Background Music and the Learning Environment: Borrowing from other Disciplines

Human beings have always enjoyed a special relationship with the organisation of audible sound we call music. Through the passage of time, the roles and functions of music have represented manifold expressions to people, and in the present day music is ubiquitous and readily available to all who seek it. Recent advances in digital music technology and portable/personal music-playing devices have resulted in background music being listened to by more people than ever before. The nature of human inquisitiveness extends to our need to understand our emotional responses to music: Why does it move us so? How does it inspire, motivate, console and relax us? Is music an unnecessary albeit enjoyable adjunct to human existence or are there intangible but real effects imparted on the human condition? And pertinent to this study, what is the relationship between the presence or absence of music and human task performance? The body of academic research into the physiological, psychological and cognitive effects of background music (BM) on human beings is growing rapidly. Advances in neuroscientific brain imaging techniques and the emergence of relatively new fields such as music therapy, music medicine and music psychology--as well as the highly sophisticated commercial retail marketing sector have been at the forefront of research into the effects of BM on human behaviour and response. In comparison, the education sector has undertaken fewer investigations into the use and effects of BM in educational settings and those that do exist tend to focus on whether BM can lift performance or change the behaviour of school students in the classroom. The purpose of this essay is to review the growing body of research into the effects of BM listening on human mood and behaviour in a multi-disciplinary context. Can the use of BM enhance a learning environment? Yes. But this will be dependent on its judicious use and facilitation, and that means educators will need to be equipped with fundamental knowledge of music psychology. (Contains 7 figures.) [Submitted for the degree of Masters of Educational Studies, University of Adelaide.]