte" by Eric Daub and "The Mozart Effect," a collection of Mozart pieces organized by Don Campbell, are both used as examples by Chris Boyd Brewer of New Horizons for Learning. Rhythm and tempo are key players in memory, according to the findings of an experiment by the University of Oklahoma. A group of 46 students was asked to memorize sets of numbers. The students who listened to either classical music or even random, choppy bits of classical music performed better than the group who listened to no music at all.
Brainwaves, when digitally converted into music as done at the Brain Music Therapy Center in New York, resemble classical piano music. This type of sound is reported to increase concentration and help curb Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms, according to Dr. Galina Mindlin, who participated in the center's research. Classical music is shown to have a calming effect on students suffering from ADHD, which could help them focus better on study material.