Music Performance and Brain Responses: The Case of Music and Dance Students of University of Cape Coast

Abstract

This study was about investigating music performance and brain responses among undergraduate students of the Music department of University of Cape Coast. The purpose of the study was to investigate the following: possible statistically significant differences in brain response to reading of song lyrics and singing of song as well as brain response among student with long exposure and limited exposure to music. Further, the study sought to investigate possible statistically significant differences in responses to singing by the four lobes of the brain; frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital. Census method was used with a total of fifty respondents (N=50). Data for the study was collected using Electroencephalogram (EEG) machine. The data was computed and analysed using quantitative techniques. Two statistical tools were employed in testing the hypothesis formulated; the t-test for hypothesis one and two while the two-way ANOVA was used to analysed hypothesis three. Within subject dependent variables, a Repeated Measures ANOVA with a Greenhouse-Geisser correction, Wilks' Lambda statistical tests were observed during computation of data. Result show that there was no statistically significant evidence of difference in the brain responses when respondents read or sing lyrics of a song (p>0.873). Also, there was no evidence of statistical difference in the brain responses to singing and reading by students with long period of exposure or limited exposure to lyrics of a song (p>0.394). Finally, there were statistically significant differences in responses of the four brain lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes) to singing among the study participants (p<0.025).