Giancarlo Araujo

Writing 10
Mr. Moberly
April 13, 2014
Education enhancement through music
Music has been with mankind since ancient times. Music guides, empowers, and is
essential to culture. Music has multiple abilities that have not been fully discovered and or
investigated. With the introduction of the Internet and easier access to it, students are being more
exposed to music of various genres. As of recent music has been researched by many about its
benefit towards student education. The potential of music helping memorization could lead to
better test scores and study habits for students. It is important to understand what other benefit to
education music has. There needs to be more large scale studies that focus on the educational
benefits of music in students. The larger studies could benefit education by creating a solid
foundation of information for education officials to work with and possibly create a new teaching
method. Within this proposal, I will present and discuss the effect of music in the academic
development of students through several studies and give a comprehensive look at how music
can improve the learning experience of students.
Music is a fundamental part of life and it is crucial in the development of the human
mind. Music is constantly being played in the background of mediums such as media
(Kotsopoulou and Hallam 431). As people are constantly being exposed to a variety of music in
their lives, it affects them in multiple ways. Music has been known to be a mood enhancer,
especially for patients with depression or mental disabilities. A group of researcher, conducted a
study whose data showed that the majority of the twenty-four undergraduate students tested had

a positive change in their mood when exposed to a variety of music (McConnell, Meghan M.,
and David I. Shore 1189). The increase of the students mood is important because The mood of
an individual can influence a wide variety of cognitive response, and could help them study in a
better environment (McConnel, Meghan M., and David I. Shore 1184). Research shows that
studies of children with a range of special educational needs have also shown that the
introduction of background music into the classroom setting has a calming influence and can
improve task performance, and suggests that music is able to have a significant effect on a
students study habits (Kotsopoulou and Hallam 432). Many instructors and education officials
are failing to realize the full potential of music and should incorporate it into the education
system because of the many positive benefits it brings. This may not seem to be a problem now,
and most will dismiss this but the incorporation of music could be the evolution of education. If
education officials are dismissing these studies then they could potentially lose a beneficial study
tool that could enhance the task performance of students of all age groups. On average the
typical teenager will listen to about three hours of music a day (Kotsopoulou and Hallam 431).
This means that most students are being constantly exposed to music in their everyday life.
Music is playing a huge role on the youth of the world today, however it seems that no one is
taking full advantage of the benefits of music.
There is a solution to the problem of education officials not taking advantage of music as
an educational medium. The solution to this problem is designing and incorporating a system
that allows students to listen to certain genres of music during long intervals of continuous work
such as writing, reading, and solving math problems. The system could be tested for a year in
various schools around the United States so that the data could be collected. The new curriculum
must not turn into a one-genre-fits-all student system. Adrian Furnham stated that none of the

above studies have taken into account the personality trait differences of the participants, which
have been shown to be relevant in learning, which provides a critical view point that must be
thought about when creating this new system (Furnham, Adrian, and Bradley 448). As the
education system is evolving, there must come a realization that students are individuals that
learn differently. The point of the system is to help students break out of mundane work so that
their attention may be revitalized during class so as to further their learning experience.
If the new curriculum were to be established in the future then there are various factors
that must be accounted for prior to the inception of the program. As stated previously, the new
teaching method has to take into account the students personalities. There could be a test in the
beginning of the school year for student qualification in the new system. This test is to ensure
that the students can handle their schoolwork while listening to music. The system that is being
proposed will not be a mandatory learning tool for all students because some people prefer
working in silence. The students that go on however can be introduced to several genres of music
while the teachers take the students musical preferences into account. Once the students music
preferences have been collected, the teachers would provide several music options to the students
while performing long tasks.
There have been multiple studies from countries such as Japan and Greece to determine
the benefits of music in memorization. The various studies have primarily shown positive results
about the influential power of music and its ability to help students in the classroom. The golden
question that is being asked by many is what genre of music is the most beneficial when it comes
to academic and working performance. With the various genres of music such as rock, rap,
classical, electronic and among others are abundant, and can have various effects on students and
workers. One study focused on a particular genre and stated that The [students] subjects

performances were higher in the fast-paced (Rock music) condition, although the subjective level
of distraction was higher, and this study shows the various reactions the students had when they
were being exposed to music while working (Furnham, Adrian, and Bradley 447). The study
showed positive results that music increased the students performance and showed very few
negative results. The students were slightly distracted but they were still able to accomplish their
task at a higher rate of speed.
Anastasia Kotsopoulou and Susan Hallam are both psychologists who are trying to find
the ideal musical learning conditions. Through their study they found out that the effects on
learning with music happen to depend on the arousal and mood of the students. They state that
The YerkesDodson law states that the arousal level of the individual increases performance up
to an optimal level beyond which over-arousal leads to a deterioration in performance, and have
given great information as to what music should a student be exposed (Kotsopoulou and Hallam
432). This means that when the students are being tested for music in the new curriculum then
their music must be carefully chosen so as not to deteriorate the learning experience. It is
understandable that anything in excess (arousal) is not good and should be taken into careful
consideration when the music is chosen for the student. This would not be seen as to much of a
problem from a musical standpoint because there is a vast amount of music that could be used. It
could pose a problem to the teacher because navigating through the sea of music would be
tiresome but it could be alleviated through music searching algorithms (Pandora, Sound cloud,
etc.).
Kotsopoulou and Hallam found through their study that Music played while studying
was most strongly reported to relax, alleviate boredom and help concentration, and the results
were shown significant through a variety of age groups and cultures (Kotsopoulou and Hallam

438). The students preference in whether the music was playing was based off of their moods. If
the students were happy or bored the music would help change their mood and increase their
performance. They would change or turn off the music if it distracted them too much to finish
their work. The new curriculums system could work with the students ideas of distraction. If
the students find the song to be more harmful to their learning then they would not be forced into
listening to it. The students who were in the older age group (around high school to college)
show a higher understanding of when listening to music is more harmful and know when to stop.
This study showed that the students truly have their own mindset into what they consider helpful
to their education. Furthermore, a study by Norman L. Barber and Jameson L. Barber showed
that college students that listened to music during lectures and presentations were more engaged
in their learning (Barber and Jameson 4). They showed improved concentration and
memorization when they listened to music.
There are however problems that many could find with the system. There are people who
truly do not like listening to music and prefer to listen to complete and utter silence. Some
teachers would dismiss the possibility of music-incorporated lessons because of the studies that
showed that there are harmful or no effects of music incorporated classes. A study stated, They
were tested on mathematics, language and spelling and also completed a self-concept of ability
scale. The music had no significant effect on performance, this information arises criticism
from educational official concerning musically incorporated classes (Kotsopoulou and Hallam
432). There was however a pilot study that tested three hundred undergraduates from a UK
university that showed extremely positive results when they were listening to music. The study
concluded that listening to light classical music before a lecture increased the students learning
capacity (Alalami, Sheena and Ross 502). The biggest problem is that there are many studies that

show a variety of results that would cause most to consider this as a huge problem and scrap the
idea of creating an education system that contains music. With so much controversy created by
the education officials then there would never be a chance to try the new system. The vast
amounts of inconsistent data are the result of small studies that never go beyond a short span of
time. The problems could be fixed if there were more large-scale studies over an extended period
of time.
The new curriculum could have tremendous benefits to many and needs to be given a
chance in order to see its full effect. The data that could be collected from just a single school
could provide the solid argument needed for expanding the system. The education system that is
being proposed would throw the current system into confusion, but with time it could become the
standard curriculum around the world. There have been many findings that show positive results
and are being dismissed because of the negative results found in other studies. The biggest
change can only happen when the majority can agree on the policy and one-day music could be
incorporated into classrooms. It will take a lot of time but when it finally enters the classroom it
will change how students learn for the future generations.













Works cited
Alalami, Usama, Sheena Alalami, and Ross Gordon Cooper. The Effect Of Music On Cognitive
Emotional Response In Undergraduate Students Studying Health- Related Courses: A
pilot Study. Turkish Journal Of Medical Sciences 39.3 (2009): 501-502. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 6 May 2014.

Barber, Norman L., and Jameson L. Barber. Jazz For Success: Alternative Music Therapy To
Enhance Student Development In College. Journal Of College & University Student
Housing 33.2 (2005): 4-9. Academic search complete. Web. 6 May 2014.

Furnham, Adrian, and Bradley. Music While You Work: The Differential Distraction Of
Background Music On The Cognitive Test Performance Of Introverts And Extroverts,
Applied Cognitive Psychology 11.5 (1997): 445-455. Academic Search Complete. Web
23 Apr 2014.

Kotsopoulou, Anastasia, and Susan Hallam, The Perceived Impact Of Playing Music While
Studying: Age And Cultural Differences, Educational Studies (03055698) 36.4 (2010):
431-440. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.


McConnell, Meghan M., and David I. Shore. 20111 Upbeat And Happy: Arousal As An
Important Factor In Studying Attention. Cognitive & Emotion 25.7 (2011): 1184-1195.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 May 2014.