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Trevon James
Dr. Reid
English 101
2 November, 2015
Music and the Student
Cognitive abilities are dependent on many things. It is easy to confuse what hinders these
abilities and what helps these abilities. Cognitive abilities is in a sense the brains productivity.
This ability helps memory when studying, among a plethora of other things. Multitasking is a
part of every day activities. This is a action that is done without notice. The fact of the matter is
when it comes to multitasking students live and die by this academic tool. Music is in everyones
life everyday, and it has a certain affect on people that can not be over looked. The musical affect
can be seen in mood, manner, and memory. Memory, comprehension, attention, and
concentration go hand in hand with cognitive ability and when tied together with music an
overall positive affect ascends to the forefront.
Music has such an affect on the brain in that people will remember a song that is admired.
Take for instance a beloved hip hop selection. The rhythm and the lyrics are engrained into the
mind and forever have an impact on that persons mind and will be apart of the subjects memory.
Music when it comes to memory is a highly significant (Wetter, Koerner, and Schwaninger 5)
aspect. Of 109 students 89% said that each one multitasked on a regular basis or
sometimes (Pashler, Kang, and Renita 3). When studying students often multitask and aren't
aware of it. The average studious and ambitious kid plugs head phones into otherwise baron ears
and studies while music plays in the background. Little does that student know memory of the

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song is being processed and as that student soaks in that information said student is also using
the music to memorize it. This for example is why there is songs linked to certain lessons in
grammar school subjects of math. The younger kids respond well to memorizing the song and
can refer to the catchy lyrics when in need of a memory jog.

Sounds all around affect attention. Simply put concentration is needed in order to
increase ones chances of success in studying or completing a task. Often times music sparks a
sort of groove that entices a student working to keep working on the current task. Humans
ability to concentrate on a single source of sound is what makes music helpful in situations of
attention testing (Maidhof and Koelsch 1). Koelsch and Maidhof used the cocktail party theory
to explain this.
As well as the cocktail theory, the two authors tested a persons cognitive senses to see
what they heard and concentrated with the most and obviously enough it was found that music
was the front runner when the topic of attention was brought up. It is clear that with music it is
easy to concentrate when music is around. Students everywhere get work done with music
playing or some type of rhythmic sound playing in the background. Music again is seen making
an impact on specific areas of cognitive abilities, first memory, and now attention.

In many ways listening to music is equivalent to reading. Lyrics make sense in a persons
head and come to fruition from pen to page. Music goes hand in hand with literacy (McGregor
and Frasher 1). Music is a bridge to understanding. Common concepts in learning are often
linked with music in order to memorize and comprehend a subject. Take the subject of math for

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instance. There is a song linked to each genre of study (i.e PEMDAS, mean median mode, or
multiplication tables). Music is used in classes even in college to emphasize certain lessons (i.e
word smithing and Werid Al Yankovich). Music and reading contain parallel skills (McGregor
and Frasher 3) that seem to strengthen cognitive comprehension skills such as phonological
awareness, phonemic awareness, sight identification, orthographic awareness, cueing systems
awareness and fluency (McGregor and Frasher 3). Music helps comprehension and it is evident
because it seems to be creating a bandwagon effect to where teachers in school systems are
making it apart of daily activities to help students. Students excel when music is incorporated
into the learning structure (McGregor and Frasher 1).

Multitasking as a whole is something that undeniably has to help a persons cognitive

ability if used in the correct manner. Listening to music and working is a form of multitasking. It
very well may be the best one that allows students to concentrate and work fluently with out
pause except for perhaps maybe in between songs.

Multitasking is something that creates a larger sense of urgency, it says this task must be
done correctly and something is needed in order to push it along. Music is a positive form of
multitasking that helps immensely in times of dire memory loss, concentration loss, and
comprehension hindrance. Students that are multitasking do take 50 percent more of the time to
complete an assignment (Gasser and Palfrey 17). This statement is dependent on the context in
which it is viewed. Are these students distracted? Or are these students using the music to
concentrate and double check work? Doing something in the complete quiet compels students to

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finish the assignment faster, because it creates a all work no play setting that makes students rush
through the work in order to reach the play aspect of that persons day.

Memory, comprehension, attention, and concentration go hand in hand with cognitive

ability and when tied together with music an overall positive affect ascends to the forefront. All
of these factors attribute to cognitive ability are strengthened by music multitasking. Listening to
music when writing a paper, a situation only compatible to this current one. Listening to music
when studying, the subject will be brought up upon memory of the favorite song that was being
played.

People listen to music in order to comprehend certain topics, such as songs that help
grasp a topic of learning. Music makes its presence felt in every facet of learning and if allowed
to do so. It helps some, not all, and that idea is understood whole heartedly. However music has a
keen ability to help people through the toughest of cognitive and critical thinking situations.

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Work Cited
1. Wetter, Olive Emil, Fritz Koerner, and Adrian Schwaninger. "Does Musical Training Improve
School Performance?." Instructional Science 37.4 (2009): 365-374. PsycINFO. Web. 15
Oct. 2015.
2. Pashler, Harold Kang, Sean H. K.Ip, Renita Y. "Does Multitasking Impair Studying? Depends
On Timing." Applied Cognitive Psychology 27.5 (2013): 593-599. Psychology and
Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
3. Maidhof, Clemens, and Stefan Koelsch. "Effects Of Selective Attention On Syntax Processing
In Music And Language." Journal Of Cognitive Neuroscience
23.9 (2011): 2252-2267. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
4. Frasher, Kathleen Diane. "Music And Literacy: Strategies Using "Comprehension
Connections" By Tanny Mcgregor." General Music Today 27.3 (2014): 6-9. ERIC. Web.
1 Nov. 2015.
5. Gasser, Urs, and John Palfrey. "Mastering Multitasking: It's Part Of Every Digital Native's
Life. Can We Help Students Do It Right?. Educational Leadership 6 (2009): Biography
in Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.