Education research shows that positive moods in the classroom are correlated with greater success in learning. The mood-setting effects of music can be used by using "positive" music to set a mood that helps student learn.
by Chris Boyd Brewer
Music and Positive Mood Management
This article includes excerpts from Soundtracks for Learning: Using Music in the Classroom by Chris Boyd Brewer.
Most teachers know that a student’s mood greatly affects the amount of learning that takes place. Teachers see “attitude disabilities” occurring with students who are frequently in a bad mood or who have a negative attitude toward learning.
These students, and those experiencing depression, tend to participate in class activities less than others, so they often get less information and consequently don’t do their best on tests (Aluja and Blanch, 2004; Crundwell and Killu, 2007). Positive attitudes, on the other hand, seem to lead to memory enhancement and greater academic success (Ashby, Isen, and Turken, 1999).
There’s no question that music can create a positive mood. We have all experienced how music lifts our spirits and allows us to feel more centered and productive. That’s because it can stimulate the release of brain and body chemicals, such as serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins (Boso, Politi, Barale, and Enzo, 2006; Peretz and Zatorre, 2003), that create a “feel-good” experience.
Music has been found to help reset negative attitudes to a more positive mood, even for people in depression (Thayer, Newman, and McClain, 1994). How many of us have played music to perk up our mood when we feel sad, or listened to music that matches our mood to “empathize” with our challenges and feel comforted? Both of these techniques can be used to help students make a sound attitude adjustment and get into a positive mood for learning.
Frequent use of music in the classroom reinforces positive moods throughout the day. Accelerated Learning uses music in every step of the teaching and learning cycle to accomplish academic goals. This frequent music use creates a wonderful outcome that I call positive mood management. Teachers report that, in the positive atmosphere reinforced through regular music use, there seems to be less negative student behavior, more cooperation, and greater excitement for learning.
What’s “positive music”? Although people do respond differently to the same piece of music, tt generally has characteristic elements: a major key, pleasant harmonies, and a mid-level to slightly upbeat tempo.
The music used in studies by music therapists Michael Thaut and Shannon de l’Etoile (Thaut and de l’Etoile, 1993; de l’Etoile 2002) to experiment with academic of effects of shifting student moods to a positive mood was the “Allegro” movement from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A.
Daniel Kobialka and I used his “Bridges on Canyon” selection for this purpose on the CD for classroom use, The Memory Beat. Listen to music with an ‘open ear’ for the qualities of positive music and you will find many styles that create a positive atmosphere.
Aluja, A., & Blanch, A. (2004). Depressive mood and social maladjustment: Differential effects on academic achievement. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 19(2), 121-131.
Ashby, F., Isen, A., & Turken, U. (1999). A neuropsychological theory of positive affect and its influence on cognition. Psychological Review, 106(3), 529-550.
Boso, M., Politi, P., Barale, F., & Enzo, E. (2006, Oct-Dec). Neurphysiology and neurobiology of the musical experience. Functional Neurology, 21(4), 187-191.
Crundwell, M. & Killu, K. (2007, Sept/Oct). Understanding and accommodating students with depression in the classroom. Teaching Exceptional Children, 40(1), 48-54.
de l’Etoile, S.K. (2002). The effect of a musical mood induction procedure on mood state-dependent word retrieval. Journal of Music Therapy, 39(2), 145-160.
Peretz, I., & Zatorre, R. (2003). The Cognitive Neuroscience of Music. New York: Oxford University Press.
Thaut, M.H., and de l’Etoile, S.K. (1993). The Effects of music on mood state-dependent recall. Journal of Music Therapy 30, 2: 70-80.
Thayer, R.E., Newman, J.R., & McClain, T.M. (1994). Self-regulation of mood: Strategies for changing a bad mood, raising energy, and reducing tensions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 910-925.
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