Several experiments have tested the effects of music and musical properties on plant germination. The consensus seems to be that plants are affected by music, some negatively and some positively. The type of music seems to be less important than the range of frequencies emitted. There is good reason to be concerned about the effects of music on plants. If farmers can be told what type of music or tones affect the growth of plants, greater crops and yields could be produced.
Musical Genre
A good science fair project shows the effect of music on plant growth by using different types of music, including rock, classical, pop and jazz. By preparing a control group, you can compare the effects of music as opposed to no music on the growth of plants. The recommended time for this project is a minimum of one week. Control the conditions so that the plants are the same type and receive the same quantity of water and sun. With all other elements of the experiment being equal, play different types of music in the room with the plant and chart the progress. Most researchers have found that rock music has a negative effect on plant growth while classical music has a positive effect.
Constant Tone
In 1973, researcher Dorothy Retallack conducted several experiments on plants, including testing the effect of a single tone on plant growth. She set up three plants in three compartmental sections. In each area, a tone played for a specified length of time. One section was a control group with no tone played, another had a tone played continuously for eight hours and in the final area, an intermittent tone played for three hours. In her experiment, the plant subjected to a continuous tone died in 14 days. The plant that only had three hours of intermittent exposure flourished. The plant with no tone grew less than the plant with three hours of an intermittent tone.
Amplitude
Tan Shen Mynn and Jean Huang Shiqin, of the National University of Singapore, conducted experiments on plants to determine whether or not the volume of sound had any impact on their growth. In this experiment, plants were subjected to two different types of music played at various volumes. The researchers found that louder music accounted for both greater plant growth and germination. The experiment involved one piece of classical music and one of heavy metal to compare the difference between the two types. The results were almost identical, with classical music having a slight edge in terms of growth.
Frequency
As noted in the "Canadian Journal of Botany," Pearl Weinberger and Mary Measures conducted experiments on the germination of plants in spring and winter at two separate frequencies and temperatures. They found that both frequencies had a significant impact on plant growth. The final determination was that different plants respond to different stimulus and some plants responded better to one frequency than another. This experiment is useful in determining if it is the type of music used that affects germination or if it is simply the vibrations emitted by specific tones. It seems that the quality of the tone is the deciding factor in plant germination.
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