The effect of sound on the surroundings By: Valentina Palahuta

What is sound ? Sound is a wave, and more specifically, a pulse wave. This simply means that it is formed by areas of higher and lower pressure in the atmosphere through which it travels. Terms such as "amplitude," when used in reference to sound, are actually referring to the plot of the air pressure versus time on a graph. A Ruben's tube experiment shows how sound changes the pressure of the atmosphere ed

Sound in Music Music's interconnection with society can be seen throughout history. Every known culture on the earth has music. Music seems to be one of the basic actions of humans. Music affects people in many different ways. Even babies that hear a rhythm will often spring into dance. People who are depressed often listen to music to change their mood for the better. People have different sound tracks for when they are getting ready to party and when they are relaxing or studying.

Music and Mood Music has well established psychological effects, including the induction and modification of cognitive states, moods and emotions. Were it not so, then marches would be played as readily at bedtime as at the half-time of football games, dirges would grace weddings. lullabies would be heard at parades and Gregorian chant would bombard our ears in supermarkets.

7 Ways to Control Mood There are 7 ways in which people use music to change their moods. 1.Entertainment - At the most fundamental level music provides stimulation. It lifts the mood before going out, it passes the time while doing the washing up, it accompanies travelling, reading and surfing the web. Revival - Music revitalises in the morning and calms in the evening. Strong sensation - Music can provide deep, thrilling emotional experiences, particularly while performing. Diversion - Music distracts the mind from unpleasant thoughts which can easily fill the silence. Discharge - Music matching deep moods can release emotions: purging and cleansing. Mental work - Music encourages daydreaming, sliding into old memories, exploring the past. Solace - Shared emotion, shared experience, a connection to someone lost.

Bodily Responses to Music Rhythm is an important aspect of music to study when looking at responses to music. There are two responses to rhythm. These responses are hard to separate because they are related, and one of these responses cannot exist without the other. These responses are (1) the actual hearing of the rhythm and (2) the physical response to the rhythm. Rhythm organizes physical movements and is very much related to the human body. For example, the body contains rhythms in the heartbeat, while walking, during breathing, etc. Another example of how rhythm orders movement is an autistic boy who could not tie his shoes. He learned how on the second try when the task of tying his shoes was put to a song. The rhythm helped organize his physical movements in time.

Music and Memory The power of music to affect memory is quite intriguing. A 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right brain. The simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of information. According to The Center for New Discoveries in Learning, learning potential can be increased a minimum of five times by using this 60 beats per minute music. This type of music releases neurons in the brain which help the body to relax.

Sound Affects Plants and Animals Too Tests on the effects of music on living organisms besides humans have shown that special pieces of music aid hens in laying more eggs. Music can also help cows to yield more milk. Researchers from Canada and the former Soviet Union found that wheat will grow faster when exposed to special ultrasonic and musical sounds. Rats were tested by psychologists to see how they would react to Bach's music and rock music. The rats were placed into two different boxes. Rock music was played in one of the boxes while Bach's music was played in the other box. The rats could choose to switch boxes through a tunnel that connected both boxes. Almost all of the rats chose to go into the box with the Bach music even after the type of music was switched from one box to the other.

Plant Growth and Sound When we think of plants being affected by sunlight we are really looking at the effect of a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum on plants that portion which includes visible light. It should not surprise us that sound also impacts plant growth because it is, in essence, an extension to other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. It has been shown in scienctific studies that plant sod react to music and other sounds. Plants that were subject to smoothing low sound sof music wer efound to grow better and healthier than those with loud blaring music and those with no music.

Benefits of Plant Stimulation by Sound Plant stimulation by sound may have profound implications. The idea that a cheap source of "electromagnetic fertilizer" has been developed should be exciting for many third world countries. At a time when human progress can be made through simple solutions in agriculture, resources are being wasted in the extraction of mineral and oil compounds for fertilizers. If this method of fertilization were followed, the human intellect would prove superior to physical capital in terms of distribution and production of this new technology.

In the end we are all connected It is how we perceive, our experience of the music that has an effect on our body and mind. It is how we interact with sound in our surroundings that changes our experience of the sound or or the surroundings. For instance this experiment created an interactive sound surrounding that caused people to play around with it and each person created their own beat from their interaction with the objects. Interactive experiment: Akousmaflore - Sensitive and interactive musical plants

Bibliography The Musical Hormone cal-hormone.html Music and the Brains Psy Blog influences-mood.php