Throughout history, two of the most substantial influences on society have been education and music. Education is a key element to modern society as it is known. From an early age, children are sent to school on a mission to learn all they can. Students progress, year by year, with the difficultly and complexity of the content increasing as they move on. After twelve to thirteen years of this progress, an individual should earn their high school diploma, which is viewed by modern society as the most basic level of education. After finally completing the long and grueling thirteen years of education, society expects newly graduated high school alums to continue their education if they wish to attain a better paying job. This whole process of …show more content…
It is common for educators to discourage the use of headphones and listening to music in school. Administration of many schools in the United States believe that music is distracting and should not draw attention to the more important schoolwork. The educators are correct in some aspect; however, it depends on the style of music. Songs with lyrics are more likely to take away from a student’s focus than those without lyrics. A study by titled “Singing in the Brain: Independence in Lyrics and Tunes” was conducted to test the difference between both instrumental and lyrical music to uncover each style’s effect on the brain. Their reseach concluded that music and lyrics compete with each other for attention from the brain (Besson, et. al, 1998). While this study does support the dismissal of lyrical music in academia, that does that mean that classical or instrumental music cannot be incorporated. Another study done at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications says otherwise about music incorporated in learning. Qian Su and Fei Wang studied forty students broken into two groups. Group A was presented a song with a fast tempo, while at the same time being tested on cognitive memory. The other group was played a song at a slow tempo. Their study found that the studies conducted proved that music of a quicker tempo proved to be more distracted than music of a slower level, …show more content…
If wounded military men found enough comfort in music to derive an entire field of therapy, surely music will help students in dealing with the common stress of schoolwork. Not only can the comfort of music can help students cope with and overcome the fear of failure, but also test anxiety. Some believe that the incorporation of soft, relaxing music can relieve tension and help relax individuals when taking tests. A study titled “Effects of Music and Grade Consequences on Test Anxiety and Performance” was conducted at Texas State University to find out the true effect of music on test anxiety. Similar to the aforementioned study by Su and Wang, gave students either soft music or obnoxious music and measured the systolic blood pressure (SBP). The study
Throughout history music has played an important role in society, whether it was Mozart moving people with his newest opera or the latest album from the Beatles. Where would society be today without music? With schools cutting their music programs, the next Mozart may not get his chance to discover his amazing talent. Music programs are essential to education. To fully understand this one must understand how music helps the human body, why schools have cut music programs, and why people should learn music.
Music and the Brain: Processing and Responding (A General Overview). For any individual who either avidly listens to or performs music, it is understood that many melodies have amazing effects on both our emotions and our perception. To address the effects of music on the brain, it seems most logical to initially map the auditory and neural pathways of sound. In the case of humans, the mechanism responsible for receiving and transmitting sound to the brain is the ears.
The average brain contains two percent phone numbers, three percent names, five percent knowledge gained in school, and ninety percent song lyrics (source 1). Through music, numerous positive benefits can influence and enhance the effectiveness of a child in and out of school. The most essential benefits that are enhanced, are work ethic, motivation, relaxation, sleep patterns and concentration. A study conducted by the University of California at Irvine in 1993 and again in 1995 was to study the effects of listening to Mozart for ten minutes before taking a test. The results from this study were the students who listened to music before their exams had dramatically improved their scores compared to students who did not participate in heeding to the music
But as long as the note is in the right context, it sounds fine. As humans, we have grown to develop a sort of musical grammar in detecting a wrong note. We develop an awareness to the knowledge of the rules of how certain sequences are made, very much like grammar with linguistics. Now, musical grammar can be a lot more complex than just a sour note, and can greatly differ depending on the culture you were raised in. And just as with language, this grammar has to be learned. The evidence being that infants don’t seem to be sensitive to this (21).
In 2011, schools with music programs had a 90.2 percent graduation rate as opposed to schools without these advantages only having a 72.9 percent graduation rate. Funding issues have generated controversial debates about whether or not music programs should remain in schools. Although critics say that schools’ limited funds should be spent on improving on the quality of education, statistics have argued for the other side. Providing music education in schools prepares students for the workplace, causes higher attendance and graduation rates, and increases test scores.
Music, an essential component to mankind’s culture, is said to affect the intellect of humans in several different ways. Specifically, it’s affect on infants is more important than any other age group due to the brain’s plasticity at such a young age. Music can improve learning skills, test taking skills, concentration, heartbeat, and relaxation. Understanding the human brain is a great endeavor that countless scientists have spent lifetimes on. It will probably never be fully understood, however, I think that researching music’s relationship with the brain should help uncover many mysteries. Neuroscientific studies have shown music to be an agent capable of influencing complex neurobiological processes
middle of paper ... ... Music was not taught in the high school I was in. To satisfy my interest in learning about music and how to play musical instruments, I had to find a source of education other than school; a great depiction in agreement with Graff’s claim that students are being limited by not considering their interests when creating curricula (Graff 197). In conclusion, education is broader than just falling into what the contemporary school system has to offer. Both Gatto and Graff proved this by explaining how conforming students to certain perspectives of education limits their potential in other educational branches that interest the students.
How does listening to music while studying affect students’ academic performance? Many students have different ways of studying and obtaining knowledge for upcoming exams or tests. Some students prefer to study in complete isolation with complete silence while others rather have background noise such as music turned on in order to help them study. For many students, listening to music while studying helps them feel relaxed and less stressed, helps them focus more on the knowledge they are trying to obtain and overall helps with their academic performance by doing better in school. As a researcher, this question gives me interest because I would like to know why so many students use music in order to help them study and how does it affect their overall performance. As a student, I personally prefer not to listen to music while studying or doing anything related to school work because I feel as if I cannot concentrate and focus on what I am trying to study. If I listen to music while studying, my brain will just wander off and not think of the knowledge that I am trying to obtain but would rather get too focused on the music that is playing. So are there may be different genera’s of music that you should listen to that will help you stay focused and more put on the work while you are trying to study. Not only that, but I also would like to know how does music or does it at all, affect a student’s academic performance. Does listening to music while you study help you do better at school? Do you stay more focused while listening to a lecture? What I believe we need to know in order to have answers to these questions is data on students who do listen to music and if it has helped them with their overall academic performance and data o...
Over 45% of people listen to at least 10 hours of music each week, according to a recent study by Lab42. In addition, a Gallup poll indicates in 2003 that 54% of American households contain at least one musical instrument player. It is evident that music is a significant part of people’s lives, but could listening to and learning music serve other purposes besides providing pleasure as an extracurricular hobby? Many have debated whether music is a valuable part of education. Currently, less than 50% of the nation's 8th graders are being taught the arts at school, and students are not achieving at high levels in music and art related activities, as reported by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Unfortunately, many people do not realize this fact or are aware but are simply not bothered by it. To some, music training should simply be an optional activity, and schools should not waste money incorporating it into the curriculum. On the other hand, supporters of music education point to the positive results of music training as evidence that it should be included in school curriculums. One such result is an improvement in cognitive abilities--brain-based skills humans need to carry out any task from the simplest to the most complex. Because listening to and learning music improves cognitive abilities, music education is a necessary component in everyone’s educational curriculum, since cognitive reasoning is the foundation for successful critical thinking skills.
...usic from the Internet. Music can be performed for entertainment, act as a stress relief, and enhance academic behavior.
Doraiswamy, Sheela. “Does Music Help You Study?” Mind the Science Gap. Risk Science Center. 8 October 2012. Web. 23 April 2014.
Some people believe that songs with lyrics and melody can distract a student while studying, and hence, the speed of doing work will decrease. However, it must be recognized that there are other types of music, such as classical or instrumental music. These types of music promote in gaining higher concentration than compared to music with lyrics. As Cho suggests, with this state, when the brain is relaxed and calm,work is d...
Most of the people my age listen to music while studying. I cannot really explain why, but for me it helps me concentrate. A couple of months ago, I saw a little piece of information that caught my eyes. It said out of all the...
A survey that I conducted aimed at students and teachers revealed that seventy nine percent of them regularly listen to music while working. This indicated that other people besides me indulged in music listening whilst studying. Music has the ability to calm one down, leading to more conscientious studying, elevating ones mood, motivating one to stay focused and studying for longer periods of time. Many websites and articles I found show and prove that music in general can help with stress, anxiety, vision, speech, memory, sleep and depression.
Listening to music releases dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is known not only for improving mood but also increasing motivation and emotional stamina. But the benefits that come from listening to music affect more than just the way we feel. Studies have shown that when listening to the right style of music at the right decibel level, students have been able to concentrate better. For studying purposes, this mainly applies to classical music. Many school teachers and professors argue that music is simply distracting, or so stimulating that it inhibits a student’s ability to focus. However, when classical music has few words, or as is often found, few English words, the mind isn’t as easily distracted by the meaning or idea of the song. In fact, what is sometimes interpreted as chaotic in classical music can provide a high enough level of exertion for your brain to comprehend, that it stimulates high l...