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American Physical Education

Review
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The Influence of Music on

Speed in the Six Day Bicycle
Race
a
Leonard P. Ayres Ph. D.
a
Russell Sage Foundation , New York City , USA
Published online: 21 Apr 2013.

To cite this article: Leonard P. Ayres Ph. D. (1911) The Influence of Music on Speed in
the Six Day Bicycle Race, American Physical Education Review, 16:5, 321-324

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23267224.1911.10651270

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 TIll, I.YFLUENCi~ OF MUSiC ON S!'i:!,J) 321

THE INFLUENCE OF MUSIC ON SPEED IN THE SIX

DAY BICYCLE RACE.

LEO:-';,\RD 1'. AYRES, 1'11. D., Rl:SSELL S.\Glc FOl::\D.\TIOX, X!':\V

YORK CiTY.

Contestants in the recent New York six-dav bicycle race

made better time when the band played than they dicl when it
was silent, according to a series of tests conducted during the
races held in ~I adison Square Carden from December -l to 10
last. These tests covered forty-six miles separate! y timed on
three evenings. One half of the miles, or twenty-three of them.
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were ridden while the band played and the other twenty-three
while it was silent. The average time per mile while the band
was playing was three minutes and four seconds or at the rate
of l!l.G miles per hour. \Vhen the band was not playing the
average time was three minutes and twenty-one seconds or at the
rate of only ]I.~) miles per hour. In other words. the miles
ridden with music averaged seventeen seconds faster than those
ridden without. The fastest mile of the forty-six timed, was
ridden while the band played. and was covered in two minutes
twenty-eight seconds. The slowest mile was covered in four
minutes and eleven seconds.
These results arc not surprising, for it is the common verdict
of experience that music has a real and considerable stimulating
influence on physical effort. .1VJ ilitary men have always testified
that soldiers march faster, further, and with less fatigue when
they march to the accompaniment of martial music.
Literature is fnll of references to the psychological effect of
music, ranging from Dryden's declaration that "M usic hath
charms to soothe the savage breast," to Carlyle's exclamation.
"Give rne, oh, give me, the man who sings at his work! He will
do mo~~ in the same time, he will do it better, he will persevere
longer.
The conditions of the six-day race offer a peculiar opportunity
for testing in a quantitative way the stimulating power of the
music of the military band. The contestants arc in continuous
action hour after hour, and generally ride so close together that
the timcconsumed in covering each mile may be accurately
observed and recorded. During the entire race, night and day,
the band plays a selection, genentlly lasting several minutes, is
silent for an interval of a few minutes. and then plays another
selection. This combination of conditions offers an ideal oppor-
tunity for measuring the effect of the one varying factor, which
is the music.
 322 AMliNICAN PH'/SICAL EDUC,lTION N/iVIIiW

There is, of course, one important disturbing eff ect, in the

occasional sprints; but at times hours elapse without a real
sprint occurring.
The tests actually conducted are inadequate to demonstrate
anything more than that the music of the band has a real iri-
flucncc on the speed of the riders. The plan follow eel was to
take the time of the rider leading the bunch during a mile when
the band was not playing, and record it in minutes and whole
seconds, always dropping the number of fifths of a SCCOlI<I. No
more timing was done until the band played, when two laps
were allowed to be ridden before the timing commenced, and one
mile was timed just as before. After the music stopped, at
least two laps were allowed to be ridden beforc another record
was taken.
The first set of tests was made on the evening of Tuesday,
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December G, and covered twenty miles, ten with music and ten
without music. The second similar set of records was made on
the evening of Thursday, December 8, and again covered twenty
miles, of which ten were ridden with music and ten without.
The third set was taken on the evcning of Saturday, December
10, the last day of the race. Owing to delay in reaching the hall,
it was possible to secure records of only six miles, of which three
were ridden with music and three without.
In each case, the records werc made alternately, as above
described, the timing was done with a split-second stop-watch,
and fifths of a second were not recorded. Each cvening two
people worked together, one of them holding the watch and
recording the time, and the other one keeping track 0 f thc laps
covered, so as to avoid all possibility of error.
The following table shows the records for Tuesday, December
G, when the times for twenty miles were recorded.

TI\/ES IN MI,;UTI':S AND SECONDS FOR TIVE';TY ~IILES, TUESDAY,

DECF.\IJ:ER 6.
No :\elUsrc. MUSIC.
:\elile No. Time. l\lile Xo. Time.

:,r,
1 2.4n
2.41
2
4
I;
2.·H)
:J.H
2.4\1 2,:1li
, :,.1,' S ~!. 2H
n H.2j' III :1.III
11 ~.I:J 12 ~.20)
1:, ~.~, H 2.42
15 a.G1 15 s.oo
]'j' s.os Is ~.O:J
In a.os 20 2.46
Average :~.12 Averag-e 2.51
Avo rate per hour, Hoi,S miles. Av. rate per hour, 21 mites.

By referring to the table it will be seen that the miles ridden

to music averaged twenty-one seconds faster apiece than those
 TH/,-' iNFUJliNCE OF MUSiC ON srttnti 323

ridden without. The figures also show that there are constant
and considerable variations in the speed even when the times show
that there was no real sprinting going on.
On Thursday evening the race was very slow and there was
little sprinting, as is shown by the following table.

Tams IN MINlJTES A:"I> SECO:"I>S FUR TWENTY MILES, TllliRSI>AY,

LhCExll:ER 8.
~O ;\!US1C. MUSH:.
:\Jile No. Time. :\lile No. Titlle
I aAS :J :l.1I1
:i :i,rl:! 4 :1.a4
:) 4.0il II 4.11
I :{.~~~l S a.4(\
!l e.GO ]0 :!.4:1
II x.i:' l~ :i.OB
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l:j ~.r)j; 14 :i.~!j

If) :i. t)., IIi a.a~
1; a.:·~tj IS :J.II:j
19 a.5B 211 :LJ!]
Average :i.;{:,j A ver-agc a.~H
Av. rate per hour, HI.7'mites. i\ v. rate per h o u r , ]'j'.t.l miles.

The difference 111 the average time on Thursday evening

between the miles ridden to music and those ridden without is
clevcn seconds. The final set of records shows conditions
dnring the closing hour of the grcat contest but before the final
sprints.

TDIES IN MINUTES ANI> SECONDS OF SIX Mu.ics, SATlJRIUY.

lhcl-:MHER 10.
1\() ~Iusll~. ~f USI'-'-

.:\lile No. TiIne. :\1i1e :\0. Time.

1 :J.·11 .) 2.'~O
~ 2,,:J ·1 :J.·IS
5 2.46 (j 2.;J~

Aver-age :·LOn Averag-e 2.411

Av. r at e perho u r, l!J.:ituiles. Av. rate per hour, :.2.:1 miles.

As already explained the fifths of a second were uniformly

dropped in recording the time. This means that the actual times
for the miles were about one half a second slower than thc
figures indicate.
The data as they stand seem to show that the music of thc
band docs have a genuine and considerable stimulating effect on
the riders and that this is true even after six days and nights of
riding. It is probable that some of this stimulus is indirect.
When the band played, the crowd in the arena and in the galleries
almost invariably responded with applause and shouts 0 f
encouragement for any slightest sign of increased speed among
the riders. It often seemed as though the resulting faster riding
 324 AMUaCA.v PHYSICAL liDUCATION RI:VIEW

came rather because the music stimulated the spectators and

their shouts encouraged the riders than because it affected the
riders directly.
Accurate data showing results for a considerable number of
miles each day could easily he gathered during the next race
and would throw light on the questions raised by the present
observations. It is to be hoped that this will be undertaken
next December by some pairs of careful observers, equipped with
accurate stop-watches, sporting sympathies, scientific training
and infinite capacity to survive in an atmosphere of dense
tobacco smoke.
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