Does Music Have an Effect on Athletic Performance

Abstract

This study examines the effect of music on the pace of treadmill performance in college students. There's been plenty of studies done that have examined how music influences athletic performance, but few have examined running on a treadmill. This study uses two tempos of music, a slow tempo, and a fast tempo, along with a control condition without music, to attempt to find if music has an effect on performance and whether tempo matters. Twelve participants were recruited from Purchase College to participate. Each participant was to be comfortable with being able to jog or run on a treadmill. Participants picked two songs from a list of 10, one faster tempo song over 100 beats per minute and a slower tempo song under 100 beats per minute. The songs were of the modern times so they ranged from the year 2002 to 2018. Participants were allowed to set the speed of the treadmill during each trial but the screen that showed the pace was covered, so they were unable to monitor their performance. Each participant completed three separate trials during which they were instructed to move at a comfortable pace of three minutes, one trial with no music, another with a slow-tempo song, and one with a fast-tempo song. The results showed that participants ran significantly faster in the fast music condition than in the slow music and no music conditions. These findings are consistent with an arousal-based interpretation and point to the power of music for elevating arousal.