Music Science Project
Music Science Project: Music and Heart Rate
This music science project determines if different types of music have an affect on a person's heart rate.Background:
Research information on heart rate. Answer the following questions: What is heart rate? How is it determined? What factors cause an increase or decrease in heart rate? Does sound affect heart rate? How do we hear? How is sound perceived? How might music affect heart rate?
Hypothesis:
From your research you will determine if different types of music have an affect on heart rate.
Materials: (Adult supervision of kids is always recommended.)
- Suggested kit: Omron Blood Pressure Wrist Unit
Omron Blood Pressure Wrist Unit
- CD or MP3 player
- Earphones
- Music from various genres: jazz, classical, rock, pop, R&B, etc.
- Stopwatch
- A number of human participants; the more the better
- Chair
1. Gather materials needed for your music science project experiment. List all of the materials used. Also list the names of the specific songs you will be using.
2. Follow the instructions for using the blood pressure wrist unit. Be sure to follow all instructions on how to operate the unit.
3. Prepare a CD or music playlist with the songs you will be using for your experiment.
4. Ask one of your participants to sit down in the chair. Attach the blood pressure wrist unit to your participant's wrist. This monitor will remain in place during the experiment.
5. Ask your participant to sit quietly for about 1 minute. After 1 minute, start the wrist unit to begin measuring the pulse or heart rate. Record the resting heart rate and blood pressure.
6. Using earphones, allow your participant to listen to the first song you have selected for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, stop the music and take the participant's heart rate and blood pressure reading.
7. Repeat step 6 for the rest of the songs you have chosen. Record the heart rate and blood pressure reading after each song.
8. Remove the wrist unit from your participant.
9. Repeat steps (3-8) for the rest of the participants in your study.
10. Calculate and record the average heart rate readings for all participants.
| No Music/Resting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Jazz | ||
| Classical | ||
| Rock | ||
| Pop | ||
| R&B | ||
| Hip Hop |
Results:
Compare the results for your music science project experiment. Did any of the songs affect the heart rate of your participants? If so, how? Were there any differences between the participants in age, gender, etc.? Was a particular group more affected by the music than others (ex. males or females, younger or older)? Graph and chart your data.
Conclusion:
Summarize what happened in your project experiment based on your results. Explain patterns in your data. Did your data support your hypothesis? If not, explain why. Evaluate your project and make suggestions for improvements.
Project Display:
Now that you have completed your science project experiment, it is time to showcase all of your hard work. For information on how to display your science fair project, see Science Project Displays.
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