The Relationship of Rhythmic and Melodic Perception with Background Music Distraction in College Level Students

Abstract

This study investigated relationships among the ability to audiate musical stimuli, background music condition, familiarity, gender, general academic achievement, age, and frequency of use on the level of distraction caused by background music. Eighty-four general college students were given the AMMA. The students were divided into three equal groups and given three cognitive tests (Nelson-Denny Reading Test/D2 Test of Attention/Spatial Ability Test) under three background music conditions (no music/sedative music/stimulative music). A counterbalance design was followed. Orchestral background music was used during the treatment. The findings suggest that general academic achievement had a significant positive relationship with reading comprehension, spatial ability, and concentration regardless of background music condition. Furthermore, the sedative music condition had a significant negative relationship on measures of concentration. These findings are discussed in relation to previous studies. Implications for educators are given.