Big Bad Musak

So I am reading up on ADD and ADHD... mostly because I am now a parent and if my daughter has any of the two disorders/afflictions/malaises, I can't go complain to the principal that I don't have enough aids in my classroom to help me deal with the situation. Googled ADD and found many nifty sites ranging from the "We have the meds to deal with ADD!" to the "ADD is a genetic disorder" (hoo-boy), but only one really caught my attention and, dare I say, pissed me off.

At first it seemed quite comprehensive and thorough when listing possible causes of ADD (why the italics? Well, there is no single official cause to the disorder as per determined by the various medical communities at large). They listed nutrition (check), certain pregnancy behaviors (check), video games (hmmm, ok, check) and music. Why music? This is what they say regarding music:

"Studies have attributed similar effects on the brain when listening to music, particularly in regard

to learning and studying. Classical music, with an average 50-70 beats per minute was optimal for

learning. Interestingly, it also provided health benefits such as lower blood pressure, lower muscle

tension, and a slower pulse rate."

Ok, so far, I have no issues. But wait, it gets better:

In every one of several human and animal studies" done of having

subjects listen to Mozart versus Hard Rock, the effects of classical music were in comparison to the

control group consistently of a calming, soothing nature, while the Hard Rock group invariably lead to

an aggressive, or even violent behavior."

Now there's a generalization to end all generalizations. Why don't we say that if a boy wears pink he's gay! Now here's the kicker:

"It is not difficult to understand how the influence of the hypnotic rhythm and beat of Heavy Metal Rock

music induces a drug-like effect that removes inhibitions, morals, and incites rebellion and aberrations

of conduct."

Aberrations in conduct? Any of these twits seen the movie Amadeus? Mozart himself was an abberation in conduct par excellence! He boozed it up like Tommy Lee back in the good ol' Crue days. Sure we can say that the movie is a dramatization of the life of Mozart, but to believe that classical composers were god-like in comparison to today's rock stars is a wee bit foolish. I can understand the value of classical music and its benefits (and I am a fervent fan of classical music), but to poo-poo rock music is sooooo yesterday and proves only that this website is attempting to a find scapegoat than real factors to ADD.

If Evelyn wants to listen to Metallica, that's fine by me. Who knows, she might want to pick up a guitar or bass and become the next Melissa Auf der Maur. Rock on, sweetie, rock on!