Music

It is a timeless element that has been around since humans first created rhythms from
the beating of sticks and stones. It is powerful, drawing deep emotions and memories buried in
the thick of things, but most of all, music is a stimulant for the mind, body, and soul. Physical
education teachers have implemented music and dance into their curricula in a number of
creative, fun ways to get kids moving and active.
Music serves many purposes in group fitness classes. From assisting the instructor
create a well-planned class to providing the beats and phrases for cuing to motivating the
participants, music’s role in exercise is as diverse as instructor’s personalities.
1. Role of Music - To determine the role music will play in your group fitness class, ask yourself
what the purpose/objective of the music will be in relation to the movement.
2. Musical Phrasing - Phrases are made up of multiple measures. It’s like taking multiple
sentences (measures) and stringing them together to make paragraphs (phrases). It is typical
for music to be orchestrated in a series of 32-counts with each sentence containing 8-counts,
and each paragraph containing 4-measures.
3. Music Selection - It’s important to take into account the demographics of class participants
because the music should match the participants’ interest. Consider if your crowd will be in
their mid-20s to early-30s, or late-50s to mid-60s. Or if there will be more women or men.
4. Volume - Volume should not exceed the recommended 85 decibels (dB) because exposure to
noise levels >85 dB can be damaging to hearing. Audiologists also recommend turning up the
bass and lowering the treble if music adjustments are necessary.

Music Planning
Planning group exercise to music sessions
The aim of this is to develop your knowledge and understanding of the theoretical
components underpinning group exercise to music program for apparently healthy adult of all
ages. It is important to know what the age of the learner is;
a. So that you can choose an appropriate music for them that they boost their self to engage in
the activity.
b. Identify also range of group exercises to music, to develop, cardio-vascular fitness, muscular
fitness, flexibility, motor skills
c. Identify a range of equipment used in group exercise to music and its uses
d. Describe how to plan group exercise to music using circuit formats
Key Factors in Music Planning
(Planning group exercise to music sessions)
• Screening the Participants -ask about previous experience and fitness levels,
• establish an effective training intensity for all participants
• determine a method of monitoring intensity, - light, moderate, vigorous (high) intensity
• establish the participants attitude towards the session and their expectations, the space and
equipment available to you, the number of participants, music speed and exercise sequence, so
the class flows and the exercises are balanced.

Circuit Training
It consists of a consecutive series of timed exercises performed one after the other with varying
amounts of rest between each exercise. An example of a simple circuit training workout might
consist of push-ups, sit-ups, squats, chin-ups and lunges. The workout may be structured as
follows, and could be continually repeated as many times as is necessary. The music session
plan must cover a complete exercise to music session, detailing the music breakdown,
exercises, teaching points and progressions, regressions and adaptations.
It must include the following components:
• Warm up
○ Mobility and pulse raising
○ Stretching
• Main cardiovascular workout using the aerobic curve
○ Pulse raiser
○ Main workout
○ Build down
• Muscular strength and endurance (MSE)/body conditioning
• Cool down/flexibility including:
○ Maintenance and developmental stretches

Across the whole session a minimum of 1 of the following methods of choreography

design/teaching must be included:
•count phrase
• Verse-chorus
• Layering

Why is music important in physical education?

Building positive physical activity habits in your students can improve their physical and
mental health. One way to do this is through incorporating songs that will keep them moving.
Music for physical education classes can help encourage your students and create a fun
atmosphere for activities.

Reasons to pair music and exercise:

1. Music can help you keep pace
2. Music can elevate your mood and motivate you
3. Music distracts you in a good way
4. Music makes you exercise harder
5. Music gets you in the groove and makes you want to move

Four ways music affects movement.

1. Music reduces feelings of fatigue.
Research indicates that music keeps us from focusing on the physical sensations of
fatigue, particularly during lower-intensity exercise. Distraction from fatigue varies from person
to person, as everyone’s personal fitness level plays a role, but music can help you push
yourself harder during your workouts.

2. Music increases mental arousal.

“Altering the mind’s arousal state with music will result in an increased exercise
performance, as if the music is ‘psyching’ one up to perform exercise better,” wrote researchers
Karageorghis and Terry in their review of the psychophysical effects of music in sport and
exercise (1997). Additional research has known that there are direct connections between
auditory neurons to motor neurons. In other words, regardless of what you hear, your brain
and body will react.

3. Music improves motor coordination.

Exercising to music can help motor and movement coordination, such as moving to the
beat of the music during a group fitness class. When the body is in sync with music, people
often experience a boost in self-confidence, which creates a positive association with exercise.

4. Music increases relaxation.

“Some of the byproduct molecules of high level exercise, such as acidosis and elevated
hormones (which contribute to fatigue), may somehow be dampened by music, thus enhancing
performance,” wrote researchers Szmedra and Bacharach, who examined the effects of
classical music on cycling to exhaustion (1998).

How does using music for physical education classes help your students?
Hearing a favorite song naturally makes people move. That’s why wedding receptions
tend to play songs like “Y.M.C.A” from the Village People and “Shout” from the Isley Brothers.
They’re popular, catchy songs that make people want to dance. Using music for physical
education classes can have that same effect, but it doesn’t have to be about dancing. You can
use music in the background. Just having music on while stretching can get students ready to
start moving. Likewise, playing music during sports activities can inspire students to move more
while they play. Music inspires action. According to the BBC, stores use music to encourage
customers to spend more money opens in new window while shopping. Take advantage of the
opportunity to inspire movement by integrating music into parts of the physical education
curriculum. The following sections offer some ideas.

10 Benefits of music education.

1. Language skills. According to PBS, “Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical
training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with
processing language, and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways.” Learning a
musical instrument also improves how the brain understands human language, which can help
students learn a second language.
2. Improved test scores. Studies have shown that students who are involved with a high-quality
music education program in school perform better on tests than students who don’t engage in
music. PBS reports, “A study published in 2007 by Christopher Johnson, professor of music
education and music therapy at the University of Kansas, revealed that students in elementary
schools with superior music education programs scored around 22 percent higher in English
and 20 percent higher in math scores on standardized tests, compared to schools with low-
quality music programs.”
3. Self-esteem. Music allows students to try something new and develop confidence as they
master singing or playing an instrument. “When students are working towards a common goal,
they appreciate that their ‘voice’ and interests are heard and understood by others. This joint
effort creates a sense of secure acceptance that is critical to their self-esteem,” states PBS.
4. Listening skills. Music involves listening to yourself and to the rest of the ensemble.
Musicians need to hear tempos, dynamics, tuning, and harmonies. This helps auditory
development in the brain.
5. Math skills. Reading music includes learning quarter, half, and whole notes, which are
essentially fractions. As Getting Smart explains, “When a music pupil has spent time learning
about rhythm, he has learned to count. He is not counting numbers, per se, but he is most
certainly using logic to count out the rhythms and bars, and working his way methodically
through the piece. Many musical concepts have mathematical counterparts.”
6. Making the brain work harder. Research shows that the brain of a musician works
differently than a non-musician, according to PBS. ‘There’s some good neuroscience research
that children involved in music have larger growth of neural activity than people not in music
training,” says Dr. Eric Rasmussen, chair of the Early Childhood Music Department at the
Peabody Preparatory of The Johns Hopkins University. “When you’re a musician and you’re
playing an instrument, you have to be using more of your brain.”
7. Relieving stress. We all know that listening to a favorite artist or song can lift a mood and
relax us. The same goes for creating music. It gives kids a great release, allowing them to
immerse themselves in something that’s fulfilling and calming. I know that no matter how
stressed I was in school, I would always come out happy and relaxed after choir practice.
8. Creativity. Music certainly nurtures kids’ creative side. This can have an impact on their
futures. The Arts Education Partnership states, “Employers identify creativity as one of the top
five skills important for success in the workforce (Lichtenberg, Woock, & Wright, 2008).” The
partnership also suggests originality and flexibility are benefits of music education because they
are key components of the creativity and innovation music requires. Finally, graduates from
music programs report that creativity, teamwork, communication, and critical thinking are skills
and competencies necessary in their work, regardless of whether they are working in music or
in other fields.
9. Helping special needs children. Music can have a powerful impact on kids with special needs.
It helps them find a way to communicate and open up, which they may struggle with otherwise.
For this reason, and despite cuts to music programs, schools are increasingly implementing
music therapy after-school programs to benefit students with disabilities.
10. Higher graduation rates. Schools with music programs have higher graduation rates.
DoSomething.org reports, “Schools with music programs have an estimated 90.2 percent
graduation rate and 93.9 percent attendance rate compared to schools without music
education who average 72.9 percent graduation and 84.9 percent attendance.”

Listening to music while exercising doesn’t just relieve boredom — it can help improve
the quality of your workout by increasing your stamina and putting you in a better mood. In
particular, music that is motivational or synchronized with your exercise is shown to have
physical and psychological effects. When a song has a strong, steady beat, for example, you can
pedal or run to the beat of that music, which tends to feel satisfying and may inspire you to
exercise more. The lyrics or catchy rhythm of motivational music inspires you to exercise longer
or work harder during your exercise routine. Studies show that faster-paced music tends to
help improve athletic performance when a person engages in low-to-moderate level exercise,
either by increasing distance travelled, pace, or repetitions completed. Other studies drew
similar conclusions, suggesting that listening to music with more beats per minute can enhance
physical performance during low-to-moderate level exercise.
Several studies have shown how the exact tempo, as measured in beats per minute,
affects one’s level of exercise. These studies determined that the ideal tempo necessary for
maximum performance depends on the type of exercise. A 2011 study showed that in order to
achieve the best performance for cycling (which was calculated by measuring exercise intensity
through heart rate), the preferred tempo is between 125 and 140 beats per minute (bpm). A
study published in 2014 showed that the best music tempo for enhanced performance on the
treadmill is between 123 and 131 bpm. A plausible reason for why different types of exercise
have different ideal tempos is related to one’s ability to keep time with the beat of the music,
synchronizing strides or pedaling to the beat of the music. Since pace differs on the treadmill
versus the exercise bike or elliptical, music of different tempos is needed to achieve ideal
performance for various workouts.

5 Reasons to Include Music in Your PE Class

1. Dance comes in numerous styles/genres. When you teach your kids to play basketball,
there’s only one way to play. Same goes for football, soccer, and almost any other sport or
activity. Dance comes in countless genres and styles, from ballroom to modern and beyond.
With such a variegated collection of genres, it’s easy for each student to find something he or
she enjoys, whether it’s stomp, ballet, waltz, hip-hop, or tap. Even better, you can easily
combine styles. Teach your kids several genres and, at the end, have groups put together
unique routines that combine elements from all the dances they have learned. Consider
recording the routines and using them to promote dance and activity to other kids. This not
only gives them that extra bit of motivation but gives them an end result to strive for and look
forward to.
2. Music motivates movement. Music naturally stimulates parts of the brain responsible for
unconscious movement, which explains the head bobbing, shoulder shrugging, and toe tapping
that you don’t even think about when you hear your favorite tune on the radio. Younger
students should have no problem getting down on the dance floor, but even the most self-
conscious of teens should have no problem moving with the groove. Even without formal
instruction on any specific dance style, you should notice a distinct change in the mood and
atmosphere that encourages students to continue moving. This comes in handy when you feel
that students are straying off task. Just crank up the tunes to get their attention back to the
activity at hand. For an even greater motivator, you can have the kids recommend songs—
school appropriate, of course.
3. Music is a great timer. Music is a great way to keep time when you don’t have a clock. As
suggested in this trainer tip video, when students are using weight machines, you can create
minute-long chunks of music followed by fifteen to twenty seconds of silence to give students a
chance to reset the equipment and move to the next station, doing away with clocks, alarms, or
a stopwatch and whistle. You can apply the same idea to running laps, warming up, or
stretching.
4. Music enhances performance. Music naturally blocks the voice in your head that tells you to
quit when you get tired. This dissociation effect has been shown to reduce perceived effort and
increase endurance, essentially tricking people into performing intense exercises for longer
periods of time. As mentioned above, music has a positive affect on mood. Music makes
students happier by presenting a more welcoming, positive atmosphere that motivates
students to push themselves and work harder.
5. Dance is a lifetime sport. The great thing about dance, as noted in this trainer tip video, is
that it is a lifetime sport. It’s a timeless activity that is perfect for all age groups, from
kindergarteners to octogenarians. It works out your coordination, rhythm, flexibility, and
various muscle groups throughout the body. Unlike contact sports and many other activities,
dancing is low impact if you do it right, so it’s easy on the joints. It’s also easy to vary the
difficulty or intensity of any dance to fit students’ skill levels and preferences. Even if students
don’t pursue a career in dance, it’s something that carries over throughout various social
functions—weddings, proms, nights on the town—so it doesn’t hurt to learn a few basic dance
steps. Dance and music are deeply ingrained in society. Find some fun, creative ways to
incorporate both into your PE classes.
It’s easy to get comfortable once we find our favorite music. As soon as we discover that sound
we love, we tend to ignore all the other great areas of music that don’t match up. It doesn’t
matter if it’s pop, rock, or EDM. classical, or country music, we can quickly become creatures of
habit and forget about everything else.
What we don’t realize is we’re missing out. Listening to different kinds of music and styles can
help an aspiring musician expand their horizons and find out new things about their art. Every
musical style can show you different lessons about what it means to play. Check out these
different genres, expand your knowledge, and become a musical genius!
Classical Music – The Fundamentals
Aside from Beethoven or Mozart, not a lot of people are well-versed in classical music, but they
should be. Classical music is the source of Western musical theory and fundamentals. Several
legendary musicians are classically trained, including Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, and the
genre is a great place to get started on the basics of playing an instrument
Jazz – Improvisation
While Jazz is a highly technical music genre, the true beauty in it is the ability of musicians to
improvise based on the fundamental techniques they’ve learned. Jazz instrumentalists are
some of the most highly trained musicians around and it is this high degree of mastery that
allows them to go crazy and try something new when playing live. Learning how to “wing it” is a
key lesson taught by jazz. Improvisation is all about knowing how and when to go off script to
make something more unique than plain old written notes.
Rock – Power and Timing
The beauty of rock is that it’s so varied. Different kinds of rock music have wildly distinctive
sounds and different paces. In the end, however, pacing is also about timing. Rock uses pacing
and intensity to shift sounds and tones and a winning combination can make for some great
music. From the high-powered speed and intensity of thrash metal to calmer and lighter folk
rock, the genre is a great microcosm of how to change up your songwriting.
Blues – Rhythm
Blues music may not be as technically demanding as jazz or as high intensity as some rock, but
it’s very difficult to master. The genre, which originated with African American communities in
the Southern States at the turn of the century, is all about rhythm. Taking its cues from
traditional African sounds and Western folk music, this genre teaches musicians about using
drum-like sounds in unusual forms and getting different rhythmic patterns from timing.
Reggae – Syncopation
Reggae music is all about playing the off beat. One of the genre’s defining characteristic is how
accents are placed on the down beat–the second and fourth notes in a 4/4–as opposed to the
first and third notes. The result is a syncopated sound that is a staple of its music. Reggae also
takes its inspiration from blues and jazz, adding a strong preference to more unorthodox
rhythm patterns.