tion and working memory for the youngest and middle age groups but had no effect for the older students. Of those who were affected by the music, the degree to which it helped significantly differed as a function of the nature of the task children were to perform. For example, on a square identification task, background music had no influence on easy and difficult tasks but lowered performance on medium-difficulty tasks.
In the UK, Savan (1999 ) conducted a study of the effects of music on children with emotional and behavioral disorders. All of the children in the study had a history of disruptive behavior and poor concentration skills. In a relatively well controlled study, Savan investigated whether playing Mozart during science lessons improved children's level of disruptive behavior and their concentration. Findings did show that music led to improvement in both areas, leading Savan to propose that, physiologically the music lead to relaxation and with it the release of endorphins which lowered blood pressure; this then led to a reduction in corticosteroids and adrenalin slowing the body's metabolism and improving co-ordination and concentration.
DeNora (2000) states that while more work needs to be done before strong levels of confidence can be placed in the claim that music improves children's concentration, findings are promising. DeNora also notes that type of music must be taken into account. Specifically, music is said to improve concentration when it is moderately complex and played at a moderate value. Music that is too stimulating is said to actually distract.
What the existing research shows then is that there is reason to believe that, at least in some situations, music can improve young students' concentration levels. The likelihood of improvement is stronger if the music is moderately complex and played as background music at a moderate level of sound. However, because the research findings are mixed and ...