The most well-known study of classical music effect’s on IQ produced what was quickly coined “the Mozart Effect.” Although generally taken to mean that listening to Mozart would improve one’s IQ, this is actually rather misleading. In fact, the 1993 study only showed that 36 college students who listened to 10 minutes of Mozart a day were better at spatial temporal exercises (things like knowing what a sheet of paper would look like unfolded) afterward than after listening to either nothing or relaxation music. This falls short of scientific proof that listening to Mozart makes a person smarter overall, especially given the miniscule sample size.
Another commonly overlooked factor is the difference between learning music, such as playing an instrument or reading sheet music, and merely listening to it. A 2005 study conducted over the course of a year, the results of which were published in the neurological journal “Brain,” did show that after studying music, children had developed better memory and cognitive skills.
In “The Mozart Effect: Can listening to music really improve your child’s IQ?” an article published on the BBC Web site, Dr. Alexandra Lamont from Keene University is quoted as stating, “There's no evidence that just listening to music, not learning to play an instrument, has any effect at all with children or with babies."
Many of the studies involving children who had cognitive improvement after learning about (not just listening to) classical music do not show whether the improvement would continue after several years. Other studies have found that improved cognition after listening to classical music is only temporary, and still other research has yielded evidence that no cognitive improvement results at all.
The scientific community has reached a general consensus that learning to play a musical instrument or studying music will be beneficial and will not do any harm, even if it is only in terms of teaching discipline and time management.