This document details an experiment conducted by Maya Norton to investigate the effects of music, specifically heavy metal and classical music, on learning outcomes. The results indicated that classical music resulted in higher average test scores compared to heavy metal, although some participants performed better with heavy metal. The project highlights research supporting music's positive impact on learning, including enhancing memory and concentration.

1. Learning and Music: The Amazing Effect By Maya Norton

2. The Outlines of this Project This project is an experiment to find how music affects learning. I picked two genres of music for my experiment of noise. I researched them and also other researcher’s findings on this interesting subject of music’s affect on learning and performance. With this information I made a scientific prediction on the tests outcome. Last I conducted the tests with the two music playing and one silence session. With that information I concluded whether or not music has an affect on learning and if so which genres are better for enhancing learning.

3. Heavy Metal Heavy metal is a type of rock music thought of in the late 1960's to early 1970's, mostly in the United Kingdom and the US. The bands that created metal made it a thick, massive sound distinctive by highly amplified distortion, lengthy extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. The first heavy metal bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple were very popular.

4. Heavy Metal (con.) In 1980, glam metal became a major commercial force with some groups. Underground scenes made many more extreme aggressive styles such as thrash metal while styles like death metal and black metal remain a sub- cultural phenomena. Since the mid 1990's, popular styles like nu metal usually had elements of grunge and hip hop. Typical instruments include electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, vocals, and keyboards.

5. Classical Music The times of the classical period in Western music are generally known as 1750 to 1820. The term classical music refers to a variety of Western music styles from the ninth century to the present. The most well known composers of the classical period are Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert. The classical period was in the middle of the Baroque and the Romantic periods.

6. Classical Music (con.) In the middle 18 century, Europe started moving into a new style in literature, architecture, and the arts well known as Classicism. The new style was a cleaner style that had clearer divisions between parts, and simplicity instead of complexity. It has a lighter clearer texture than Baroque and much simpler too. The melodies were usually shorter and moods changed more frequently in the songs. Orchestra increased in size and range, the harpsichord fell out of use, and woodwind became a self-contained section. Harpsichord solos were replaced by the piano too.

7. Does Music Have an Affect on Learning? Research show that music greatly affects and enhances learning. Music does this because it provides a positive learning state, creates a desired atmosphere, creates a sense of anticipation, energizes learning activities, changes brain wave states, focus concentration, increases attention, improves memory, decreases tension, provides inspiration and motivation, accentuates theme-oriented units, and adds an element of fun!!! Many songs, chants, and rhythms can improve memory of certain details, hence improving the way we learn. Certain music will create a positive learning atmosphere and will promote good attitudes and attention levels. Students will also feel more welcome to participate with music.

8. Does Music Have an Affect on Learning (con.) Also, in one open brain surgery when classical or orchestrated music, the seizure activity was lessened in nearly half of the patients. Another example of music's effect on the brain is that there was considerable improvement by a twin with Alzheimer's disease because she listened to a section of Mozart's piano sonta. Research shows that there is evidence that babies are aware of and respond to music and different sounds in their mother's womb. The International Foundation of Music Research has produced many publications on the benefits of music on early brain development. The Center for New Discoveries in Learning that learning potential can be raised 5x the normal rate when playing 60 beat-per-minute music. Simply back round music when student enter the classroom or when leaving for lunch or recess will totally change the atmosphere. Other research show that children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory in a single year than those who don't. I have also noted that everyone in I.M.P.A.C.T. plays an instrument.

9. Does Music Have an Affect on Learning? (con.) Another example of this is that when ever Thomas Jefferson had trouble with the correct wording, he would play his violin which would help him find the right phrases. Also, not many may know that Albert Einstein, (know as one of the smartest men to live), did amazingly poor in school. He was recommended not to bother trying to be taught, just to try to find work as soon as possible. His mother did not think his son was stupid and decided to buy him a violin, and Albert became very good at the violin. Music is what made Einstein so smart and so recognized, and even him said that music was the key to his success. A friend of his said that Einstein figured out his problems and equations by improvising on his violin. Another way music improves learning that is pretty simple, song that toddlers sing like, “ABC's" “Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". We learn music when we are little and the learning stays with us for the rest of our lives.

10. My Hypothesis I think that in my tests, the best scores will come in the experiment when Classical music is played. Why? In my research, a lot of the examples were of music like the Classical type of music: violins, smaller children's rhymes and songs, slower-60-beat-per-minute music, and exact examples of classical music. Heavy Metal may not do as well because the music is much louder and contains words, which might distract the testers. The airy lightness and calming rhythms of the Classical music will most likely to help the testers concentrate and think clearer. I predict Heavy Metal will have the opposite affect and maybe even give the feeling of rushing with the loud, harsh, fast beats.

11. Results

12. Results (con.) As you can see from the previous slide, my predictions were correct. Classical music had the highest average score of 11.33. Heavy Metal came in with the lowest average score of 11.12. Also, the median score was 11.22, which was the silence session. The following slide is a graph with individual scores of the subjects. A common pattern was that two of the participant’s test scores were identical. It was surprising to see, though, that 2 of the subjects actually did the worst when classical music was played. Also, 6 of the participants did equally as well on the tests, if not better, when Heavy Metal was played opposed to Classical music. You must note, though, that subject 4 was absent on the day of the Heavy Metal test, hence their Heavy Metal score was not included.

14. Recourses These are the websites I used to find all of the research information used in my project: http://www.raise-a-genius.com/pregnancy.html#music http://www.more4kids.com/Articles/article1009.ht http://childparenting.about.com/cs/k6education/a/mozarteffect.htm http://www.songsforteaching.com/makingthecaseformusicintheclassroom/research.php http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n15/mente/musica.html \ www.wikipedia.com http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/arts/brewer.htm