On a different day, I was driving and realized
that music was off. It was a bit of surprise
because I was so calm and relaxed that
it was almost like I was meditating. So I
recommend that you guys sometimes stop
listening to the music in your car. It's really
different!
+++++
I do not find it hard to believe that listening to certain kinds of music
can cause speeding because of the rythmn or beat that causes us to get
carried away. I also have to agree with driving with the music off.
If you have ever tried it, it can be relaxing because you do not have anything
to interfere with your thoughts. It is like a meditation while you
drive for those of you who have taken Transpersonal Psychology. When
I drive with the music off I find I notice more things around me and I
do not get carried away with the music I listen too.
Mr. Miyoshi (G7) wrote:
This is also something that I have been
thinking about while taking this class. Does rock
music make us more aggressive and slow
methodical music make us a better driver. It
is interesting because rock music makes
our hearts beat faster and that might get our
adrenaline flowing and made us lose some
of our senses. Just a thought for everyone to
think about.
I know what Akira is talking about. Once
in a while someone turns off the music in my
car before I get in and when I realize
that it is off it suprises me. I find myself almost in a
meditative state when the radio is off.
I am more calm and am able to control my
feelings more!
I think that this could work both ways.
I think that if you listen to a station that you
don't like but doesn't show views that
you are strongly against or go totally against your
values then this will work. If you just
don't like the Dj's or music then thats fine.
However if you listen to a station that
gets you upset and deals with touchy situations or
points then you could get more agressive
on the road and other things that drivers do
may upset you more. I think I will have
to try this before I give a difinite answer.
I think that the type of music that you listen to does have an affect on
us. I find that the music I listen to can elicit a mood if I choose
and I assume it can do the same unconciously as well. When I go to
the gym I expect to hear high pump music or something with attitude, anything
to raise your adrenaline. I find Rage Against The Machines does this
for me as well as some other bands. I do not listen to Rage Against
The Machines while driving because I do not need the same kind of energy
while lifting or training. Where as classical or soft rock tends
to elicit a mild behavior that is more passive and relaxing in manner.
+++++
Mr. Shintani (G7)
wrote:
I really think that music has an effect
on the way a person drives. When I want to drive
fast I play a CD that has a powerful or
past beat. My favorite is the Top Gun sound
track. If I want to relax while driving
I would put in a mellow CD like Kalapana or
some type of soft rock. I dont listen to
rap so I dont know the effects of listening to this
type of music.
I really think that some music causes bad
driving behavior than others. I can see people
being more aggressive after listening to
heavy metal then to classical music. I has been
proven in studies that playing of classical
music in malls helps to reduce the amount to
violence in metal than to clasical music.
I has been proven in studies that playing of
classical music in malls helps to reduce
the amount to violence in these malls. I do this in
two ways by mellowing or relaxing people
and by staying away from a certain section
of the community that causes a lot of the
crimes.
I must agree with Mr. Shintani I think that certain music can cause bad
driving. I think that some music can elicit a response or behavior
sometimes unaware to the listener. Have you ever driven by a car
with the drivers just banging away with their heads just going? So
you think they are concsious of how they look or what a hazard they may
be providing by getting too involved in what they are listening to.
Not to mention the distraction or amusement they are provideing to other
passengers and drivers.
+++++
Ms. Tomooka (DRA 1994)
wrote a library research report on music and driving-- see
it here
Mr. Nakada did a self analysis report on himself that dealt with speeding.
He found among the reasons he sped was that he could. He found that
when he was driving on the open roads on the Big Island with nothing to
see but grass he tended to speed more especially with no cars ahead of
him. I can agree with him there because I do the same thing.
I find that when it is late at night on the H1 or any other highway or
freeway I tend to speed a bit more because there are no other cars on the
road to slow me down or give me a pace or flow to follow. I find
when I just have nothing but open road I am more apt to speeding.
+++++
Web visitor Brian
Haimerman wrote by e-mail: (November 1997)
I want to thank Dr. James & Mr. Shintani
for the feedback. At this time I am taking a
History of Rock and Roll class and am learning
of the effect that rock music has in our
psyche. We are basically talking about
how we listen to music. The Affective,
Cognitive, Psycho-motor, and Transpersonal.
It is almost like a psychology class. So
far like I said in my last message, music
does affect our psycho-physical. The loudness
and the beat play the biggest part. It
has a direct effect on our hearts. Notice why
younger people like loud beating music.
It is because it causes our heart beats to go
faster and our blood pressure to rise.
For us it is enjoyable but for older people it is a
big no no! The more I learn the more I'll
tell you about it!
I have to agree with Mr. Haimerman. I do believe that the loudness
and beat of the music affects us. When I go to the gym I find that
I like to listen to louder music with a more intense beat. It adds
to the intensity of the workout and helps to psyche you out. It does
raise your Blood Pressure and gets your adrenaline going as well.
+++++
Kristin Evert (G7)
wrote:
After reading the little excerp about music
and driving behavior I really started to think
about myself and my own driving. If all
of this is right, I should technically be a VERY
aggressive, speeding maniac on the road,
because when I drive I like my music loud
and usually fast-paced and "singable" (meaning
I can sing along). Although I am no Ms.
Perfection, I am more often times getting
passed than doing the passing, as I usually try
to stay no more than 10 mph over the speed
limit.
On the other hand, however, I could see
how slow sappy music could make me
sleepy, even if I like the song. Hmmm...
I think that it is great that she can control her urge to speed better
than most of us. I am also glad that she accepts the idea that slow
music will more than likely make her tired. I would have to agree
with her that slow music makes me tired and relaxed a lot more as well.
That is why I like to listen to Pachabel Canon when I go to sleep because
it is very nice relaxing music. I never play it in the car caus eit
may put me to sleep in the same way fast music may wake me up.
+++++
Web visitor Mary Ford
wrote by e-mail (November 1997):
After reading your site, I've realized
that I've become much more aggressive in my
personality as I've gotten older. Is this
a normal phenomena? By more aggressive, I
mean I speak up and assert myself; and
in the car -- well I've never got a ticket, but I
do admit, I swear -- not good. I was aware
of my tension in the car, so for several
years now, I've used a melodious tape to
mellow myself out when I'm driving -- Rain
Melody, beautiful flute music, Ghandharva
Veda music (supposed to bring harmony
into the atmosphere). It seems to work
for me.
I
am glad that this person uses melodious music to calm herself down because
I am a firm believer in it. I think that melodious music and flute
music can calm a person down if they are too wired. I never really
find myself too wired when I drive I am normally relaxed if not tired so
I like to listen to soft rock most of the time.
+++++
Tami Hshimoto (G7)
wrote:
I just wanted to respond to marshall's
message on how music affects my driving. When
I'm driving, music makes me relaxed and
clam. Ifeel that when I'm driving in traffic the
music that I listen to helps me to feel
less anxious and fustrated. I'm able to tolerate
more unsafe drivers by letting them get
a head of me. Music is an awesome way to
relax when I'm driving.
I
think that Tami is right I feel that listening to music during traffic
like not listening to music can make driving a more pleasant experience.
Especially if it is good music or music that makes you at ease. I
also think that it depends on the mood that you are in. There
are times in which I would rather just drive without music.
+++++
Cris Burlem (G7) wrote:
I have been in the drivers frustration
seat many a time as many of us have. My solution
to claming down is actually the opposite.
I find that by turning off the radio I am able to
relax when I am in an uptight mood to begin
with. I find that turning off the radio helps
me concentrate on the road and what is
going on. It is at these times that I think music
actually irritates me?!?
Yes!!!
I have to agree with Chris that is exactly how I feel. When I drive
without music I find I am able to concentrate and think about a lot of
other things. I actually get more done mentally which makes it more
worth while to drive. What I mean by that is that if I have an exam
coming up I can focus on it and let ther theories or concepts just flow
and this is when I find out what I do not quite understand.
+++++
Wilfred Lee (G7) wrote
last semester:
I definitely agree that music has a role
in how you drive. Fast music, and loud music,
makes you more excited, and makes your
heart pump faster. In turn making you drive
faster. Slow music relaxes you and you
get more mellow. If you dont believe it, then
ever tried driving really fast with classical
music. It just doesn't work. maybe the
solution is to make everyone listen to
classical music. I did hear an interesting fact,
babies in the womb become calm children
when mothers listen to classical music.
Maybe classical music is our solution????
I'm a townie so I consider myself fortunate.
I live in Kahala so I drive for 5 minutes and
get to school. I often ask my friend that
has to drive from Pearl City to get to school by
8 how he does it. He just says he has to
deal with it and has accepted it as part of his
life. What i did to try to alleviate his
road rage is make a tape of his favorite songs. My
theory is when he listens to his favorite
songs then he doesn't notice the traffic as much,
and time passes by more quickly. I sing
(sometimes) in the car. That makes the time fly
by faster. I also enjoy it and it takes
my mind off the congested road. Could this be a
possible solution for the commuters to
school?
I agree with Mr. Lee I am from Pear City and I have gotten a "I just deal with it attitude". I mean there is nothing I can do about it so I just have to deal with it. I do find that my friends from town who do not have to drive in traffic get a lot more impatient when they do drive in traffic. I have alos taken notice of what classical music does for me and I do think that it soothes me much more than soft rock but, if I am not in the mood to be soothed then I prefer soft rock. I think it still depends on the mood of the driver or person at the given time.
+++++
My Searches on Usenet and the Web
My searches on Usenet led me to a newsgroup
called aus.cars. I found a lot of interesting topics and ideas expressed.
A lot of the ideas are the same as those already shared by other students
in the curriculum. To see exactly what I saw click
here. this newsgroup discussed good and basd driving while listening
to certain kinds of music and radio stations. I found it pretty interesting
and thouhgt that it was neat that I shared some of the same ideas.
Hands
On Music, Inc. This site provides a new theory on music for the
automobile and its close quarters. It is a company that is going
to specialize in making driving music (music that will sound especially
good in cars).
A Few
Things That Interested Me on Music and Driving
Let me see there were a few things that had interested
me on this topic. First of all I think we can say that music does
affect our driving. I think that music affects each of us differently
and it would be really hard to say that everyone fits into a certain category.
I believe in self fulfilling prophesies. In your unconcious there
lies opinions that you may be unaware of. I think that it is these
opinions that shape us all and aids in the self fulfilling prophecies.
I have found that fast tempo music will tend to make me drive faster or
more aggressive but there are many other factors that must be considered
as well.
I feel that there are many
reasons people may drive aggressively due to their mood, music, weather,
time of day, level of conciousness, or whether they are in a hurry or not
all makes a difference. I find that when I am in a hurry the music
I choose to listen too tends to be more of a fast pace. I do not
listen to slow music when I am in a hurry, for some reason I feel that
it makes me irritable because tries to slow me down which is all mental.
All this is occurring in my head and most of the time I am unaware of it.
I did not pay much attention to it prior to taking this class but, since
taking this class I have found that I am more aware of my mood and level
of conciousness while driving.
Another observation that I have noticed is that
when I am tired on the road I like to roll down my windows to get some
fresh air but more importantly I try to find some fast paced music to wake
me up and I turn it up LOUD. I find that this helps to revive me.
My Searches
through ERIC and/ or Uncover
My searches through Eric
and Uncover has been very
difficult and I was not able to find anything of great relevance.
I found Eric to be frustrating because I feel that there are reports out
there but after searching for over an hour I gave up. There are vast
numbers of reports done on driving and DWI, and drivers education but it
was nearly impossible to find a report that included music and driving.
When punching in either one alone you come up with a lot of results but
punching them in together you recieve nothing.
Uncover was also very difficult to use I tried
using it but failed to find any linked articles that contained both music
and driving in the same document. First had to telnet to the uhcarl
system which was simple enough but I still feel using the library database
can be confusing.
How
Do I Compare
I think I did ok or at least I feel I held my
own compared with the other students in the class. There were a lot
of excellent reports done and the use of colors and fonts made a lot of
the papers fun to read. For an example of what I mean take a look
at Holly's
report. Going through other reports in my generation I was curious
to see if others succeeded in areas where I failed horribly like searching
UNCOVER and ERIC. Holly and Irene
Lau was able to find a few articles in ERIC. Irene also found
a neat article on the Web that I did not come across. She found an
article by Byron Friesen on How
Music Affects Us. Grace
put together a colorful page with a lot of information and details.
I had a lot of fun going through the reports of other students. I
did not link to those other pages as good as they looked because many were
not completed and I was not sure of the status they may be in when clicked
upon at a later time.
Conclusion
To conclude I feel I learned a lot from this.
I think I can walk away from this topic with a greater understanding.
Although there was not text book saying in BOLD print that, yes music does
affect our driving or our mood, I think I can confidently say that it does.
From all the class discussions and emails, along with the other reports
that I read others in my generation feel the same way.
For you poor students in the future forced to
read our reports good luck =). Just kidding there is a lot that can
be obtained and maybe you will be more fortunate as to finding the locations
of better pages on the web or run into less problems than we did.
May your computer literacy grow as you learn the web. Use the Force.
There is a lot that can be expounded upon. I also feel that there
are other topics worth looking into like continued education for drivers.
Drivers Education and its benefits as well as road safety. There
are a lot of topics out there and I am sure you will have a lot of fun
surfing the net with Dr. James A.K.A. Dr. Driving.