Does Music Help Plants Grow?: Does Music Help Plants Grow? Multimedia Science Fair Project DeAnna Donohue EDU 530 11/17/07


Question: : Question: Will plants grow better with classical, country or heavy metal rock music?


Hypothesis:: Hypothesis: Experiments have been done in the past to see what effect music has on plant growth. Does music help or hinder a plant’s growth? Does it matter what kind of music is played? In this experiment, I will use classical, country western and heavy metal rock music to test plant growth.


Materials: Materials Four potted plants of the same type 3 CD players or 3 radios A Classical CD A Country Western CD A Heavy Metal CD Pencil Paper Ruler or measuring tape Watering can


Procedure: Procedure Put each plant in a separate room by a window. Place a music player beside 3 of the plants. The fourth plant is a control plant that will not listen to music. Make sure that each plant cannot hear the other plant’s music. Play the music 24 hours a day for 2 weeks. (You, your family, and your pets may need to wear earplugs for these two weeks to prevent nervous breakdowns.) Give each plant the same amount of water daily. At the same time each day, record the growth of each plant with a measuring tape and note it’s general condition.


Results for Control Plant: Results for Control Plant


Results for Classical Plant: Results for Classical Plant after


Results for Country Western Plant: Results for Country Western Plant


Results for Heavy Metal Plant: Results for Heavy Metal Plant


Analysis of Data: Analysis of Data


Summary and Conclusion: Summary and Conclusion At the end of two weeks, the control plant had not changed, the classical plant had grown considerably, the country western plant developed bowed legs, and the heavy metal rock plant was dead. This gives evidence that music does affect plant growth and leads one to wonder how music may affect the human brain. Similar studies have been done to show that classical music helps babies’ brains to develop. It has also been found that classical music can help one to concentrate. Since this researcher listens to country music on the clock radio every morning, it is tempting to conclude that it’s adverse effects may also be damaging her mind gradually as the years go by.


Note to viewer: no plants were harmed during the making of this production: Note to viewer: no plants were harmed during the making of this production


To Learn More About the Positive Effects of Music, go to:: To Learn More About the Positive Effects of Music, go to: About Positive Music: The Plant Experiments. By Don Robertson. http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/plant_experiments.asp Retallack, Dorothy. The Sound of Music and Plants, 1973. LinksRauscher FH, Shaw GL, Ky KN. Music and spatial task performance. Nature. 1993 Oct 14;365(6447):611. LinksRauscher FH, Shaw GL, Levine LJ, Wright EL, Dennis WR, Newcomb RL. Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning. Neurol Res. 1997 Feb;19(1):2-8. Stanford University Medical Center (2007, August 5). Music Moves Brain To Pay Attention, Study Finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 28, 2007, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2007/08/070801122226.htm Papers, Writings, Essays and Papers About Positive Music. http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/archives/basement.asp The Positive Music Association http://www.positivemusicassociation.com/


The End: The End