ABSTRACT

Mood has been shown to be influenced by the key a song is written in or even by its tempo. Music in major keys can result in happy, emotional response and minor keys can be associated with sad emotional response (Webster, G. D., & Weir, C. G., 2005, p.20). The same study indicated the more the tempo increased, the more the music was associated with being happy. This research looks at the effects of beats per minute (BPM) of music on mood. Participants were split into three groups at random: group 1 (130-165BPM), group 2 (63-86BPM), and control group 3 (63-165BPM). After listening to three songs, participants completed the Brief Mood Introspection Scale survey (BMIS), listened to another song, then took a rearranged BMIS. The hypothesis was that there would be an increase in mood within the high BPM group and a decrease in mood with the low BPM group. A repeated measures ANOVA and a one-way ANOVA were used followed by a post-hoc Tukey test to measure significance. After the repeated measures ANOVA, there proved to be a lack of significance between before and after results among all three groups. The results did not support the hypothesis. Although “Before” last song results were significant, “After” last song results were not. The post-hoc Tukey test determined there were significant differences among groups 1(130-165BPM) and 2(63-86BPM) and groups 2(63-86BPM) and 3(63-165BPM) with “Before” last song results. A Pearson correlation was run in order to measure significance between demographics and “Before” and “After” last song scores. There were a number of significant correlations. The information from this study is useful in utilizing the positive effects of music with those who may struggle with an excessive amount of stress and anxiety.