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Introduction: What is the Relationship
between Music and Learning?
In the competitive world we live in today, students constantly
face pressure to be the best in school. To be the best, students are
always trying new ways to facilitate their learning strategies,
whether this includes the location or amount of time the student
dedicates towards their studies. External factors such as music
may also have an effect on a student’s learning ability.
Many students include listening to music during their
process of studying. They believe having music in the background
has a positive impact on their study skills. This improved studying
method correlates with higher memorization and increased
comprehension skills. Along with the direct impact on the
specifics of the student’s learning ability, there is a change in the
overall mood and attitude the student has towards the study
material. As the student listens to the music that they enjoy and
there is an improvement in the mood there could be an increase
in motivation throughout the learning environment as well.
Others argue that music is simply a distraction and does not
act as a learning enhancer. Different types of music have various
effects on students, such as the level of distraction. Aspects of
music that cause these different effects include, intensity, rhythm,
volume, and presence of lyrics. There have been studies done with
students to test if there truly is a correlation between music and
learning ability.
Throughout this reading guide there will be an inquiry
regarding whether listening to music while studying truly has an
impact on a student’s learning ability. The first chapter will discuss
perspectives that support music having a positive impact on a
student’s learning ability. The second chapter will compare how
different music types can have different effects. The last chapter
will convey the perspectives of why music is simply a distraction
and has a negative impact on the student’s learning ability.
Positive Effects of Learning with Music
Students have reported the beneficial impacts of listening to
background music while learning. One main reason for this is that
music provides a more enjoyable mood in the corresponding
learning atmosphere. Music provides “the user more control to
personalise their learning environment with something they
already find engaging and
relevant”(Leo Learning Web
Team, 2013). This personalized
environment allows the
student to connect more
with the learning material
and this will have a positive
influence on the ability to
memorize the content as
well. Music forces multiple
sections of the brain to work
together activating the active
listening and even the
memory. Memory skills can
be found in the left atmosphere. Music triggers almost every
section of the brain. Although these parts of the brain are
activated during studying with music, there is no evidence that
proves a direct scientific connection between music and an
improvement in learning.
Advocates for music as a learning enhancer use the
arousal-mood-hypothesis to further provide scientific evidence for
this theory. This idea relates to the suggestion of music creating a
more motivating and stimulating atmosphere. While the student
listens to the music that is enjoyable to them during their
studying process, the learning material may even become more
enjoyable to the student. This can be explained because, “music
can add meaningful context by making the experience personally
relevant and authentic for the learner, raising attention with
emotional charge” (Leo Learning Web Team, 2013). The student
starts to share the same emotional connection that is felt with the
music with the study material as well. This will eventually have
positive effects on a student’s learning ability.
A well known concept that even many teachers use in a
classroom setting is called the Mozart Effect. Teachers will play
classical music as there students complete work during class,
many times resulting in higher quality work. There have been
studies made where students listen to music written by Mozart
and then complete different tasks that require a decent amount
of brain activity. The classical music written by Mozart had a
positive effect on the student’s ability to perform the tasks. The
Mozart Effect is a well known major factor of the relationship
between music and a student’s learning ability. This effect
specifically targets the memory skills of the student. Memory skills
tend to be correlated with specific parts of the brain and studies
about the Mozart Effect focused on these parts. This idea has
spread beyond students and their learning ability. The Mozart
Effect even went on to have an effect on health care aspects. Many
people in the healthcare profession rely on this theory in order to
help their patients. Music has been known to decrease stress
levels due to neurotransmitters that are released while listening.
This is helpful when healthcare professionals want to help with
anxiety cases. The decrease in stress levels connect back towards a
student’s learning ability as well. This allows the student to be
more focused rather than feeling pressured and stressed to recall
the information.
General Effects of Music
Positive impacts of listening to music expand beyond a student’s
learning ability. Music can have an impact on one’s overall mental
and physical health as well. Anxiety is one of the most commonly
known mental illnesses that use music as a natural remedy.
Doctors who treat patients with illnesses such as high blood
pressure and cancer will recommend them to listen to music to
help speed their recovery process.
“Exposure to sound, music, and other forms of vibration,
beginning in utero, can have a lifelong effect on health, learning,
and behavior”(Campbell, 1997). Music can have a lasting positive
impact on other aspects of life, along with one’s learning ability.
This positive impact can include decreased levels of stress,
increased amounts of sleep, and even reduce depression.
Listening to music stimulates the opposite internal sensations
that are triggered by stress. This will therefore contribute to a
person’s overall greater physical and mental well being.
Different Types of Music and their Effects
When trying to observe whether music has a positive or
negative impact on a student’s learning ability it is necessary to
delve into the specifics, such as the type of music the student is
listening to.
Listening to music that has an excessive amount of lyrics
involved can have a negative impact on learning because, “vocal
music is more distracting than helpful, particularly when trying to
memorize”(Computer Systems Institute, 2015). As the student
attempts to memorize the study material, the music containing
lyrics can cause a distraction even if it just played in the
background. The student’s brain will unwillingly focus on the
words from the song rather than concentrating on the study
material.
Along with lyrics, the tempo, volume, and rhythm have an
effect on student’s as well. Music that is played softer in the
background and has a fast tempo can have beneficial impact on
the student, while music that is louder will take too much
attention away from the study material. Also slower tempos do not
create the specific mood needed for the student to feel motivated
in the learning environment.
Music that is familiar to the student can display varying
effects onto the studying process. One possibility could be the
familiarity allows the student to feel more comfortable with the
learning material that is unfamiliar towards the student. This will
motivate the student to study harder and truly understand the
concepts better. Another possibility that comes with listening to
music that is familiar is that it is more likely to be a distraction for
the student. The student will unknowingly find themselves paying
more attention to the music that is easier for them to understand
and connect with. This type of music varies with the type of
student.
Negative Effects of Learning with Music
People who disagree with the idea that music acts as a
learning enhancer for students mainly believe that people are
unable to truly multitask. They state that although the music will
be played only in the background and the student believes it is
helping their concentration, it is merely only having a detrimental
effect on the student’s focus.
“When learning with background music, the learners have to
divide their attention between the learning task and the
music.(Lehmann, 2017)” Music causes a distraction because
unknowingly parts of the brain will start to focus on the music.
Although the music may be creating an overall enjoyable
mood that could be helping the student feel more involved in the
study material, the student may end up becoming too involved in
the music as well.
To test this theory, social scientists Nick Perham and Harriet
Currie coordinated four groups of student each with a separate
task. One group consisted of studying in silence, the second group
studied with songs that had lyrics they favored, the third group
studied with songs that had lyrics they did not favor, and the last
group studied with songs with no lyrics. The results stated that
students studying in silence performed better than students who
listened to music. The students who participated in this study
claimed that the music provided a distraction although it did
increase their mood as they studied. The social scientists were able
to conclude that music may not have a direct influence on
impacting higher intelligence skills but it does create motivation
to reach these higher standards.
Sources
Lehmann, Janina A. M., and Tina Seufert. “The Influence of Background Music on Learning in
the Light of Different Theoretical Perspectives and the Role of Working Memory Capacity.”
Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Media S.A., 2017,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5671572/.
LEO Learning Web Team. “How Does Music Affect the Learning Experience?” LEO Learning,
4 Nov. 2016, leolearning.com/2013/08/how-does-music-affect-the-learning-experience
https://leolearning.com/2013/08/how-does-music-affect-the-learning-experience/.
Computer Systems Institute. “How Does Listening to Music Affect Studying?” Computer
Systems Institute in MA & IL, 4 Feb. 2016,
www.csinow.edu/blog/how-much-does-listening-to-music-affect-your-studying/
Campbell, D., & Campbell, D. (n.d.). The Mozart effect : tapping the power of music to heal the
body, strengthen the mind, and unlock the creative spirit (1st ed.). New York: Avon Books.
Shorr, Ardon, director. Unlocking Music with Neuroscience. YouTube, 19 Apr. 2012,
youtu.be/cswhOCKQZ7Q.
Sacks, Oliver. “Music and the Brain ~ The Importance of Early Musical Training.” PBS, Public
Broadcasting Service, 10 Sept. 2018,
www.pbs.org/wnet/musicinstinct/video/interviews/music-and-the-brain-the-importance-of-early-
musical-training/49/.
Hattie, J., & Yates, G. (2014). Visible learning and the science of how we learn . London ;:
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
“How Does Music Affect Your Brain?” Ashford University, 7 June 2017,
www.ashford.edu/online-degrees/student-lifestyle/how-does-music-affect-your-brain.
Busch, Bradley. “Drowned in Sound: How Listening to Music Hinders Learning.” The
Guardian, 14 Mar. 2018,
www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2018/mar/14/sound-how-listening-music-hinders-learnin
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