Does music hinder exam preparedness

in the groove:with Fred Zindi Over the last two weeks I have been watching students at the University of Zimbabwe studying in groups in order to prepare for their end of semester examinations. These students are lucky because they have an endless supply of electricity throughout the day and night. So they take full advantage of this privilege in many forms, which include ironing their clothes, charging their cellphones and watching television at no extra charge. What amazed me was that some groups of students studied with their radios on or mobile phones playing background music on full blast. I began to wonder whether having background music while studying has an effect on concentration. I did not have an answer to this except verbal statements from friends. Long ago when I was doing my O’levels, friends used to tell me that background music helps concentration when undertaking studies. I started looking for literature on this topic and what I found out was the opposite of what I and many students believe. I discovered that people who listen to music while they are studying may be doing more harm to themselves than good. Of course, there is an exception to this rule. Music students such as those undertaking the current music degree being offered by the Midlands State University (MSU) in Harare have no choice as playing music is part of their practical examination preparedness. I understand that they finished their examinations last week. This group included the likes of Clive Mono Mukundu, Tafadzwa Marova, Godfrey Mampondo, Amavel Pinto, Forward Mazuruse and Memory Chinamasa. I can’t wait to see their results when they are published. This will give me a clue as to whether music helps concentration. Edith We Utonga, who was on this programme last year passed with flying […]

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