The Effect of Background Music on Learning

Abstract

It has been suggested that the behaviour of pupils with special educational needs may, in part, result from frustration due to lack of physical co-ordination and the consequent inability to perform manual tasks effectively and efficiently. This research investigates the possibility that specific properties of certain Mozart orchestral compositions which, in combination, improve the co-ordination skills of pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Audio tapes of Mozart orchestral compositions provided a sound stimulus for ten boys aged 12+ identified as having special educational needs and emotional and behavioural difficulties. These tapes were then adulterated in an attempt to establish which qualities were producing the effects. Measurements of blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate were measured to establish which sound stimulus had an effect on the physiology and metabolism of the subject. In each case an improvement in co-ordination was observed, accompanied by a corresponding drop in the aforementioned physiological parameters and an observed improvement in behaviour. It is suggested that Mozartian qualities may stimulate the production of a chemical, possibly an endorphin, within the brain's limbic system which directly affects the physiological parameters of blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate in such pupils, slowing down body metabolism and reducing enzyme and hormone production. This may then produce an improvement in pupils' co-ordination, reduce their frustration, and in turm reduce their aggressive and disruptive behaviour.