The Effect of Background Music on Learning

Abstract

It has been suggested that the behaviour of pupils with special educational needs may, in part, result from frustration due to lack of physical co-ordination and the consequent inability to perform manual tasks effectively and efficiently. This research investigates the possibility that specific properties of certain Mozart orchestral compositions which, in combination, improve the co-ordination skills of pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Audio tapes of Mozart orchestral compositions provided a sound stimulus for ten boys aged 12+ identified as having special educational needs and emotional and behavioural difficulties. These tapes were then adulterated in an attempt to establish which qualities were producing the effects. Measurements of blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate were measured to establish which sound stimulus had an effect on the physiology and metabolism of the subject. In each case an improvement in co-ordination was observed, accompanied by a corresponding drop in the aforementioned physiological parameters and an observed improvement in behaviour. It is suggested that Mozartian qualities may stimulate the production of a chemical, possibly an endorphin, within the brain's limbic system which directly affects the physiological parameters of blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate in such pupils, slowing down body metabolism and reducing enzyme and hormone production. This may then produce an improvement in pupils' co-ordination, reduce their frustration, and in turm reduce their aggressive and disruptive behaviour.

Effect of background music and the cultural preference to music on adolescents’ task performance

“…Since according to this theory, music accelerates one's sense of enjoyment and sense of achievement and attainment, a combination of the two could be likely leading to that person being able to understand or comprehend the text in front of them in a better manner (Sloboda & Jusling, 2001). The results of this study have also been inconsistent with some previous studies which postulated that background music can have a negative effect on task performance (Furnham & Strbac, 2002;Hallam et al, 2002;Savan, 1999). One reason could be that the role and functions of background music differ depending on the individual characteristics of the listener and the characteristic features of the task or activity that the listener is involved in.…”

“…Music of one's choice and preference has displayed an increase in performance in earlier research (DeMers, 1996) and the same has been proved to be true in the current study. The kind of music being used will be directly responsible for the found effect because of two evident reasonsprevious research showcased a negative effect when music that was distracting or non preferred was utilized in the task (Savan, 1999;Cassidy & MacDonald, 2007) and using music of the type that was not only liked but was also culturally familiar, accelerated the positive effect, as has been seen in our study. Therefore, in accordance with the findings and postulations of the present study, it is proposed that playing liked, preferred and culturally contextualized music in the background while the task at hand is being performed will lead to an enhancement in cognitive performance, especially in a reading comprehension task.…”

“…Conversely, listening to music has also been shown to have negative effects or consequences. Listening to metal music or music of extremely high intensity can lead to an increase in depressive symptoms, especially among female adolescents and can also lead to a decline in grades (Savan, 1999). Consequently, in another study, children's performance was shown to have declined in all cognitive exercises.…”

Upshot of Music-Blended Teaching on Anxiety, Interest and Performance of Students with Mathematics Learning Disability

“…Of the reviewed studies, only two studies ( [27] Montello, 1998; [32] Savan, 1998) were conducted to know the impact of music on students with learning, emotional and behavioural disorders. But no studies were conducted on the impact of music on students with MLD.…”

Emotional effects of startling background music during reading news reports: The moderating influence of dispositional BIS and BAS sensitivities

“…A variety of studies have demonstrated that different types of music induce varying emotion‐related psychophysiological responses (e.g., Iwanaga & Moroki, 1999; Savan, 1999). Krumhansl (1997) found that sad excerpts produced the largest changes in heart rate (HR), blood pressure, electrodermal activity (EDA), and digital temperature; fear‐related excerpts produced the largest changes in pulse transit time and finger pulse amplitude; happy excerpts produced the largest changes in respiration measures.…”