Effects of Music on Physical Activity Rates of Junior High School Physical Education Students

Music is an everyday occurrence in a person’s life. Music is heard in the workplace, in homes, and in the mall. Music can also be heard as a person exercises. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of music on junior high students (n = 305) step counts and time in activity in junior high school physical education classes. In this study, students wore pedometers, and a 2 (conditions: with and without music) × 2 (activities: basketball and volleyball) crossover design was used. It was found that across all grades (7th, 8th, and 9th) and gender, more steps were taken with music in both activities versus without music. No significant differences were noted in time in activity between activities with music (2,839 steps taken in basketball) than without music (2,494 steps taken in basketball). Music is a tool that can assist junior high school physical educators in meeting the objectives of having students in physical activity for a majority of class time. It made students’ physical activity experience enjoyable.