A Three Part Miniseries

Everybody has their favorite song that just puts them in a good mood. That one song that whenever you play it, you feel like the star of the show. Well, what if you really are the star of the show? How will these songs affect an athletes performance that night? Or, if an athlete is working out, does the music they are listening to get them into a rhythm? I firmly believe that the correct music can really benefit an athletes performance whether they listen to it before or even during a game.

Song Choice is Everything

Picture this, bottom of the 9th inning in the world series and for biased reasons let’s say Aaron Judge is heading to the plate. Do you think his walk-up song is going to be “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion? My guess is no, but why? Studies show that:

“Research has uncovered the tendency among athletes and exercisers to coordinate bursts of effort with those specific segments of a musical track they find to be especially motivating. We refer to the phenomenon as segmentation (Priest & Karageorghis, 2008). The segmentation effect is particularly strong if the individual knows the musical track very well and can anticipate the flow of the music. It is also beneficial to match the tempo of music with the intensity of the workout.”.

(Karageorghis and Lee-Priest)

For the hypothetical that I was previously discussing, Judge would want to play a song that he knows well. Something that will match his intensity for the moment. If this quote is true, Judge will be able to use those ‘certain bursts’ from this Future song above in order to try and hit a home-run. Other studies also show that “Previous studies examined the effects of music on sub-maximal endurance performance, and most of them reported positive effects on motivation, mood state and RPE.”(Benefits of Music on Health and Athletic Performance, 493). With that knowledge, Judge could pick his walk-up song knowing that he will at least feel more motivated and confident in himself. If he is feeling more confident and motivated, his chances of getting a hit in that big moment only increase.

Practice Makes Perfect

Across all sports, repetition is the key to getting better. When you start doing something the right way a lot, it becomes harder for you to mess up. With that being considered, it seems like the right music would benefit that players muscle memory. Let’s take an NBA Player for example, somebody who constantly has to practice a jump-shot. A jump-shot is something that requires muscle memory as well as flow. If music can give that player flow, they would think less about the shot because they are also thinking about the song. A study from 2003 regarding the effects of music on flow and shooting percentage revealed the following:

“Two participants reported an increase in their perception of flow, and all three showed considerable improvement in shooting performance. The researchers concluded that interventions including self-selected music and imagery could enhance athletic performance by triggering emotions and cognitions associated with flow.”

(Karageorghis and Lee-Priest)

Even though this study has a small sample size, I think the results would hold true for all NBA players. Nowadays, if an NBA player is in the gym taking shots, he is most likely playing music. Since he gets to choose what songs he plays, it will only benefit his jump-shot. Since there are no defenders or outside distractions, obtaining this ‘flow’ becomes a lot easier. One interesting thing that the NBA does is they actually play music during their games. Some say that this is to keep energy up amongst fans, but this could also benefit the players too. If one of those songs happens to be one that a player likes, the studies have shown that they are likely to perform better. If they don’t like the song, they can tune it out just like they do to the screaming crowd nightly.

Takeaways

It is so easy to listen to music today, but most of the time we shy away from the impact it has on us. Music is meant to make you feel some type of way depending on the genre. As an athlete, finding the type of music that makes you feel invincible is crucial. It helps you get through that last rep as well as prepares you for the big moments. In my next piece, I will discuss the affect of News Media on athletic performance.