Music and the Brain

Many teachers at our school are very strict about having iPods and MP3 players in class, but I think they are overreacting.  What teachers may not realize is that music can actually help students in class.  Music can help students retain more information, keep them focused, and assists in relieving stress.

Many students have troubles retaining information from teachers.  A study from the Australian Music Association says, listening to music can improve reasoning capacity, problem solving skills, memory, and improve math and language performance.  This study proves that listening to music does have benefits and can help our grades.  When we are able to listen to music in class, most students grades would improve because they will be able to retain more information.  In return teachers will be better because their students will be able to retain more information and then be more educated because of it.  Retaining information is not the only benefit students get from listening to music, it can also increase concentration level.

Students have many variables that distract them in the classroom, from other students to posters on the wall.  It can be very difficult for some students to focus on their school work. When students listen to their music during class there would be less chance of them talking to other students or getting side-tracked by other conversations.  Students will have less homework at home because they are able to work on it in class without being distracted.   They will be more attentive during class.  Music also has more benefits, including stress relief.

Life as a high school student can be very stressful.  Students today are slammed with hours of homework and information they might not understand.  Listening to music can clear their head and help them think better.   Certain types of music can cause different emotions and change your mood in an instant. When we can listen to music, students will be in better moods and unstressed.

Overly strict teachers are actually hurting our grades.  First, music can help us retain information. Second, students won’t be as distracted. Last, music can reduce stress. Teachers need to stop being so strict on how they teach us and let us listen to music during class.  This will improve students grades and students will enjoy coming to school.

What types of music help the brain the most?

Can listening to music to much be a bad thing?

Can listening to music affect your hearing?

 

7 thoughts on “Music and the Brain

  1. I agree that music can relieve stress, anxiety, and help you focus. But I don’t think that music should be allowed in class, especially when the teacher is talking. It would be difficult for some students to listen to music and the teacher at the same time, and you could miss something important. However, listening to music can be very helpful (depending on the subject and type of music) when you’re study or doing homework on your own. Music without words tends to have a more positive affect when reading or writing. You could listen to almost anything while do math though, as long as you aren’t using the language parts of your brain.

    http://college.usatoday.com/2012/09/10/should-you-listen-to-music-while-you-study/

  2. I am always listening to music, even though I don’t use headphones or earbuds. There aren’t many times during the day that there isn’t a song stuck in my head. since I don’t use them, I never have to struggle with untangling them, keeping them in my ears, adjusting the volume all the time to complement my surroundings, or putting them away for times they are not appropriate. There are also health problems that can come with the misuse or abuse of headphones or earbuds. Depending on the amount of use and level of volume, permanent hearing loss is not a very distant threat. And with the portability and common public acceptance of them, using them for too long could easily become a permanent problem or even part of your daily routine. When listening to headphones or earbuds at 100 decibels, damage will occur after two hours of exposure. At 110 decibels, damage occurs after 30 minutes. At 120 decibels or more, damage to the ears occurs almost immediately.
    Even though listening to your headphones or earbuds for a half of an hour at 110 decibels would cause permanent damage, how would you know that you’re listening to something at 110 decibels? Here are some things you can relate it to:
    • A soft whisper would generally be at 30 decibels
    • Busy traffic at 75 decibels
    • A subway train at 90 decibels
    • A gunshot blast at 100 decibels
    • A jet plane at 140 decibels
    • A rocket launching pad at 180 decibels
    Sounds above 140 decibels usually cause pain, and if you have to speak in a loud voice to be understood, then the background sound is probably at or above 90 decibels.
    Sources:
    http://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/surgery/blog/headphones-and-earphones-can-cause-permanent-hearing-loss-what-you-need-to-know

  3. I agree that music can help you retain more information, but I don’t think it would be wise to allow music in the classroom. Specifically, some styles of music can be very distracting to me and to others; in this regard, music that is loud and played with a heavy beat, such as heavy metal, is highly distractive. Recently I learned that music accompanied by vocals tends to distract you from whatever you’re working on, but music that’s purely instrumental helps you concentrate and solve problems easier. I strongly agree that music relieves stress. I have found that I sleep better when I listen to calm music before going to bed. On CNN’s website I learned of a recent study which reported music is better at relieving anxiety than anxiety-minimizing prescription drugs. This report doesn’t mean we should have music during class; music still may distract students from understanding what the teacher’s saying. In conclusion, listen to music outside of the classroom to lessen stress and establish an environment where you can learn more.

    My Sources:
    http://www.mindthesciencegap.org/2012/10/08/does-music-help-you-study/ http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/health/brain-music-research/

  4. This is very interesting. I love to listen to music while doing homework and feel as if I can accomplish tasks faster while listening to music. I chose the question “What types of music help the brain the most?”. We all enjoy different types of music and I find it interesting that maybe these could help us retain information. According to http://www.naturalnews.com/039589_music_brain_hemispheres.html music helps connect the hemispheres of our brain. When we listen to music we release endorphin which can help lift our mood or make us feel better. Personally when I am feeling good learning is easier. When you wish to boost your creative thoughts it is best to listen to the kind of music you like. When listening to classical music it can help calm your blood pressure. Music therapy can help people with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. According to https://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=7378 when listening to melodic tunes it helps bring out pleasant feelings. Like you said earlier listening to music also helps parts of the brain that help with memory recall and visual imagery. All in all, I think that music does help you remember things and would be a good thing to include in classes to help students achieve better grades.

  5. Personally, I like listening to music while I am doing homework or studying. It just gives me more motivation to get my work done. I am going to have to say I am against having music during class. Not everybody is able to multitask with headphones in. I don’t think I will be able to listen to music and the teacher at the same time. I will end up tuning out one of the other. Some studies show that listening to music actually engage the areas of the brain involving with paying attention, making predictions and updating the event in memory. The kind of music can also effect your learning. There are two different types of emotions when it comes to listening to music. There are perceived emotions and felt emotions. This means that sometimes we can understand the emotions of a piece of music without actually feeling them, which explains why some of us find listening to sad music enjoyable, rather than depressing. Mixed up emotions have a huge effect on our learning. I think we are better off without having music in the classroom.
    Resources: http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2007/july/music.html

    http://lifehacker.com/how-music-affects-the-brain-and-how-it-benefits-you-1469597259

  6. I believe that calming or exciting music helps the brain the most because it will either make you less stressed or motivate you to complete the work.
    I don’t think listening to music is a bad thing as long as it doesn’t distract the learning and concentration of others. Some students may need to listen to music, but there are others who would prefer a much more quiet environment. We all have to make sure to respect the education of others.
    As a matter of fact, music can affect your hearing in horrifying ways. Music is a type of sound, and there are some sounds that human ears cannot detect. One good example is infrasound. Most speakers and headphones aren’t able to produce sound by infrasound because it’s too low. Since infrasound has longer waves, it can penetrate through your body. This can easily cause hearing loss, and, if you’re not careful, can even cause death at sound levels of 166 because at that point, the soundwaves control your lungs and how much you inhale and exhale. Anything above 166 will cause death.
    Website: http://www.dangerousdecibels.org/virtualexhibit/6measuringsound.html

  7. The information in this blog really made since to me. I often listen to music when I study at home, and I usually do well on tests and quizzes afterword. I also found that students get off track less often in art class, where our teacher allows us to listen to music on our phones and ipods. Also, music does help me relieve stress when I’m at home, so I feel that it would do the same during school.

    Studies show that music engages certain areas of the brain associated with memory and concentration. http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2007/july/music.html

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