You have probably heard a tale of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composing a masterful overture the night before his performance despite having a few drinks in his system (or perhaps because of them). It took him but three hours to produce the Don Giovanni.
An indubitable musical prodigy though he was, he can surely have had little idea how, centuries later, his masterpieces would be credited with powers stretching well beyond the concert halls.
1. Charms to soothe a savage beast.
While you sit in a grotty Mcdonalds, tucking into your Big Mac, you may notice a new flavor to your ears. A couple of Mcdonald’s in Australia, Scotland, and England are pumping classical music from the early evening onwards to set a more civilized mood and to sooth its late-night patrons.
It’s no secret that the fast-food chain has its fair share of rowdiness and brawls from drunk customers, especially in outlets that open 24/7 and situated near bars.
According to a News.com.au, Duke University’s Dr. Kevin Laber found that listening to classical music releases pleasure-inducing dopamine and represses stress hormones — inducing a calming effect on to people.
2. Secret ingredient to a flavorsome wine.
Over at the hills of Montalcino in Tuscany, where famed Brunello wine is produced, one of the vineyards is a bit different. The grapes are being serenaded all day, for a decade, by classical music.
Wine-maker, Giancarlo Cignozzi, who has been piping the Austrian composer’s The Magic Flute into a section of his vineyard, claims that the grapes ripen in 14 days as compared to the usual 20 days which in turn increases the wine’s alcoholic content.
Impressively, the melodies are even able to reduce bug attacks, to the extent, the vineyard uses no pesticides and very little fertilizer.
3. Speed up microbes in faeces.
Anton Stucki, head of a German sewage center in Treuenbrietzen, has developed a sound system that projects Mozart’s compositions to stimulate the activity of microbes that break down waste.
“We think the secret is in the vibrations of the music, which penetrate everything,” he deduced. “It creates a certain resonance that stimulates the microbes and helps them to work better. We are still in the test phase, but I have already noticed that the sewage breakdown is more efficient.”
The plant expects savings of as much as a thousand euros a month.
4. Natural tonic to increase muscle power and boost the performance of athletes.
Forget steroids. Take a dose of Mozart instead to enhance athletic performance. Dr. Thanassis Dritsas, cardiologist and advisor to the Greek Olympic team, recommends ten to fifteen minutes of classical music at a slow, easy pace, so that the workout begins at a low pulse-rate, aiding blood flow to the muscles.
Months after his advice, Greece netted six gold medals in the 2004 Olympic Games, its best since 1896.
5. Moo-zart Effect.
When playing Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp in D major to his herd, Spanish dairy farmer, Hans Pieter Sieber, discovered a dramatic shift of bovine temperament of his Friesian cows. Now his herd calmly lines up to be milked, while producing anywhere from up to six more liters of milk per day than their non-Mozart listening counterparts.
“It’s relaxing music for them, but at the same time it’s dynamic, it keeps the cows active. The trick is not to have music too relaxing,” Sieber’s son, Nicolas Sieber, enthused.
