usic can also have significant effects on older people in a learning environment. Music does not have the same effect on older people as it does on younger people, however. It is easily understood that for young children, getting them to do fun musical things like learning to play an instrument is somewhat easy compared to getting an adult to do the same thing. Children will do it because it is something new and exciting whereas adults need to be motivated to do something because they won't do something simply because they have too. For adults it is a matter of choice, but when they choose to involve music into their everyday lives, the effects can be just as dramatic. One important aspect that music can have on learning for people of all ages is attitude. It seems logical to assume that it is more helpful for adults who are less likely to want to do a particular job or activity, but music can change this and give a listener a more positive attitude and motivation. As we will see, by simply listening to pleasant music in the background while doing an arduous task can make it seem so much easier, or in some cases, music may not increase positive attitude, but will ease the strain of an activity. A study was conducted by Shawn E. Mueske, a graduate student at Mankato State University, to determine the effects of background music on a biology lab. He wanted to determine the effects of background music on attitude, achievement, time spent in the laboratory and on task behavior (Mueske 6-7). He used a control group which entailed one lab where no music was present, and one experimental group which listened to popular/soft rock music at an appropriate soft sound level for background music (14). He found that there was no real difference in attitude or achievement among the two groups, but there was a significant increase in time spent in the laboratory and time spent on task (18-28). Listening to music as background can help people when the...
