Musical project gives new meaning to learning by heart

MUSIC HATH power to soothe the savage breast – but it is also pretty good for helping learn French vocabulary. Evidence for this comes from a BT Young Scientist entry from Cork that looks at music and learning.

Cáit McKeown and Clare McKernan, both 13-year-olds and first years at St Aloysius Secondary School, looked at aids to learning. “We were trying to see the best way of learning,” Cáit explained yesterday at the RDS.

They decided to run a series of tests using 40 classmate volunteers, first letting them study French vocabulary for 10 minutes before testing them, then letting them learn while listening to classical music. This had little effect however, they said.

Then they played classical music but altered its tempo using a computer so that it matched the tempo of the individual’s own heart rate. The change in the ability to learn was startling. “We actually found you learn better if you learn with classical music matched to heart rate,” Cáit said.

Improvements were seen in 75 per cent of test subjects. Some saw 50 per cent improvements and a few did several times better.

They used Bach and Vivaldi among others, but in each case matched the tempo to heart rate, Clare explained.

Three fifth-year students from St Mary’s College, Rathmines, Dublin, also looked at music. They developed an intuitive instrument that does not require the use of fingers. It is suited to novices to teach the basics of music but also has potential for use by the disabled, they said.

David Howard, Gavin Wynne and Emmet O’Toole all study music and wanted an easier way to teach and learn how to play. They developed a music box they call “the Goodfella” that can play a full octave in natural notes, sharps and flats. All the person has to do is place their hand into the box to deliver a note. The electronics that make this happen are based on light dependent resisters (LDRs). Your hand casts a shadow over the LDR creating a signal to emit the appropriate note.

“We are actually in the middle of patenting it,” said Emmet. He believes the Goodfella could provide the basis for a toy instrument that is easy to use and educational.