Autumn Stevens

Mr. Jackson
Biology
7 September 2014
I. Musical Preferences
II. Purpose: How will people perceive a song with a pleasant rhythm and negative lyrics versus
a song with an unpleasant rhythm and pleasing lyrics?
III. Hypothesis: When given two songs-- one with a pleasant rhythm and negative lyrics
(Gaspedal Acoustic Cover) versus one with an unpleasant rhythm and pleasing lyrics (Happy
Metal Remix) --a person will prefer the song with the pleasing rhythm more than the song
with an unpleasing rhythm.
IV. Procedure: The experiment will begin with the presentation of two songs (played separately)
to an audience of fifteen. The songs will be labeled A (Happy Metal Remix) and B
(Gaspedal Acoustic Cover) for the sake of anonymity. After having exposure to both audio
files, the audience will record their preference of the two and their reasoning behind their
choice. The data will be collected from the individuals and then analyzed for majority facts.
Materials: Happy Metal Remix audio file, Gaspedal Acoustic Cover, audience of 15, and
paper for each individuals results.
V. Data and Observations: After collecting and analyzing data, results showed that four out of
five people prefered the Gaspedal Acoustic Cover over the Happy Metal Remix. Results
also showed that all fifteen individuals based their preference off of the rhythm of the music.
A surprising find was that one third of the audience based their preference off of the feeling
of the music, as well.
Preference
Reasoning
Rhythm Lyrics +Feeling
Gaspedal Acoustic Cover
Background music

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover

Calm rhythm

Happy Metal Remix

Fast Rhythm

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover

Calming

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover

Background beat

Happy Metal Remix

Upbeat

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover

Rhythm

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover

Peaceful

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover Acoustic and vocals

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover

Calming

Happy Metal Remix

Upbeat/fast

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover

Relaxing

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover

Vocal skill

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover

Calming

Gaspedal Acoustic Cover

Background beat

Acoustic Cover : 80% Metal Remix : 20%

Rhythm Basis: ALL

Feeling Basis : 30%

VI. When assessing how people will perceive a song with a pleasant rhythm and negative lyrics
versus a song with an unpleasant rhythm and pleasing lyrics, it was predicted that the song
with the pleasing rhythm would be more appealing to the audience. Results proved this
hypothesis true but with more drastic results than expected; individuals preferred a song

Autumn Stevens
Mr. Jackson
Biology
7 September 2014
with a pleasant rhythm and negative lyrics more than a song with an unpleasant
rhythm and positive lyrics by a 4:1 ratio. It was also found that people based their
preference completely on rhythm and surprisingly also by feeling. Data showed that 80%
of the questioned people chose the Gaspedal Acoustic Cover because of its calming and
slow-paced rhythm. It was slower, sweeter, calming, and made me feel truly peaceful
(Random Student). Only three out of fifteen students preferred the Happy Metal Remix but
for the same reason(s) as the Gaspedal Acoustic Cover: the rhythm and feeling. One
individuals preference was because of how the Happy Metal Remix was fast-paced and
upbeat compared to the Gaspedal Acoustic Cover. The controls in this experiment included
the anonymity of the songs, the levels of exposure of the songs to the individuals (presented
all together) and the randomness of the songs as they were chosen randomly off of the
internet. The manipulated variable in this experiment was the rhythm of each song; each song
was remixed with a contradicting rhythm to the original. The responding variable in this
experiment was the preference of each individual and their reasoning behind their decision.
Possible errors that may have occurred in this experiment include pre-exposure of the songs
to the audience and/or untrue reasoning behind decisions of the audience. . To conclude, it
was revealed in this experiment that individuals preferred a song with a pleasant rhythm and
negative lyrics more than a song with an unpleasant rhythm and positive lyrics by a 4:1 ratio
completely due to the appeal of the rhythm of the song.
Autumn Stevens