Hector Benavidez 1

Hector Benavidez

Dr. Sterling

ENGL 1301

October 25, 2016

Music for the Brain, Music for the Soul.

In the article Enhancement of Task Performance Aided By Music, Authors B.

Geethanjali, K. Adalarasu, M. Jagannath and R. Rajasekaran Study the effects of music on

people while performing different tasks. Published to CurrentScience.ac.in on December 10,

2016. The authors used their test subjects emotions and responses to determine the effect the

music has on him or her and used the data acquired to determine the effects of music on an

individual. They provided enough evidence to support the claim that music can help ones

performance and concentration.

Scientists selected twenty participants to perform a series of tests designed to determine

whether or not music has any effect on a person's performance. . The subjects were placed in a

room where they were given the option of various styles of Indian music, half chose the style

known as Malahari, while the remaining half chose another called Kapi. The subjects were then

asked to rate their emotions before and after listening to the music using what is known as a

Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. The subjects pulse rates were also recorded and used to

determine how the subjects were reacting to and performing the various tests they were asked to

perform. The first task involved the subjects simply listening to the music chosen, while the

second had them perform a simple errand while listening the music and the final task involved

them performing the same errand while in silence. The tests determined that the subjects

performed at much higher levels while listening to music, than while sitting in silence.
 Hector Benavidez 2

The intended audience seems to be people who have an interest in music and science and

it can relate to college students by helping them find music that can help concentrate them while

studying for test or while doing homework. The authors use good organization to help the reader

understand the process which was used to find the results of the study. They also include various

informational graphs and charts to not only support their findings, but also inform the reader on

the results of the tests they had operated. The authors also include the instrumentation of the the

two types of music, along with the musical selections and performers of the two pieces.

The authors strategy mostly consists of providing facts and evidence to support their

claims. A strategy like this one is perfect for scientific articles because it allows the reader to

truly understand the procedures of the tests in question. Along with stating facts and providing

evidence, the authors also explain the evidence in detail and help the reader understand how they

came to the conclusions they did. This strategy proves useful if some of the intended audience do

not fully understand the graphs and information provided in the article, as well as completely

validate their conclusion using indisputable evidence.

Reading articles like these help me further appreciate the scientific method of finding

answers to questions through testing and logical reasoning. Allowing the data collected to prove

the argument or claim made in the article. This article also helped me further understand the

power of music as a form of expression and as an aid to help people not only concentrate on a

task, but also to perform much better at these tasks.