1. Aim To see if different genres/moods of music affect the human memory
2. Hypothesis I think that the group that listens to calm music will memorise more slides than the other groups. When you are calm your heart beats slower so you take your time and pay more attention to each individual question.
3. Equipment 1x computer Sixteen students of 10 to 12 A visual memory game/test (see method) Two different styles of music (Beethoven Sonata in E major, op. 109 2 minutes and 44 seconds and Linkin Park –Faint also 2 minutes and 44 ) 1x earphone
4. Method To make a visual memory test, collect a series of seven different shapes /pictures . Using a program like PowerPoint, simply put each picture on an individual slide. Create a series of questions related to the pictures/shapes using Microsoft Word.
5. Example On the first image you saw, what colour did you see?
6. Method (continued) Play Linkin Park-Faint music to one person through earphones, give the same person the visual memory test, then ask them to fill out the questions on the word document. Repeat step three for all five people Calculate the results by recording each correct answer Play Beethoven Sonata in E major for 2 minutes and 44 seconds to one person through earphones, give the same person the visual memory test, then ask them to fill out the questions on the word document. Repeat step six to all five people
7. Method (continued two) 8. With the last group of five people don’t play any music to them and give them the visual memory test individually 9. Calculate the results by working out the average amount of correct answers for each group.
9. Discussion At first I did my test and calculated my results, but I had tested a teacher amongst my younger test subjects. I decided that that may be a variable that could affect my end results, so I took their results out to make it fair. The cost of this experiment was nothing because I used my school’s resources. The following items would have to be budgeted if you were doing it outside of school. 1 pair of headphones, 1 computer and two pieces of music, (one classical and one rock).
10. Discussion (continued) Whilst playing music to the subjects make sure that they choose the volume level and make sure they are careful of causing any damage to their hearing. Next time I would like to test more subjects add more questions and test at various times of the day.
11. Discusion (continued 2) I believe the reason that the group of people that listened to rock got more questions right is because that from ages 10-12 not many people listen to classical music so the subjects pay more attention to the music because it is different to what they would normally listen to.
12. Conclusion In conclusion listening to rock music can improve your memory but listening to classical music can hinder your memory.
13. Understanding the science At each side of the brain, slightly above the ears the auditory cortex is located. The brain cells in this area respond to sound frequencies, some respond to high frequencies and others to low frequencies. The auditory cortex defines the information from the music such as the volume, pitch, speed, melody and rhythm.
14. Understanding the science sou I got this information from http://www.creatid.eu/can_music_change_the_way_we_think_and_act and at http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080430080820AAbiAIq And from Dr. krystal
