CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

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Introduction 21
2.1 Studies Conducted Abroad 21
2.2 Studies Conducted in India 25
Conclusion 26

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Introduction

There have been a variety of researches conducted to ascertain the influence of

different genres of music. Most authors conclude that music has tremendous impact on the
learning abilities of students. Most of the research conducted in this field hail from abroad.
There are very few studies conducted in this field in India. Though most studies agree that
music can influence learning abilities, there are others who opine that this is not true. Listed
below are a few findings of studies conducted in this field.

2.1 Studies Conducted Abroad

Music can play a great role in brain development of young children, this was opined
by Sean Brotherson who noted that playing music of different genres during the early stages
of development of a child helps in enhancing brain development 21. According to Norman
Weinberger, ―Music is not just fun, it also develops ones brain to do well in maths skills and
reading‖.22

There have been numerous studies conducted to test whether different types of music
have an effect on the cognitive performance, such as reading comprehension, memory, and
arithmetic. The cognitive effects of Music have been enumerated by Cockerton, Moore, and
Norman (1997) who through their tests showed that beyond the physiological and emotional
effects, background music has an impact on cognition. They used a ‗repeated-measures
design‘ to examine the effects of background music on an I.Q. test. Results indicated that the
participants answered more questions and selected more correct answers listening to
background music compared to silence. Because there was no measurable difference in heart
rates, the researchers concluded that arousal might not be an explanation for the main effect.23

Rashidi and Faham investigated into the effect of classical music on the reading
comprehension performance of two groups of Iranian students in an English institute in Iran.
The study compared two groups of Iranian English students over a period of three months:
one was taught reading comprehension with a music background and the other with no
background music. The results of the study showed a significant difference between the

21
Sean Brotherson, ― Keys to Enhancing Brain Development in Young Children‖, (North Dakota: North Dakota
State University, 2009) 4- 5.
22
Norman M. Weinberger, ―The music in our Minds‖, Journal on Educational Leadership,(1998) 36.
23
Michael K. Dove ―The Relationship of Rhythmic and Melodic Perception with Background Music Distraction
in College Level Students‖, Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, M.M.E., University of Missouri – Kansas City, 1994,
pg 16.

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performance of the group exposed to music and the performance of the other group not
exposed to music. The group taught reading comprehension with a music background
outperformed the other taught it with no music background.24

Otmar Bock in his study tired to evaluate whether the whether the so-called ‗Mozart
Effect‘ extends beyond cognitive tasks and includes sensorimotor adaptation. To check this he
devised an experiment in which three subject groups listened to musical pieces that in the
author‘s judgment were serene, neutral, or sad, respectively. This judgment was confirmed by
the subjects‘ introspective reports. While listening to music, subjects engaged in a pointing
task that required them to adapt to rotated visual feedback. All three groups adapted
successfully, but the speed and magnitude of adaptive improvement was more prominent with
serene music than with the other two music types. These findings support the existence of a
―Mozart effect‖ for strategic movement control. Possibly, listening to music modifies neural
activity in an intertwined cognitive–emotional network.25

(The concept of the "Mozart effect" was described by French researcher, Dr. Alfred A.
Tomatis in his 1991 book Pourquoi Mozart? (Why Mozart?). He used the music of Mozart in
his efforts to "retrain" the ear, and believed that listening to the music presented at differing
frequencies helped the ear, and promoted healing and the development of the brain. Rauscher,
Shaw, and Ky (1993) investigated the effect of listening to music by Mozart on Spatial
Reasoning.)

The research by Furnham and Stephenson (2007) showed that soft, "lullaby-like"
music can in fact improve cognitive ability and that more upbeat music can decrease cognitive
ability.26 In a similar study by Cassidy and MacDonald (2007), it was found that aggressive,
fast tempo (high arousal) music has a more negative effect on performance of cognitive
ability than relaxing, slower (low arousal) music. In their study, undergraduate students were
randomly assigned into four conditions: fast tempo music, slow tempo music, background
noise, and silence. Sixty-four individuals participated in the experiment in which they
assembled a jigsaw puzzle while being exposed to a randomly assigned audio stimulus: no
music, soothing music, Mozart, or aggressive music. The primary hypothesis was that while

24
Nasser Rashidi & Farman Faham , “The Effect of Classical Music on the Reading Comprehension of Iranian
Students‖ , Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 1, No 1 (2011), 74.
25
Otmar Bock, ―Sensorimotor Adaptation is influenced by Background Music‖, Experimental Brain Research,
203/4, (June 2010) 741.
26
Aislinn Cooper, Meredith Cotton, and Stephanie Goss, ―The Effect of Music on Reading Comprehension‖,
Unpublished Article, Hanover College, Research Design and Statistics, (2008) 3.

22
listening to any music individuals would be distracted and thus take the longer to complete the
jigsaw puzzle than the control group. The secondary hypothesis was that the aggressive group
would be the most distracted by the music and thus take the longest to complete the task. The
results did not support the primary hypothesis, but did show a strong trend toward its
confirmation. The secondary hypothesis was supported. This suggests that music heard while
completing a novel spatial-temporal task hinders the ability to complete that task and the
severity of hindrance is effected by the style of music heard.27

Music can enhance language learning abilities since there are structural parallels
between music and language, and these can influence the ways in which music is best utilized
in a language classroom. Some of these structures can be generally applied to music and
language. Jackendoff and Lerdahl (1982) were two of the earlier theorists regarding general
structural parallels, as they compared the syntax and prosody of music and language. J.A
Sloboda (1990) continued to examine this subject, drawing comparisons between the
phonology, syntax, and semantics of music and language. Sloboda noticed that both music
and language consist of phonological building blocks, or small, individual sounds. In a
language, these sounds are phonemes; in music, they are notes. In either situation the syntax
orders and structures these sounds, creating recognizable and meaningful patterns of sound.
According to Sloboda, semantics, or the meaning of language, may be extended to music
through the emotional experiences people have in response to music, as well as listeners‘
abilities to identify general characters of music (happy or sad, restful or agitated). 28 This link
between Language and Music could be utilized to enhance learning.

According to Julia Atkin, music is known to have a powerful effect on our emotions -
the limbic system - and selected music is thought to enhance the absorption and memory of
information; and, the use of colour and images heightens the sensory information received by
the brain and activates more modes of memory.29

Bishop and team (2007) studied on the Instructional software products which
incorporate music in learning environments. Their investigation found that many instructional
designers are using background music mainly because of the associative potential of music,

27
Ocean F. Dunton, ―A cognitive study of multiple genres of music and their effect on problem solving ability‖,
Unpublished Paper, IRis Northeastern University, (2006) 1.
28
Juniper Stokes, ―The Effects of Music on Language Acquisition‖, unpublished term paper, Asia University,
11.
29
Julia Atkin, ―How Students Learn: A Framework for Effective Teaching Part 1‖, (Melbourne: IARTV, 1993)
11.

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sound effects, and narration which helps learners to process the material under study more
deeply.30 This shows that music can help in enhancing the learning abilities.

There are few researches which claim that music does not influence the cognitive
abilities of an individual. Laurel Harmon, Kristen Troester, Taryn Pickwick and Giovanna
Pelosi (2008) conducted two experiments on the cognitive abilities of College students by
exposing them to different types of music. In their first experiment, they conducted a listening
comprehension test hypothesizing that participants exposed to Mozart (Classical music)
would score significantly higher than those exposed to rock music or silence. In the second
experiment the hypothesis stated that listening to rock music would result in lower reading
comprehension test scores than classical music or non-music groups. An ANOVA test
indicated that the results for both experiments were non-significant.31

Jancke and Sandmann (2010) conducted a study to check the influence of background
music on verbal learning performance and found that there was no substantial and consistent
influence of background music on verbal learning. Verbal learning during the exposure to
different background music varying in tempo and consonance did not influence learning of
verbal material. There was neither an enhancing nor a detrimental effect on verbal learning
performance. 32

Con Stough and Co. (1994), tried to replicate the relationship between Mozart music
and Spatial IQ in educational and organizational settings by conducting an experiment in
which the effect of music (Mozart, popular dance music or silence) was measured on Raven
Advanced Progressive Matrices scores. No significant effect of music on IQ performance was
found.33

30
M. J. Bishop, Tonya B. Amankwatia & Ward Mitchell Cates, ―Sound‘s use in Instructional Software to
Enhance Learning: A Theory-to-practice Content Analysis‖, Published online: Association for Educational
Communications and Technology (2007).
31
Laurel Harmon, Kristen, Troester, Taryn Pickwick & Giovanna Pelosi, ―The Effects of Different Types of
Music on Cognitive Abilities‖, Journal of Undergraduate Psychological Research Vol. 3 (2008) 41.
32
L. Jancke & P. Sandmann, ―Music listening while you learn: No Influence of Background Music on Verbal
Learning‖, Behavioral and Brain Functions, Vol.6 (1) (2010) 3.
33
Con Stough, Bridget Kerkin, Tim Bates & Gordon Mangan, ―Music and spatial IQ‖, Personality and
Individual Differences, Vol. 17/ 5, (November 1994) 695.

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2.2 Studies Conducted in India

In India there has been a dearth in the studies conducted to check the influence of
music on learning abilities. There are a few researches which have similar findings that can be
associated with education are listed below.

Adalarasu et al. (2001) in their study enumerated the effects of music on the
functioning of the brain. While listening to music, the variations in the brain activity were
determined and results were compared between musicians and non-musicians. Most of the
studies showed that the brain active ability is improved by classical music and decreased by
rock music.

In musicians, the left hemisphere of brain region was dominant and the right
hemispheric dominance in non musicians was observed while listening to music. In their
study, some of the results obtained failed to clarify the effects of music on learning. Their
study put forward that music can be used as an effective relaxation and stress management
tool. Music can used to relieve stress among employees while performing cognitive tasks.
Music can be used to cure insomnia, hypertension, etc.34 This finding can very well be applied
in the field of education and the beneficial use of music can be made to relieve stress among
the students.

Khandekar (2006) listed the therapeutic use of music as a sedative and its ability to
replace the administration of tranquilizers, or at least reduce its dosage. According to him,
music increases the metabolic activities within the human body. It accelerates the respiration,
influence the internal secretion, improves the muscular activities and as such affects the
Central Nervous System and Circulatory System of the listener and the performer. 35 These
conditions can create a conducive background for learning. The absence of which may prove
as obstacles to learning.

34
K. Adalarasu, M. Jagannath, S. Naidu & B. Geethanjali, ―A Review On Influence Of Music On Brain Activity
Using Signal Processing And Imaging System‖, International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology,
Vol. 3 No. 4 (Apr 2001) 3281.
35
B. Khandekar,. ―Music Therapy for Brain, Body & Soul - A view on Indian music and music therapy‖.
MusicTherapy Today ,Vol.VII (3) (October 2006) 697.

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Conclusion

These studies elicit that Music can influence learning either in a positive or negative
way. There are many more studies which have been conducted to prove the far reaching
effects of music in fields other than education. The lack of sufficient studies conducted in
India acts as a motivating factor for the current study to be undertaken.

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