Music to your ears: frequency matters for performance

Although only coming to prominence in the last 25 years or so, it was a researcher by the name of Dr Mark Anshel at Middle Tennessee State University who in 1978, first investigated the positive effects of music on athletic performance. Although his research passed largely unnoticed at the time, the topic really took off when sports psychologists starting researching why and how music can enhance performance - particularly when it comes to motivation and altering perceptions of fatigue - and which type of music is likely to be most effective. Now, it’s very commonplace to observe athletes wearing headphones in warm-up areas while they wait to compete!

What can music do for you?

Before we try and understand how music is able to exert the positive effects it often does, let’s clarify exactly what the performance benefits are. According to Dr Costas Karageorghis and Professor Andy Lane, two of the leading researchers into music and exercise (and both previous contributors to SPB), these benefits are as follows^(1,2):

·        Attention - Listening to music may be able to narrow the attention of the exerciser and as a consequence, this could divert attention away from feelings of tiredness and fatigue;

·        Arousal - Listening to music has an influence on arousal states, and hence, in pre-competition situations, may be used to stimulate or calm down the performer;

·        Synchronisation - Music has innate rhythmical qualities that we may respond to and which can make performing seem easier by allowing for the synchronisation and emulation of movement patterns to the music – eg keeping up a certain cadence on the bike;

·        Mood state - Listening to music may be able to increase positive mood and decrease negative mood, thereby increasing motivation.

The natural questions that arise from the above are ‘how does music exert these effects’ and ‘what types of music will produce the most benefit’? This is where things get complicated as the research indicates it’s not a case of ‘one size fits all’⁽³⁾. There are a number of factors that determine whether you will find a particular piece of music motivating; these include aspects of the music itself such as the lyrics, harmony and melody, and also personal factors, such as your socio-cultural background, associations of that music and of course, your personal preferences (see box 1). Research has shown that individuals often select completely different choices of songs or pieces of music, and if you’re a sports coach or exercise to music teacher choosing music for a class, it’s worth remembering that just because it works for you, it doesn’t mean that your exercise participants will automatically love it!

Box 1: The recipe for musical motivation

Professor Costas Karageorghis has proposed the following four key factors that can be used to determine how appropriate a particular piece of music for boosting performance:

• Rhythm response – rhythm has a major impact on the way we respond to music; a high-tempo rhythm is good for high-energy tasks while a slower rhythm is more suitable for low energy tasks.
• Musicality – refers to the harmony and melody in the song and how pleasing they are to your ear.
• Cultural factors - musical preference tends to be formed during adolescence and there are huge differences in personal preferences reflecting the age and background of listeners. For example, it’s not surprising that while Deep Purple might motivate a male 60-something, the preferences of a female 20-something are likely to be very different!
• Association – this relates to when you first became familiar with the music, the memories it evokes inside, whether you relate particularly to the artist(s) etc.

Individuality also plays a role in how susceptible we are to the motivational power of music. Studies carried out by Professor Lane on athletes’ susceptibility to music showed that some were much more influenced by music regardless of their individual preferences and backgrounds⁽⁴⁾. In short, some people can’t help but rock ‘n roll when music’s turned up while others are either unaffected or prefer no music at all! Lane has produced a scoring system to determine how susceptible you are to the motivational powers of music (see table 1):

Table 1. Music mood regulation scale

The higher the total score, the more likely you are to respond positively to music as an ergogenic aid; score mainly 3s and 4s, and you’re susceptible. Score mainly 0s and 1s and you’re not very susceptible.

Musicality, frequency and performance

When it comes to the style/type of music most likely to improve performance, research has shown that a song with a high-tempo rhythm is more likely to be effective than something slower and more relaxed; studies have identified that for optimal effects, a fast tempo of 120 beats per minute or higher is recommended^(5,6), and that the sound volume needs to be relatively high (80bB or higher)^(7,8).

However, as mentioned above, one of the key ingredients in the recipe for performance-boosting potential is the musicality of the music being played – ie the melody and pitch (principle sound wave frequencies) of the song, and how pleasing it sounds to the listener. This is an aspect of music that is highly subjective of course, and the synergistic integration between frequency and rhythm of music remains unknown. However, when it comes just to the pitch of a song (ie the principle frequency to which the instruments are tuned), this is an area that has sparked interest over the past five years or so. In particular, music tuned to different frequencies such as 440Hz and 432Hz has attracted attention from researchers for its distinct positive effects on public health^(9-11).

The frequency around 440Hz or the pitch of ‘A-440Hz’ has been accepted as a standard reference for tuning many musical instruments; research has established that music played on instruments at 440Hz with fast tempos and standards frequencies is perceived as crisp and clear, increasing concentration and intensity in workouts. This seems to occur by increasing heart rate and perceived exertion, especially during high-intensity training sessions^(12,13). Meanwhile, music played on instruments tuned to 432Hz is generally considered more harmonious and relaxing, and has also begun to be introduced during recovery and mental preparation phases, with claims of reduced anxiety, and increased the mind-body connection⁽¹⁴⁾. Just to be clear though, the difference in pitch between a song tuned to 440Hz and the same song tuned to 432Hz is only very slight – a pitch difference of just 1.8%. Listen to the short video clip below to get an idea for yourself!

New research on tuning frequency and performance

If music tuned to 440Hz or 432Hz elicits different responses in people, could the same song tuned to these different pitch frequencies also affect athletic performance, especially given the difference in pitch between 440Hz and 432Hz is just 1.8%? To date, this has never been investigated, but fascinating new research by a team of Tunisian researchers has come up with some answers⁽¹⁵⁾. In this study, which was published in the journal ‘Peer J’, researchers investigated the effects of listening to preferred music tuned to different frequencies (440Hz vs. 432Hz) during a warm-up on specific physical performance parameters in kickboxing.

What they did

Fifteen men and thirteen women kickboxers took part in the trial. Following a standardized warm up, all the boxers performed the intermittent kickboxing anaerobic speed test known as ‘IKAST’. This test involves five repetitions of a combination of four techniques: (1) right-left punch, (2) right roundhouse kick, (3) right-right punch, and (4) left roundhouse kick. This sequence is performed over five sets with a 10-second rest between each set. The total execution time of the test is used as a validated measure of physical performance, as described by Gençoğlu et al in their 2023 research paper⁽¹⁶⁾. The IKAST test was performed by all the kickboxers on three separate occasions 48 hours apart, each under a different condition (see figure 1):

·        After listening to their preferred music around 440Hz during the warm-up.

·        After listening to their preferred music around 432Hz during the warm-up.

·        After performing the warm-up without music but while still wearing headphones (control condition).

Figure 1: Overall design of the study