Music May Affect the Way You Play in Sports!

Those of us, who engage in a sport in-and-outside of the school curriculum, know the feeling and moment when you’re in the dressing room right before a big game. Most of us will feel nervous and other’s pretty excited, but the true fact is that right before a game whether it is soccer, basketball, or volleyball, a player needs full concentration and the environment around them has to be calm and inviting in order for them to focus and play good. That’s where music plays a part in a player’s performance.

Studies from from Brunel University, Dr. Costas Karageorghis in 2008, have found that there are four main components to the effects of music on an athlete. First, music can distract an athlete from fatigue, second that music can act as a mood altering catalyst, third music can synchronize an athlete’s rhythm and movement and finally music can act as a trigger for learning certain motions and aid with muscle memory.

In addition to, he has done studies to see the results of synchronous music and asynchronous music. Synchronous music, music that has a clear and steady beat, was what was shown to elevate a person’s performance by twenty percent whereas asynchronous music, background music, was shown to calm the nerves of athletes by as much as ten percent.

The type of music an athlete may listen to, for example, our own soccer player for the Thomas Edison Inventers, Brian Huerta, listens to EDM genres, which stands for Electronic Dance Music. He said it get his heart racing causing an adrenaline rush flow throughout his blood stream, and thus getting him motivated and excited to play. EDM have very fast bass and energetic sound to get anyone pumped up. Other type of music such as pure melodies allows people to harmonize with their surroundings and calms their brains.

Brian Huerta, Thomas A Edison Inventors' soccer player listening to music before heading out to practice.

Brian Huerta, Thomas A Edison Inventors’ soccer player listening to music before heading out to practice.

There is more science involved than rocking out to your favorite artist; according to Gregory Ciotti when music possesses dance qualities, the brain gets excited and induces movement in the listener.  It could lower stress, especially before a big-game, soothes pain, and helps with memory (How Music Affects Your Productivity 2015).

Additionally, for those of us who attend the gym might listen to music in which the fast pacing melodies and bass can result with the rush of adrenaline, determination, and motivation to do better.  A good beat to your favorite songs can help you keep pace and ultimately right type of music wills always make you want to move (Ciotti).

We also witness our favorite superstars such as, Lebron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Tom Brady, as they go and come from the locker room with headphones on, listening to music. Even professional players listen to music in which it allows them to build concentration and ready themselves for the big game. The Edison Inventers, such as Zakar Mashriqi and Brian Huerta have said that listening to music allows them to do better on the field because it allows them to concentrate and gets them ready for the game ahead.

In fact, according to Arielle S. Dolegui you can introduce music to the academic world where many students listen to music to alleviate the emotional effects of stress and anxiety when engaged in complex cognitive processing, such as studying for a test, completing homework assignments, or while reading and writing (The Impact of Listening to Music on Cognitive Performance 2013).