The Movement of Music

Stress. Nervousness. Pressure. Everyone at some point in their lives have felt these emotions. It can be caused from a personal problem, like the death of a close family member or friend.

It could also be something a little smaller, like being late to work. However, in this generation, school students of all ages have been receiving more and more homework each day. These emotions are thrown at them when they try to balance out their social and school life, but what can they do to stop this? Many students turn to music as a stress reliever that can also bring them energy. Music creates more moderate and enjoyable work environment, however, a debate has risen on weather music has an effect on a student’s education. Listening to music improves education because it not only motivates one to complete work, but it also increases grades and allows creative thinking. To begin, listening to classical music while doing homework provides a sense of motivation.

According to Dr. Amit Sood, a physician at Mayo Clinic, “…melodious sounds help encourage the release of dopamine in the reward area of the brain…” (Padnani).

Dopamine, when released in the brain, creates and boosts one’s emotions and can make people feel inspired. This motivates them to complete their work faster and with better quality. Also, Robin Harwood, writer of a child psychology book proved in a study that classical music can create a quiet and calmer environment, making it easier to complete their work (Thompson). When put in a soothing work room, instrumental music can distract from background sounds like the clicking of a pen or typing on a keyboard, making it easier to study, finish homework, or memorize vocabulary. Next, Nick Perham and Joanne Vizard, researches on the Mozart Effect concluded that, “‘.

.. when [one hears] something [one likes], it heightens your… mood, which improves performance'” (Kaufman). Listening to music that one likes can make them feel joyus. This will push students to continue working toward their goal.

Many teachers say that by listening to music, it will decrease full concentration and distract from understanding what is being taught. This will lower grades and make it harder for students to learn. However, according to the director of the Positive Psychology Center, Scott Barry Kaufman, research “…

shows that at least up to 10 minutes after the music stops, there is improvement on some tests…” (Kaufman). Students who listen to music before test taking have had increased grades, proving that music helps, not harms education.

Evidently, students who listen to music become more motivated to complete their work than those who do not. Next, students who listen to music while doing school work are more proficient. Writer of “Music and spatial task performance”, Frances H. Rauscher found that teenagers who listened to Mozart during standardized testing, “..

.scored significantly higher on… abstract/spatial reasoning ability than those who were instructed to relax or those who just sat there in silence” (Kaufman). Students who were exposed to music were able to score greater when tested. To further illustrate, listening to Mozart helped students increase their education by allowing them to think differently (Miller).Music helps increase long term recognition in memorization. Furthermore, a study done by Dr.

Teresa Lesiuk, a music professor at the University of Miami, proved that workers were more proficient with their work when listening to music (Padnani). They were able to accomplish higher quality work faster than those who sat silently. Some people may say that listening to music while working results in lower test grades. It can be a distraction or cause confusion to the brain. However, Rauscher explained that the “Mozart Effect”, a theory stating that music composed by Mozart can increase education, showed that students who were exposed to classical music received higher IQ scores than those who did not (Miller). Rauscher’s study resulted in a 8 or 9 point increase in the students IQ’s.

Clearly, students who listen to music while working will receive a greater education than those who work in silence. Finally, listening to music while working results in greater creative thinking. Students exposed to music obtained higher spatial and reasoning skills. Lesiuk explained, “When [one is] stressed, [one]might make a decision more hastily; [one has] a very narrow focus of attention… When [one is] in a positive mood, [they are] able to take in more options.” (Padani). Certain types of songs make people more content, allowing them to be more open about decision making.

This can even help them make better decisions instead of hastily making a choice due to stress. Next, Lesiuk stated that music can open the creativity in your brain, letting one understand information in different views (Padani). Different types of songs will help one to understand concepts in ways one would not expect. It can help students make connections between education and music to understand a topic better. Furthermore, according to Jakob Pietschnig, a cognitive psychologist, “Samples exposed to the Mozart sonata KV 448 scored significantly higher on spatial tasks than samples exposed to non-musical stimuli or no stimulus at all” (Kaufman).

Spatial reasoning is the ability to identify specific characteristics about three dimensional shapes. Listening to music helps students to increase their spatial skills allowing them to see shapes and objects differently. Some may say that music negatively harms one’s thinking because the mind becomes mixed up between education and music lyrics. For example, rap songs have a lot of fast paced words that can interfere with the students when writing or typing. However, studies show that there was d=0.

47 increase in spatial thinking for teenagers exposed to music, which is considerably higher than the score for those who were tested in silence. Students exposed to no music increased only d=0.01. Thus, students exposed to music while learning are able to access creative sections in their minds. As aforementioned, listening to music while studying will greatly impact the future.

Music helps motivate students to work harder toward their goal. It also increases test grades and allows students to see and think in ways they normally would not. Everyday, students put off their homework or studying to do sports or to go out with friends. However, by listening to music, they will not only feel the same joy, but their education will improve. With this, our world will become a bigger and brighter place.

Teenagers are the next generation. They will soon be controlling the world. Teenagers are the future. Without their brains thinking to the fullest, our society’s future is destined to fall.