A Correlational Study Between Musical Aptitude and Mathematical Performance of Grade 12

Students

By:

Ang, Lanz Matthew Joaquin Y., Co, Wesley Crague F., & So, Veronica Maye O.

12 - Martin Luther

Ms. Ma. Anna Louzell O. Manabat

A Research Paper In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Practical Research 2

Jubilee Christian Academy

E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, Cubao, Quezon City

November 23, 2018

 Abstract

Music and Math have always been related to one another whether directly through the

mathematics that explains music to indirectly like studies on how playing musical instruments

improve math grades. There have been several studies on the relationship of math and music but

there are only few for music aptitude and mathematical performance and many of these are

outdated. It is because of this that a study on music aptitude which is defined as a person’s innate

ability to understand and comprehend music and mathematical performance or how one does in

mathematics when given problems related to different factors of the subject is of great interest. For

this reason, the researchers conducted a study on the relationship of music aptitude and

mathematical performance. The research used random sampling to observe 30 grade 12 students

from a private Chinese-Filipino high school. Music aptitude was determined using the distorted

tune test while mathematical performance was determined using the general math grades of the

students. The results of the study showed that music aptitude had no relationship to mathematical

performance. The researchers also found that the results had small standard deviations which

helped the researchers support their findings. Even though the results of the research showed no

correlation the researchers believe that more studies should be done regarding the two variables as

their relationship.

i
 Acknowledgements

The group would first want to thank of the institution of Jubilee Christian Academy for

allowing the researchers to conduct their study on school grounds.

The group also want to thank Ms. Ma. Anna Louzell Manabat for her contributions to the

research by helping them ascertain their topic as well, as provide consultation to the researchers,

thereby making it possible for the research to come to fruition.

In addition, the researchers would also like to thank the respondents of the study due to

their active participation in answering the group’s musical aptitude test and providing the group

their general mathematics grade. They played a vital part in determining the results of the study.

Without their help, the group wouldn’t have been able to complete their research.

The group would also like to acknowledge previous researchers, for their work played a

vital role in shaping the research and the group’s understanding of the topic.

The group would also like to thank their family and friends, for their moral support for the

group. They allowed the researchers to complete the research, even if there were a lot of obstacles.

Lastly, the group would like to thank our Lord, Jesus Christ, for allowing the group to be

able to finish the research. Without His help, the group would not have had the help they needed

for the completion of the research.

ii
 Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... i
Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................... ii

Chapter 1: Introduction
Background of the Study ............................................................................................................. 1
Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................ 2
Significance of the Study ............................................................................................................ 3
Scope and Limitations ................................................................................................................. 6
Definition of Terms ..................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature
Conceptual Literature .................................................................................................................. 8
Related Studies ............................................................................................................................ 9
Chapter 3: Methodology
Research Design ........................................................................................................................ 12
Research Instruments ................................................................................................................ 12
Participants ................................................................................................................................ 13
Data Gathering Procedure ......................................................................................................... 13
Method ...................................................................................................................................... 14
Chapter 4: Results and Discussions........................................................................................... 16
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations ...................................................................... 27
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 30
Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 33

 Chapter 1

Introduction

Background of the Study

Music aptitude is the innate ability of an individual to become a musician (Schellenberg

& Weiss, 2013). This aptitude can be measured using a Music Aptitude Test which is often based

on Seashore’s (1919) definition of how Music aptitude can be measured using certain factors like

pitch.

According to Shellenberg and Weiss (2013) cognitive ability includes all aspects of

cognition like memory, language, and visuospatial abilities. Aside from these general

intelligence is also part of the cognitive ability of a person. As a measure of general intelligence

people are given tests that determine their academic performance. One of the aspects of the

academic performance is the mathematical performance which measures ability in math.

Mathematical performance measures the ability of an individual to do mathematics in a

variety of contexts. (Programme for International Student Assessment, 2018). Mathematical

performance is often based on the scores that students receive on their tests. There are many

studies linking the relationship of music to math. In fact music is intertwined with mathematics.

Many musical concepts like frequency and intervals can be explained through mathematical

concepts. It is this relationship that brings music and math close together.

1
 While there are several studies about listening to music and math performance, these

studies do not consider the music aptitude of these test takers. Although there are studies that

have been done on the relationship between music aptitude and mathematics performance, the

results of the studies are inconclusive because some have a direct relationship while some do not.

Past researchers has shown a positive relationship between music training and scores on

mathematics tests but not all studies show the association between the two skills (Gaab & Zuk,

2017). Aside from this, some of the studies that show positive relationships between the two

variables are outdated like the study done by (Drennan,1984).

In light of this, having no recent research that focused on Grade 12 students from a

Chinese-Filipino school in Quezon City, the researchers aim to determine the correlation of

musical aptitude to the mathematics performance of Grade 12 students through a Pearson

Correlation Coefficient.

Statement of the Problem

Due to the limited number studies that have been done to show the relationship between

musical aptitude and mathematical performance, the large number of studies that are outdated,

and the possible impacts it may have on society, the researchers will examine the correlation

between the musical aptitude and mathematical performance of Grade 12 students of Jubilee

Christian Academy. Specifically, this research aims to answer the following questions:

2
 1. What is the demographic profile of the students?

a. age ; and

b. gender?

2. Is there a relationship between the musical aptitudes of grade 12 students to their

mathematical performance?

Significance of the Study

T​he researchers focuses on determining the relationship between music aptitude and

mathematical performance of Grade 12 students. Moreover, the results of the study will be

beneficial to the following fields:

Students. ​The study will help students understand how their music aptitude can affect

their mathematical performance. This can help them to better understand how music relates to

math on a deeper level.

Teachers. ​The study will help teachers understand the students abilities. It can open new

ways of learning which applies musical aptitude to mathematical teaching. This can help teachers

to create assessments that are better suited to their students and understand how the student’s

musical aptitude affects their performance.

3
 Academe. ​The study can help academe be more knowledgeable of the relationship of

musical aptitude and mathematical performance. Through this programs may be created or

implemented to help students for example creating a music program or club. It will also give

schools a better understanding on how music affects students.

Future researchers. ​Future researchers can benefit from the study as it can be a basis for

further studies about the relationship of music and math.

Hypothesis

HO:​ There is no significant relationship between the musical aptitude and the mathematical

performance of grade 12 students.

HA:​ There is a significant relationship between the musical aptitude and mathematical

performance of grade 12 students.

4
Conceptual Framework

​ onceptual framework of the study

Figure 1.1 C

The main purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship

between the musical aptitude and the mathematical performance of grade 12 students. Figure 1.1

shown beforehand presents the conceptual framework of the study conducted by the researchers

with musical aptitude and mathematical performance being the variables. These said variables

5
may determine the hypothesis in which they may either have a significant relationship or none at

all. One questionnaire was given to the respondents containing a test for their musical aptitude

and a survey for their general Mathematics grade as well as their demographic profile. The

Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient Test was used to determine the relationship between the two

variable. The results were derived from the answers and information collected and here, the

researchers were able to either accept the null hypothesis or reject it.

Scope and Limitations

There are also limitations to this study. The study was limited to thirty grade twelve

students studying in Jubilee Christian Academy. The study used surveys and questionnaires. This

method of gathering data can be more efficient, but it has no guarantee that the data the

researchers will be gathering are accurate, such as correct random guesses and gadget glitches.

The study would include the general mathematics grade the participants have taken in the

previous grade level. The study, however, does not take into account the participants’

Intelligence Quotient and lessons students have taken out of school. The study will also only be

conducted during the first semester of S.Y. 2018-2019.

6
Definition of Terms

The following are conceptual terms found in the research. These can aid in helping the

reader further understand and grasp the concepts.

Musical ​Aptitude - The skill or ability for a person to comprehend musical notes, patterns, and

concepts

Mathematical Performance​​ - The average grade of a student in General Mathematics

7
 Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

This section of the research includes the conceptual literature as well as the related

research of the study.

Conceptual Literature

Music Talent is rooted on psychology where in people have innate abilities to do music

described as music aptitude. Music aptitude can be tested through several means. Seashore

(1919) says that music is related to intellect and through different tests the aptitude of a person to

music can be determined. This music aptitude also has relationships to other traits like IQ and

has shown to have a positive correlation to mathematics. However Shellenberg and Weiss (2013)

say that this correlation is due to the correlation to general intelligence compared to mathematics.

Musical aptitude is not the only aspect of music that affects mathematics in fact music

participation also affects mathematics. A study done by Boyd (2013) says that there is a

significant relationship between music participation and achievement in mathematics but length

of participation and practice played a big part in this relationship. When only a short amount of

participation is given results are usually inconclusive in both middle school and preschool

students. A larger sample size also gives more accurate results as seen in the study done by

Mehr, Schachner, Katz, Spelke (2013) where a larger number of preschoolers tested showed no

significant relationship between short term enrichment of music to achievement in mathematics.

8
Related Literature

Mathematics and music have always been thought by people to be related. Some even

argue that musical ability is related to general intellectual ability. In the study done by Buttal

(2017), which focused on the determining if musical ability and mathematical ability had a

correlation, the results showed that musical had a positive relationship with not only ability in

mathematics, but also in foreign languages. In another study done by Maas (2013), that focused

more on the effect of background music on math quiz scores, showed that there too was a

positive relationship between variable. The only difference is that the studies used different tests

from other studies. Buttal (2017) used a Bentley Test and Maas (2013) used a Latin Square

Technique.

Music aptitude as well as performance in music has shown positive results from

improvement in math however Rother (2000) found that there is no significant relationship

between music aptitude and achievement in mathematics. On the other hard QBhat, Wani, &

Anees (2015) who performed a study with a larger sample size found that performance in music

rather than music aptitude shows a positive relationship to mathematical performance. The

studies have shown that music or being a musician may help people understand the complexity

of math and that certain skills like spatial temporal reasoning which can be useful in math are

improved by music.

9
 Music or music training has a small link to music aptitude as well as cognitive

development in children. The results of a study study done by Civil (2007) showed that learning

with the aid of music can improve learning in mathematics. According to Tai (2010) playing

musical instruments like violin and keyboard done on young children shows positive correlation

to music aptitude. Studies done by Civil (2007) and Tai (2010) shows a relationship of music

practice on spatial ability. This shows that musical aptitude truly has a significant effect on the

mathematical performance of students.

Some researchers only focus on finding the relationship, however the following two also

focus on who benefits from it. For Haimson, Swain, & Winner (2011), the objective of their

study was to determine if Mathematicians have an above average musical skill compared to

others. This is why the sample of their research had to have at least a doctoral degree in

Mathematics. For McKeever (2017) however, the objective of her study was to determine if there

was an effect the classical music had to six graders who had learning disabilities. This is why the

sample of her research consisted of sixth graders. The sample of these test not only help the

research and future researchers, they can also utilize this information to benefit them, and

although both of these studies have an unconventional sample, they both have one focus, which

is to determine if music is correlated to math.

The studies that were reviewed by the researchers included information on the origin of

music aptitude as well as the factors affecting it. It also describes the relationship between music

10
aptitude to intelligence. Aside from this the relationship between music and math was also

reviewed by the researchers.

After analyzing the different studies that were related to music aptitude and mathematics

performance, it was observed that many of them find no correlation between the two variables

however, they find that there are correlations between music and cognitive ability or general

intelligence. Studies have also shown that data or the results change when the sample size

increases.

The literature reviewed by the researchers will be used as a basis for the study of the

researchers on music aptitude and mathematics performance. The studies will be used for

validity and can be a predictor for the possible results of the study.

11
 Chapter 3

Research Design

The group conducted a study on the correlation between music aptitude and mathematical

performance in grade 12 students. The study determined the relationship between music aptitude

and mathematical performance of grade 12 students through a correlational research design. A

correlational research design is one which is used to determine relationships between 2 or more

variables and is used for intelligent predictions (Fraenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 2012). Through this

research design, the group aimed to determine how music aptitude can affect mathematical

performance or how the music aptitude of a person is related to their mathematical performance.

In the context of this study, information on the variables, music aptitude and mathematical

performance of grade 12 students, will be retrieved and examined for their correlation to one

another.

Research Instruments

As defined by the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL),

research instruments like questionnaires, scales, and surveys are assessment tools made to attain

data regarding the topic of a particular study. These instruments are utilized in providing

information about the test subjects and variables related to the research. For this study, two (2)

research instruments were used: a survey and a musical aptitude test.

The first research instrument was a survey. This survey was used to obtain the General

Mathematics grades of the respondents. The second research instrument was a musical aptitude

12
test. This test, named as the Distorted Tunes Test, was taken from the website of the National

Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). It consists of 26 numbers

in which each number plays a tune. The subject will simply answer whether they think it was

played either correctly or incorrectly. It tackles a person’s overall musical skill incorporating

elements such as pitch, patterns, and other musical concepts in one test rather than only focusing

on an element.

Participants

The participants involved in this study are 30 grade 12 students that are currently

studying in Jubilee Christian Academy. They must have studied grade 11 in Jubilee Christian

Academy. The type of sampling used in this research was random sampling to reduce the bias.

The research was done in Jubilee Christian Academy.

Data Gathering Procedure

Process of Validation of Instruments. ​The instrument used to determine the musical

aptitude of the participants is a musical aptitude test from the National Institute on Deafness and

Other Communication Disorders, which is a branch of government of the United States of

America. To determine the mathematical performance of the participants, the grade 11 final

general math grade would be used. This is also valid because it is taken from the results of the

assessments of the students based on the curriculum of the Department of Education.

13
 ​Test Administration. ​To administer the test, the group randomly selected 30 grade 12

students from Jubilee Christian academy to be part of the research, then ask them to sign the

letter of consent, which allows the researchers permission to use the data gathered for the

research. After the letter of consent is signed, the researchers asked the participant to answer the

musical aptitude test, then asked for the general math grade the participant received on their

grade 11 general math test.

​Data Interpretation. ​The Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient Statistical Test was used on

the data received by the group to determine is Pearson’s Correlation Constant. This was then

used to determine if a correlation exists between musical aptitude and mathematical

performance.

Method

The group used the Pearson correlation coefficient or Pearson (r) for the analysis of the

data.

n(Σxy)−(Σx)(Σy)
r=
√[nΣx2 −(Σx)2 ][nΣy2 −(Σy)2 ]
Figure 3.1: Pearson correlation coefficient formula

The group will take values from the variables which are the music aptitude test scores as

well as the general math scores and place them under two groups, the summation values of each

group, the summation of the squares, the summation of the products of paired values, as well as

the number of paired data will be used to compute the coefficient. Through the formula of the

14
Pearson correlation coefficient, a strong, weak, or no correlation can be determined as well as

whether the values are positively or negatively related. At the p-value of <0.05 the group will

determine whether the two variables are significantly related or not.

15
 Chapter 4

Presentation, Interpretation, and Analysis of Data

This section contains the results collected by the researchers during the survey period, of

the study. The information needed was attained through the questionnaires given to the

respondents. It also includes both the analysis and interpretation of the data that were gathered

from the said questionnaires to aid in answering the problems presented. Information regarding

the demographic of the sample is presented below, as well as their scores on the Distorted Tune

test and their General Mathematics grade.

4.1 Demographic Profile

FIGURE

Male Female

43%
57%

Figure 4.1.1 Gender

 The figure above shows the demographic profile for gender. Considering that the

researchers used a random sampling technique, the number of male and female respondents were

not equal. There were 13 female respondents and 17 male students. Together, the research has a

total of 30 respondents.

17 18

26%

74%

Figure 4.1.2 Age

The figure shows the demographic profile for age. The age group of the respondents

ranges from 17-18 years old. The sample consists of twenty-two 17 year-olds and eight 18 year-

olds. In total, this sample consists of 30 students.

4.2 Musical Amplitude and Mathematical Performance

Scores

4.5

1.5

0
15 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25

Figure 4.2.1 Distorted Tune Test scores

 From the figure, it can be seen that the test scores of the respondents ranges from 15 - 25

out of a 26 item test. Two of the respondents got a score of 15, 1 obtained a 17, 3 with the score

of 18, 2 with the score of 19, and another 2 with the score of 20. Meanwhile, 6 obtained a score

of 21, 3 with the score of 22, another 6 with the score of 24, and 5 with the score of 25. It can be

seen here the test scores are not too far from each other and altogether, the test scores are

relatively high.

Grades

3.75

2.5

1.25

0
85 86 87 88 89 89.5 90 91 91.5 92 93 94 94.5 95 97 98 98.5

Figure 4.2.2 General Mathematics grade

On the figure above are the averaged General Mathematics grades of the respondents. Their

grades ranges from 85 - 98.5 out of 100. 1 of them obtained an 85, 4 of them with the score of 86, 2 of

them with the score of 87, 1 with the score of an 88, and another 1 with the score of 89. Meanwhile, 2 of

them obtained the score of 89.5, 5 of them with the score of 90, 2 of them with the score of 91, another 2

with the score of 91.5, followed by another 2 with the score of 92, and 1 with the score of 93. On the

other hand, 1 obtained the score of 94, another 1 with the score of 94.5, and 1 more with the score of 95.

Lastly, 1 with the score of 97, 2 with the score of 98, and 1 with the score of 98.5.
4.3 Summary of Data

Table 4.3.1: Demographic Profile

Demographic Variable N Percentage

Gender
16 53%
Male
14 47%
Female
30 100%
Total

Age 22 73%

17 8 27%

18
30 100%
Grade Level

Grade 12

In this research, the researchers used random sampling to get the respondents for this

study. They randomly selected 30 students from the whole grade 12 that were studying in Jubilee

Christian Academy. The respondents that the researchers got was composed of 16 male students

and 14 female students. The ages of the respondents were 17 and 18. 22 of the respondents were

17, while 8 were 18.

Table 4.3.2: Collected distorted tune test scores of all respondents

Respondent Music Aptitude

1 22

2 24

19
3 24

4 21

5 21

6 19

7 18

8 20

9 22

10 21

11 22

12 24

13 20

14 21

15 25

16 25

17 24

18 24

19 19

20 21

21 18

22 15

23 17

24 21

25 18

26 24

27 15

28 25

20
 29 25

30 25

The range of the music aptitude scores the 30 respondents got was 15 to 25. The mean of

the musical aptitude scores the participants got was 21.33 and the standard deviation is 2.94.

4.3.3 Collected General Math grades of all respondents

Respondent Mathematical

1 92.00

2 85.00

3 90.00

4 92.00

5 90.00

6 95.00

7 86.00

8 97.00*

9 94.00

10 98.00

11 87.00

12 86.00

13 89.00

14 90.00

15 89.50

16 90.00

17 91.00

18 90.00

21
 19 98.00

20 91.50

21 88.00

22 86.00

23 94.50

24 93.00

25 86.00

26 98.50

27 91.50

28 89.50

29 87.00

30 91.00

The range of the general mathematical grade the 30 participants have is 85 to 98.5. The

mean mathematical grade of all the respondents is 90.87 and the standard deviation of the

mathematical grade is 3.76.

The tables above were used to calculate the Pearson correlation coefficient of the two

variables. The left columns for both give the respondents while the columns on the right provide

general math grades and distorted tune test scores respectively. The general math grades will be

used to represent mathematical performance while the distorted tune test scores will be used to

represent music aptitude.

4.4 Statistical Treatment of Data

The research used the Pearson Correlation Coefficient or the Pearson r for determining

the relationship of the two variables, music aptitude and mathematical performance. To get

22
 Pearson r two groups an x and y-variables are needed. In this study the x-variable was the

mathematical performance and the y-variable was the music aptitude. Through the use of the

Pearson Correlation Coefficient formula the group was able to get the strength of the relationship

between the two variables. The Pearson r gives a value between -1 and 1 which indicates

strength of relationship between the two variables stronger relationships mean that the variables

have a good relationship with one another while a weak relationship indicates that the variables

do not have relationships with one another. The negative value means that the variables have a

inverse relationship or while one variable increases the other variable tends to decrease. The

positive value means that the variables have a direct relationship or while one variable increases

the other variable tends to increase as well.

r=n(xy)-(x)(y)[nx2-(x)2][ny2-(y)2]
Figure 4.4.1: Pearson correlation coefficient formula

I. Determining the correlation between mathematical performance and music aptitude

Table 4.4.3 Summary of data that will be used in computing the Pearson Correlation Coefficient

Respondent Mathematical Performance Music x 2

y2
xy

(x) Aptitude

(y)

1 92.00 22 8464.00 484 2024

2 85.00 24 7225.00 576 2040

3 90.00 24 8100.00 576 2160

4 92.00 21 8464.00 441 1932

5 90.00 21 8100.00 441 1890

23
6 95.00 19 9025.00 361 1805

7 86.00 18 7396.00 324 1548

8 97.00 20 9409.00 400 1940

9 94.00 22 8836.00 484 2068

10 98.00 21 9604.00 441 2058

11 87.00 22 7569.00 484 1914

12 86.00 24 7396.00 576 2064

13 89.00 20 7921.00 400 1780

14 90.00 21 8100.00 441 1890

15 89.50 25 8010.25 625 2237.5

16 90.00 25 8100.00 625 2250

17 91.00 24 8281.00 576 2184

18 90.00 24 8100.00 576 2160

19 98.00 19 9604.00 361 1862

20 91.50 21 8372.25 441 1921.5

21 88.00 18 7744.00 324 1584

22 86.00 15 7396.00 225 1290

23 94.50 17 8930.25 289 1606.5

24 93.00 21 8649.00 441 1953

25 86.00 18 7396.00 324 1548

26 98.50 24 9702.25 576 2364

27 91.50 15 8372.25 225 1372.5

28 89.50 25 8010.25 625 2237.5

29 87.00 25 7569.00 625 2175

30 91.00 25 8281.00 625 2275

=2726 =640 =248126.5 =13912 =58133.5

24
 The data shown in the table above was placed in the Pearson Correlation Coefficient

formula and was calculated:

r=(30)(58,133.5)-(2,726)(640)[(30)(248,126.5)-(2,726)2][(30)(13,912)-(640)2]

r=-635(12,719)(7760)

r=-0.0639
The coefficient shows the relationship between the two variables is negative however it is

also very weak. To determine if the coefficient can be used to describe the data the group looked

for the p-value.

p-value=0.7327
The p-value is used to reject the null. Since the study limited the p-value to <0.05, the p-

value of 0.7327 shows that the data is not statistically significant. Due to this the researchers

were not able to reject the null, which means that there is no significant relationship between the

two variables.

4.5 Results, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data

The results of the study done on the grade 12 students of Jubilee Christian Academy

show that the data has a large p-value. This large p-value means that there is a big probability

that the data can occur when the variables are unrelated or not related to one another. This means

that the variables have very little relationships with one another. Aside from this the data has

shown that the variables have relatively low standard deviations. This can means that data points

are not far from each other which may also supports the lack of correlation between the

25
variables. The lack of relationship means that people who get high grades in mathematics won’t

necessarily have a high music aptitude and vice versa.

26
 Chapter 5

Conclusions and Recommendations

This section will build on the results of the previous chapter. It will also discuss the

conclusions, and recommendations of the research which are based on the main objective of this

study that is to determine whether there is a relationship between musical aptitude and

mathematical performance or not.

Conclusion

Music and mathematics have many things in common which is why a study based on

them is very essential, it can allow a better understanding of the relationship between the two.

The group looked for relationships between music and math through music aptitude and

mathematical performance respectively. According to Seashore (1919), music is related to

intellect and through tests music aptitude can be tested. These tests can help determine the innate

musical ability of a person. Although some studies show the relationship between music and

math have had a positive correlations (Buttal, 2017). Shellenberg and Weiss (2013) argues that

it is due to music’s relationship to general intelligence that causes that correlation. Through these

variables that fall under music and math the relationship between the two may become more

known.

After successfully tallying the scores of each respondent of the study, the use of the

Pearson’s correlation coefficient allowed the group to be able to get the correlation between the

two variables. This was used to describe the relationship between the variables music aptitude

and mathematical performance. From the p-value of the data it can be seen that the probability

the data points occur even when the two variables are unrelated is very large which means that

the two variables are not correlated or have very small association with one another.

27
 The researchers also found that the standard deviations of the data are relatively small

which shows that data points are close to each other. This means that values close to the means

of each data were retrieved. This affects the correlation and can help to explain why there was no

relationship found between the variables. This is a factor which may have affected the overall

outcome of the results. Rother (2000) whose research was conducted on high school seniors had

a larger Pearson’s correlation coefficient and larger standard deviations than the group but

showed that the two variables had no significant relationship.

In conclusion, These factors contributed to why the researchers were able to conclude

that there is no significant relationship between the music aptitude and mathematical

performance of grade 12 students.

Recommendation

The researchers recommend that future researchers get more respondents to participate

with the study. More participants would mean that the data the researchers would have would

follow a normal curve more. Data that follows a normal curve more would mean that the Pearson

R Correlation would become more accurate. This is because the Pearson R correlation needs a

normal curve as the data to accurately predict its correlation. According to Faber (2014), more

participants would also reduce the margin of error that the computation would have. This is

because a bigger sample size would be closer to the population size, making the correlation the

researchers got was more precise.

The researchers would also like to recommend a more controlled environment to conduct

the test. The environment the participants took the test in had a few background noise that could

28
have affected the study. The time the research took place can also have affected the study, so

future researchers are recommended to get the respondents to take the test all at the same time.

Lastly, the researchers would recommend utilizing different musical aptitude test in

conducting future experiments. A lengthier and more elaborate test is recommended. In this

study, a distorted tunes test was utilized. Although validated, future researchers may opt to test

other musicality factors such as rhythm, pitch, and melody or all of the above. According to

Rother (2000), different instruments such as specialized or more complex ones may augment

validity.

29
Bibliography

Drennan, C. (1984). The Relationship of Musical Aptitude, Academic Achievement and

Intelligence in Merit Students of Murfreeboro City School Collection for Tennessee State

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