Jane Doe
3/8/12
Period 3
Does Genre of Music Affect Heart Rate?
Abstract:
The purpose of the experiment was to find out which genre of music,
alternative or country, would decrease the heart beats per minute. The
experimental question was: How does our body react to external stimuli? I
hypothesized that country music would lower the heart rate because the rhythm
is slower so it would lower stress levels and decrease the adrenaline. This
hypothesis was tested by taking the participants heart rate, then making them
listen to the music for ninety seconds, then taking their hate rate again. We
repeated this with each two genres of music with ten participants. Eighty percent
of the first trial with the alternative music supported the theory and seventy
percent of the trial with the country music supported the theory. Overall the data
shows that alternative music increase the heart rate and country music lowers it.
Introduction:
The body systems involved with my experiment are the circulatory,
nervous, and endocrine systems. The function of the circulatory system is to
circulate blood throughout the body via the heart. The nervous system detects
stimuli and signals our muscles to contract. Furthermore, the endocrine system
releases hormones such as adrenaline throughout the body which helps in
frightful situations.
The flow of blood in the circulatory system starts at the heart and then
travels through blood vessels to the different parts of the body. This is important
because it provides nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the body. The arteries are
responsible for bringing oxygenated blood to the cells and veins remove the
deoxygenated blood from the muscles. In this experiment, we are measuring the
reaction by heart rate. Heart rate is the number of times the heart beats, per the
unit of time you are measuring with. Heart rate changes when your brain
responds to different reactions.
The nervous system controls and coordinates everything that the body
does by transmitting messages or signals from the brain to all over the body.
The nervous system works with neurons, which conduct the signals between the
brain and the body. The two main neurons are the motor neurons and sensory
neurons. This system was used in the experiment by the participant hearing and
reacting to the music, which would be using the sensory neurons.
The Endocrine system affects almost every part of your body. It regulates
growth and development, metabolism and tissue. The foundation of this system
is hormones. For example, the adrenaline transfers instructions and information
from one set of cells to another. This is what your body’s reaction is when
listening to music. If the participants listen to country music and alternative
music, then the participants heart rate will decrease when listening to country
music because the rhythm is slower so it will lower stress levels and decrease
the adrenaline going through the body. The independent variable is the genre of
music being played and the dependant variable is the heart rate (bpm) of the
person. I expect the results to be that the country music will lower the heart rate
because I think since it has a slower beat it will be more calming.
Materials:

(1) ipod

(1) head phones

(1) heart rate monitor

(1) blood pressure cuff

(1) data sheet

(10) participants
Methods:
1. Gather materials
a. ipod
b. heart rate monitor
c. headphones
d. data sheet
e. participants (10)
2. Choose one participant one at a time.
3. Sit participant down
4. Explain procedure of how by listening to different genres of music, it will affect
their heart rate.
5. Set up materials on first participant
a. sit first participant down
b. put on headphones on participant
c. apply blood pressure cuff on participant arm
6. Measure participants heart rate
a. turn heart rate monitor on
b. pump until heart rate monitor beeps
7. After measuring participants heart rate release air from wrist cuff.
8. Record data using heart beats per minute on data sheet
9. Select song from first genre (alternative: Young the Giant- “My Body”)
10. Play song for 90 seconds
a. put at full volume
11. Record participants heart beat with heart rate monitor
a. repeat step 6a and 6b
12. Record data (beats per minute)
13. Repeat steps 2-12 with all 10 participants
14. Average data from participants
15. Change genre of music (country: Johnny Cash- “I Walk the Line”)
16. Repeat steps 2-14
17. Come to a conclusion from participants results.
Does Genre of Music Affect Heart Rate?
Alternative: Young
After
Country: Johnny
After
the Giant “My Body”
(Heart
Cash “I Walk the
(Heart
Before (heart Rate)
Rate)
Line”
Rate)
Before (Heart Rate)
Participant
69 bpm
72 bpm
67 bpm
65 bpm
65 bpm
72 bpm
74 bpm
72 bpm
70 bpm
85 bpm
81 bpm
82 bpm
80 bpm
130 bpm
68 bpm
65 bpm
75 bpm
78 bpm
79 bpm
77 bpm
56 bpm
60 bpm
60 bpm
85 bpm
83 bpm
62 bpm
84 bpm
85 bpm
1
Participant
2
Participant
3
Participant
4
Participant
5
Participant
6
Participant
7
Participant
92 bpm
87 bpm
90 bpm
87 bpm
79 bpm
86 bpm
80 bpm
77 bpm
90 bpm
97 bpm
91 bpm
82 bpm
8
Participant
9
Participant
10
*blue supports data
*green refutes data
Graph:
Before and After Alternative and Country:
Caption
This graph shows the results before and after each song. The lowest heart
rate was generally after Walk the Line, and the highest was usually after My
Body. Both results supported my hypothesis.
Results:
The results varied but there was some consistency. The heart beats went
from 56 beats per minute through 130 beats per minute. On the graph each song
is represented by a different color, on the bottom is the number of participants
and on the left side is the heart beats per minute. Two people refuted my
hypothesis of country music lowering the heart rate. Generally people heart beats
per minute raised when listening to alternative and lowered when listening to
country.
Discussion:
If a participant listens to alternative and country music, then their heart
rate will lower when listening to country music, because the rhythm is slower and
will decrease adrenaline levels through the body. Overall I was not very surprised
by my results. I expected for the most part for my hypothesis to be correct, but I
also assumed it would vary with each person. For the most part my results did
support my hypothesis. With my results the country music on average did
decrease the heart rate. This experiment connects to the body by having the
different types of music cause different people to have different reactions. For
example the type of music could increase the heart rate and increase blood flow
which involves the circulatory system. This would be caused by the adrenaline
pumping through the body which is an example of the endocrine system working,
the adrenaline would be released because of your body responding to the music.
This reaction is happening because your body responding to the music through
your nervous system. I think the experiment was fairly accurate because we
tested all in the same time and place, but the sound level in the room varied
while testing. Other factors besides my independent variable that could affect my
results is the participants tastes in music, this is because some might not have
liked the type of music I had them listen to, or they could have loved it, either
one causes the body to respond differently . Three possible sources of error in
my experiment is volume of the room because it could have interfered with the
participants and caused them to be distracted, therefore, their heart rate
increase could have been due to the distraction rather than the music. Another
source of error could have been using the blood pressure cuff as a heart rate
monitor. It was the first time using one and we could not have used it correctly.
The final source of error is time. We didn’t measure the person’s heart rate
between songs amongst participants. Therefore, if we took their heart rate closer
to the end of the song, then it might have reflected a higher heart rate. However,
if we waited after the song was played , then the heart rate might have had a
chance to decrease and therefore give us inaccurate data.If I were to perform
this experiment again, I would change in my where I tested the participants so
there was not as many distractions. I would also try to be more prepared to test
and do it more timely. Another experimental question I have is which lowers heart
rate faster, classical or reggae? This experiment connects to the world around us
because depending on the type of music a person listens to, it could effects their
reactions, moods, and many other things for people.
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank all my participants that helped me do this experiment,
my group members Gary Davis and Vishay Sharma, Bailey Hardwick and Sam
Wadsworth for helping me with questions I was unsure of. Also Johnny Cash and
Young the Giant for providing enjoyable music to listen to.
References:
o
Nervous System: www.pennmedicine.org
o
The Human Heart: www.fi.edu (1996-2012)
o
The Nervous System: www.emc.maricopa.edu (2010)
o
Circulatory System: www.library.thinkquest.org
o
Glencoe Science Biology (2012)