Introduction
For ages, human beings have been listening to music as a form of entertainment that soothes and creates a pleasant ambiance. The effects of music on the heart rate vary from one genre to another, depending on the nature and pace of rhythm. Koelsch (2014) argues that music influences the heart rate through the pace of rhythm. A genre of music with slow rhythms such as Classical and Jazz tends to slow the heart rate, whereas a type of music with fast rhythms such as Rock and Rap tends to increase the heart rate. Therapeutic music usually creates a calming and relaxing ambiance, which brings about a reduction in the rate of heartbeat (Koelsch 2014; Scot et al. 2017).
In a relaxed ambiance, the body receives a signal and informs the brain to reduce the rate of heartbeat and breathing. Daily experience has proved that music is significant to humans because it affects beats per minute (BPM) of the heart rate and consequently determines the level of blood pressure. In this view, the experiment sought to establish the effects of music genres on the rate of heartbeats among young adults (15-25) and adults (45-55).
Hypotheses
- Jazz and Classical music genres diminish the heart rate because their rhythms have a slow pace that creates a peaceful ambiance for the body and heart to relax.
- H0: Jazz and Classical music genres do not cause a significant diminution in the heart rate among participants.
- H1: Jazz and Classical music genres cause a significant diminution in the heart rate among participants.
- Rock and Rap music genres increase the heart rate since their rhythms have a fast pace that forms a tensed environment and causes the heart to beat fast.
- H0: Rock and Rap music genres do not cause a significant increase in the rate of heartbeat among participants.
- H1: Jazz and Classical music genres cause a significant increase in the rate of heartbeat among participants.
- R&B music genre stabilizes heartbeat to the normal beats per minute (61-78) because its rhythm comprises of both slow pace beat and lyrical connection.
- H0: R&B music genre does not stabilize the rate of the heartbeat at about 70 beats per minute among participants.
- H1: R&B music genre stabilizes the rate of the heartbeat at about 70 beats per minute among participants.
Variables
The dependent variable of the study is the heart rate (BPM). In the experiment, the heart rate comprised of the initial heart rate (IBPM) and the final heart rate (FBPM). Comparison of the initial heart rate and the final heart rate indicated the effect of music genres on the heart rate of the participants. The independent variable of the study is a genre of music that the participants listened to after the measurement of the initial heart rate. The genre of music is an independent variable, for it is a factor that influences the heart rate among the participants. It comprised of Jazz, Classical, Rap, Rock, and Rap, which are major genres of music.
The study had to control extraneous variables, namely, temperature, time of the day, environment, heart rate monitor, the type of song, volume of music, and time of music, for they have confounding effects on the outcome, which is the heart rate among the participants. Thus, to ensure there is a high internal validity of the outcomes, the study had to control these variables. The experiment was performed in a room with a stable room temperature (230C±0.50C).
Temperature affects the heart rate because a high temperature increases the rate of metabolism and ventilation, resulting in increased heart rate. In contrast, a low temperature reduces the rate of metabolism and ventilation in the body, leading to decreased heart rate. Time of day influences heart rate because the human body follows a circadian rhythm, which regulates physiological activities such as the heart rate and sleep pattern. To control the confounding effect of time of day, the study was undertaken at 5 pm.
Since the environment affects the heart rate by triggering diverse reactions in the body, which vary according to favorability or unpleasantness to individuals. The study controlled the environment by ensuring that all participants took part in the experiment in a living room, which is familiar and has constant conditions. The study guaranteed the reliability of the heart rate monitor by using one monitor throughout the study. Since a measuring instrument has internal errors that create an ambiguity in research outcomes, the study maintained the uncertainty in all groups and trials by using the same heart rate monitor.
As varied songs within the same genre have different impacts on individuals, the study maintained consistency of impacts by selecting a song that perfectly represents a genre and playing it across all groups and tests. Given that the intensity of a sound determines the effect of a song, the study used the same volume in all groups and trials. The study used iphone7 and headphones as devices and set the volume to 70% (224Kbps) under beats by Dre. The time of music is a factor that determines its effects on individuals. To allow music to have a considerable effect, the study provided sufficient time for participants to listen and experience impacts.
Materials
- Mobile phone (iPhone 7)
- Heart rate monitor
- Headphones
- Music genres (Jazz, Classical, Rap, Rock, and R&B)
Method Used
The study employed an experimental design in determining the effect of music genres on the heart rate of individuals. The study selected 40 individuals (N = 40) belonging to 15-25 age group (n = 20) and 40-55 (n = 20) age group to participate in the study. Participants in each age group listened to the selected songs representing the five genres of music, namely, Jazz, Classical, Rap, Rock, and R&B. Among participants aged 15-25, the time measured was 3 minutes, whereas, in participants aged 40-55, the time measured was 1 minute 30 seconds.
The living room was checked to ensure that it met the requirements of the study. Participants were directed to stay in the living room and allowed to rest for two minutes to feel comfortable and permit their bodies to acclimatize to the environment. The heart rate monitor was strapped to participants, and the initial heart rate was measured. The volume of headphones used was set and tested before giving to participants. Once the headphones were checked, a song was played to test played, and the hearing comfort of participants was assessed to guarantee appropriateness. The volume of the iPhone 7 was adjusted to 70%, and the music was played.
The participants were monitored closely to make sure that the played music does not cause discomfort. After three minutes, the music was paused, and the headphones were removed from participants. Immediately, the heart rate was measured, and the final heart rate was recorded. The participants were allowed to rest for 3 minutes to allow the heart rate to normalize before they undergo a similar procedure with another genre of music. The same procedure was used for testing all genres and age groups.
Safety Instructions
- A great precaution was taken to ensure the volume of the played music was not too high to damage the eardrum and cause hearing loss.
- Owing to the complexity of the heart rate monitor, understanding of its use was necessary to prevent the occurrence of injuries.
- The safety precautions of wearing protective gear such as gloves, apron, goggles, and holding materials were not compulsory.
Data Collected
The data were collected from 40 participants and recorded in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for analysis. The data comprised of gender, age, age group, time measured, initial heart rate, and final heart rate (Appendix A).
Conclusion
Ample evidence shows that music influences the heart rate among humans. The influence emanates from the pace of rhythms in a song, which varies from one genre to another. In this case, the study selected five different songs to represent Jazz, Classical, Rap, Rock, and R&B genres. The study was performed among 20 young adults aged 15-25 years and 20 adults aged 40-55 years. The study took place in a living room where variables such as temperature and environment were controlled to enhance the internal validity of outcomes. Adults listened to music for 1 minute 30 seconds, while young adults listened to music for 3 minutes through headphones connected to iPhone 7.
The analysis of the data verified that a genre of music influences the heart rate of both young adults and adults. The findings support the hypotheses of the study, for they demonstrated that Jazz and Classical music decrease the heart rate, while Rock and Rap music increase the heart rate. Moreover, the findings confirmed that R&B stabilizes the heart rate as hypothesized.
Evaluation
Descriptive Statistics
Table 1 shows that there are apparent differences in the means of initial heart rate and final heart rate among participants exposed to the five genres of music. Field (2014) holds that descriptive statistics provide patterns and trends of data. Evidently, the mean of the initial heart rate of participants who listened to Jazz music (M = 70.03, SD = 6.451) is higher than the mean of the final heart rate (M = 66.75, SD 6.238). Likewise, the mean of the initial heart of participants who listened to Classical music (M = 70.30, SD = 6.422) is higher than the mean of the final heart rate (M = 65.55, SD = 5.697).
Table 1.
Comparatively, Rap and Rock music exhibited an opposite effect on the heart rate of participants. Rap music increased the mean of the heart rate from 70.35 (SD = 6.475) to the mean of the final heart rate of 72.70 (SD =5.805). Similarly, Rock music increased the mean of the heart rate from 69.48 (SD = 5.738) to the mean of the final heart rate of 74.30 (SD = 5.019). R&B music appeared to have no effect on the heart rate for the initial mean (M = 69.53, SD = 5.987) is the same as the final mean (M = 69.53, SD = 6.976).
Analysis of Variance
Table 2 provides ANOVA outcomes, which indicates the significance of the differences between the means of the initial heart rate and the final heart rate. In all genres of music, means of the initial heart rate do not have statistically significant differences (F(4,195) = 0.202, p = 0.937). The insignificance difference in means implies that participants had the same initial heart rates. However, means of the final heart rate have statistically significant differences across all genres of music.
Table 2.
Mean Plots
Figures 1 and 2 depict differences in the means of the initial heart rate and the final heart rate. From the figure, it is evident that Jazz and Classical music decrease heart rate, whereas rock and rap increase the heart rate. However, R&B maintains the heart rate for the initial mean, and the final mean of the heart rate of participants remained relatively constant.
Multivariate Analysis
Since the data comprise time of measurement, the genre of music, age group, multivariate analysis was performed to determine their individual and cooperative influence on the heart rate among patients. According to Jackson (2015), the multivariate analysis applies when there are more than two independent and dependent variables. The findings demonstrate that the time and the age group do not influence the outcome of the heart rate among participants. However, the genre of music has a significant influence on the heart rate of the participants, F(8, 378) = 19.720, p = 000. The interaction between time and genre, time and age group, genre and age group, and the combination of three variables did not have a significant impact on the heart rate.
Table 3.
Post-Hoc Analysis
To determine the significance of each genre in influencing the heart rate, a posthoc analysis was undertaken. The posthoc analysis shows that the means of the initial heart rates among different genres did not exhibit statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). The existence of insignificant differences implies that the participants had the same heart rate, and thus, formed the baseline of the study.
Table 4.
Comparatively, the posthoc analysis shows that Jazz and Classical music have statistically significantly lower final heart rate than the initial heart rate (p = 0.000). This finding rejects the null hypothesis but supports the alternative hypothesis that Jazz and Classical music genres cause a significant diminution in the heart rate among participants. Post-hoc analysis of Rap and Rock shows that they have statistically significantly higher heart rate than the initial heart rate. Thus, the test rejects the null hypothesis but supports the alternative hypothesis that Jazz and Classical music genres cause a significant increase in the rate of heartbeat among participants.
These findings are in line with the argument of Koelsch and Jancke (2015) that exciting music stimulates the heart rate and respiratory rate, while tranquilizing music causes a calming effect. Moreover, a similar study compared the effects of two genres of music and established that Rap music increased heart rate, while Classical music reduced the heart rate among college students aged between 20 and 22 years during exercise (Scot et al. 2017). Concerning R&B, the test fails to reject the null hypothesis that the R&B music genre stabilizes the rate of the heartbeat at about 70 beats per minute among participants.
Appendix A
Reference List
Field, A 2014, Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics, 4th edn, SAGE Publications, Los Angeles, CA.
Jackson, J 2015, Research methods and statistics: a critical thinking approach, 5th edn, Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA.
Koelsch, S & Jancke, L 2015, ‘Music and the heart’, European Heart Journal, vol. 36, no. 44, pp. 3043-3049.
Koelsch, S 2014, ‘Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions’, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 170-80
Scot, D, Paris, S, Cochrane, B, Rund, A & Bhowmik, K 2017, ‘The effects of music genres on average heart rate during exercise’, Kinesiology, vol. 288, no. 1, pp. 1-4.
Trappe, J & Voit, G 2016, ‘The cardiovascular effect of musical genres: a randomized controlled study on the effect of compositions by W. A. Mozart, J. Strauss, and ABBA’, Deutsches Arzteblatt International, vol.11, no. 20, pp. 347-352.