Classical & Rock Music for Plants: Do Plants Like Music?
There’s plenty of research on this matter, however, there are no definitive conclusions. If you ever asked yourself what is the best music for plants to grow or do plants grow faster with music, we are here to present you with the results we obtained through our experiment.
What is the Best Music to Play for Plants?
Some say classical music is the best music for plants, while others tend to agree any type will yield the same results as long as it’s within acceptable noise levels. We decided to put the many theories on the effect of music on plant growth to the test.
Therefore, we conducted our own experiment with our plants and equipment to find out what kind of music do plants like. Read on to see how we did it, what plants we used, and how we measured the impact of music on plants. You can also use the illustrated results below to check out our results:
Does Music Help Plants Grow? Here’s the Research:
It’s generally well-accepted that music affects plant growth and health and we also know why:
- Certain sound frequencies stimulate the movement of cytoplasm in the plants’ cells, which boosts metabolism and, therefore, growth.
- Sound also influences the opening and closing of stomata – the tiny pores that act like primitive lungs on plants. Music helps a stoma stay open for longer, thus taking in more air and growing faster.
- Some sound frequencies activate genes that speed up plant growth.
Further research on the type of music for plants and sound frequency concluded with the following results:
- Classical music made plants grow better, bushier, and greener, with healthier stems.
- Jazz music also accelerated growth and made plants fuller.
- Heavy metal music, together with new age and Celtic tunes increase both plant mass AND fruit taste.
- Country and western music for plants had no effects on development.
- Noisy rock music damages plants in the same way excess water or heavy winds do.
Previous Studies & Experiments on the Best Music for Plants
Here’s a short rundown of some previous experiments on the effects of music on plants:
Advances in Effects of Sound Waves on Plants
These experiments have been conducted both on open field cultures and greenhouse plants using various levels of sound pressure and frequencies. The research was coordinated by Reda HE Hassanien, Tian-Zhen HOU, Yu-Feng LI, and Bao-Ming LI, and the findings were published in the Journal of Integrative Agriculture.
Findings:
Sound waves of 100 dB and 1 kHz played for one hour at a distance of 0.2 meters (7.8 inches):
- Sped up the division and cell wall fluidity in callus cells. Researchers also noticed the activity of endogenous hormones and protective enzymes has been enhanced.
- The same sound waves also increased sugar and soluble protein contents.
Sound waves of 0.1 to 1 kHz and 65-75 dB played for 3 hours every 2 days from a distance of 30 to 60 meters (98.5 to 197 feet):
Significantly increased yield, as follows:
-
- Cucumber by 37.1%.
- Sweet pepper by 30.5%.
- Cotton by 22.7%.
- Lettuce by 19.6%.
- Spinach by 19.6%.
- Wheat by 17%.
- Tomato by 13.2%.
- Rice by 11.4%.
Strengthened plants’ immune systems and decreased the incidence of pests and diseases as follows:
-
-
- Sheath blight of rice by 50%.
- Late blight by 11%.
- Gray mold by 9%.
- Aphids by 8%.
- Virus disease in tomatoes by 8%.
- Spider mites by 6%.
-
Dr. T. C. Singh's Experiments on Plants and Music (1962)
Dr. Singh worked at Annamalai University as head of the Botany Department in 1962 when he decided to test the effect of music on plants.
He used balsam plants (Impatiens glandulifera) and initially chose classical music; later on, he tried out raga music played on different instruments (flute, violin, harmonium, and Reena, an Indian instrument Google knows absolutely nothing about from the looks of it). He later repeated the experiment with local field crops using gramophones and loudspeakers.
Findings:
- Balsam plants grow 20% faster in height and 72% in biomass when listening to music.
- Crop height and overall size increased from 25% to 60%.
- The violin was the most effective in boosting growth among all instruments he tried out.
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose's Science Experiments on Plants (early 1900s)
Sir Bose, a famous polymath (physicist, biologist, biophysicist, botanist, archaeologist), spent his life studying how plants respond to environmental variables. Naturally, his research also touched upon the effect of music on plants.
Findings:
- Plants are, indeed, sensitive to sounds and generally grow better when exposed to them.
- Plants also react to the attitude with which they are nurtured.
You can review the complete documentation of these extensive studies in Response in the Living and Non-Living (1902) and The Nervous Mechanism of Plants (1926).
Therefore, it’s safe to assume there is a scientific basis for the effect of music on plant growth. Now, let’s see how some of the most popular indoor plants are affected by music!
The Best Music for Plants: Experiment Plan
Start date: February 15, 2019
End date: March 15, 2019
Okay, so all the research we found online got us really hyped – according to what we’ve read so far, sound definitely has an impact on growth. But can it really make or break even the toughest of houseplants? That’s what we wanted to find out!
We’ve got three groups, each comprised of six plants in very similar developmental stages:
Two of the groups were exposed to heavy metal and classical music 4 hours per day during maximum light exposure, meaning anytime between 9:30 AM and 3:00 PM.
The Plants We Chose
Asplenium Nidus (Bird’s Nest Fern)
- Bright, indirect light
- High air humidity
- Permanently moist soil
Fittonia Albivenis (Nerve Plant)
- Bright, indirect light
- Medium to high air humidity
- Moderate watering
Maranta Leuconeura (Prayer Plant)
- Bright, indirect light
- Medium to high air humidity
- Moderate watering
Epipremnum Aureum (Golden Pothos)
- Shade to full sun
- Low to high air humidity
- Moderate watering
Crassula Ovata (Jade Tree)
- Bright, indirect light to full sun
- Low to medium air humidity
- Reduced watering
Note
If you want to learn more about growing and caring for the Jade tree, read our Jade Plant Care Guide and enjoy this wonderful succulent at home or in the office!
Echinocactus Grusonii (Barrel Cactus)
- Bright, indirect light to full sun
- Low to medium air humidity
- Reduced watering
Note
Growing this cactus is a rewarding experience with or without music. While sturdy and not at all pretentious, you cannot consider this plant unkillable. For this reason, we encourage you to check out our guide on how to care for succulents and cacti and offer your gorgeous houseplants the best maintenance methods for their thriving!
The Music for Plants that We Chose
For this experiment on plants and music, we tried to answer two of the most frequently asked questions coming from plant and music lovers:
- Does classical music for plants sustain their growth?
- Is rock music bad for plants?
Moreover, we’ve curated the following playlists for our angry outcasts and fancy groups:
ROCK PLAYLIST
CLASSICAL PLAYLIST
I used Spek to analyze the frequency and volume of the music to make sure it doesn’t reach unhealthy levels for our plants.
The Experimental Setup
This took us a while to figure out as the three groups of plants need to have identical or very similar environments.
We’ve ultimately decided to isolate the three groups using three glass showcases and set them up in a 3rd-floor office, with a North-East facing window. Humidity levels were low and, obviously, there were no cold drafts to affect them.
I’ve repotted the aspleniums, fittonias, marantas, and epipremnums on February 11th (4 days before starting the experiment) and placed them in their showcases to give them some time to get accustomed to their new environments. The jade trees and the cacti can handle another few months in their current pots, so I’ve postponed their repotting for a bit.
I used Pokon potting soil and clay pellets for drainage. I chose Santino pots because I’m pretty happy with how my own houseplants behave after potting them in such planters.
However, if you want to repeat the experiment or simply get high-quality soil and containers for your houseplants, feel free to check out our guides on the best potting soil products available on the market, and the best self-watering pots and planters for your lovely indoor plants!
Plants’ Care
Watering the Aspleniums, Fittonias, Marantas, and Epipremnums once per week has proven optimal so far. I estimate the jade trees and cacti will need watering once every 2 to 4 weeks.
Measuring Progress
We have measured the following aspects once a week:
- Plant height
- New leaves
- Lost leaves
- Number of plant babies
| Asplenium Nidus | Fittonia Albivenis | Epipremnum Aureum | Maranta Leuconeura | Crassula Ovata | Echinocactus Grusonii | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock | Classical | Control | Rock | Classical | Control | Rock | Classical | Control | Rock | Classical | Control | Rock | Classical | Control | Rock | Classical | Control | ||
| Day 1 (February 15) | Height | 7 | 6 | 8.5 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7.5 | 9 | 5 | 4.7 | 4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4 |
| Leaf Count | 78 | 67 | 82 | 64 | 58 | 69 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 49 | 60 | 54 | - | - | - | |
| Plants | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
So, Does Music Help Plants Grow After All?
The short answer is yes – but it really depends on the type of music and the plants, too!
Check out the weekly progress of our experiment on the effect of music on plant growth or scroll down to see our findings after the whole experiment:
The Effect of Rock Music on Plant Growth
The effects of rock music are overall better than I initially expected – even though most plants preferred classical music, most of our angry outcasts did better than their brothers and sisters in the control group. The only exception to this was the Asplenium which, surprisingly, grew much better in complete silence.
So, is rock music bad for plants? NO! On the contrary, it helps your plants grow better! But let’s get into some details!
- The Asplenium listening to rock music started with 78 leaves and ended up with 81 leaves total, way lower than the growth registered by the Asplenium in the control group (25 extra leaves), and the one in the classical music group (16 extra leaves). Therefore, according to our Aspleniums, silence is the best music for plants.
- The Fittonia in the rock music group ended up with 12 extra leaves and 1.5 inches in height – way better than the control group which only gained 4 new leaves and 1 inch in height during this month. However, it doesn’t stand a chance to the one listening to classical music which grew a whopping 16 new leaves!
- The Epipremnum that listened to rock music registered the most progress – 6 new leaves and 1.5 extra inches on its longest stem. If it were only up to our pothos plants, we’d declare rock as the best music for plants!
- Marantas gave us a textbook example of how music helps plants grow no matter the type – the one listening to rock music unfurled 5 new leaves during this past month and its longest stem grew 1 inch in length. This progress is similar to the one registered by the prayer plant listening to classical music but way better than the one in the control group.
- The jade tree listening to rock music is doing the worst of all – it only has one extra leaf and, although it tried to grow more new ones, they were dropping like crazy during the last two weeks of our experiment. In case you wonder why your succulent leaves are falling off for no apparent reason, be mindful of the music you listen to while you are in the same room with them. You never know what discoveries you could make!
- The cactus in the rock music group shows the same progress as the one in the classical music group. The one in the control group stagnated.
Major Takeaways
Some plants may like rock music while others may not. For instance, pothos seems to genuinely enjoy rock music and thrive, while our jade tree showed clear signs of wishing to steer clear of this music genre.
But despite being so mixed, the results are much more encouraging than those of other similar experiments, in which plants reportedly died after being exposed to too much rock music (3 hours or more) or literally grew away from the speakers.
In our experiment, most of our plants grew (slightly) faster while listening to rock music than their peers in the control group, but in some cases, they did not fare as well as those in the classical music group.
All in all, nearly all our plants seem to enjoy some music than no music at all, a conclusion in line with the findings of MythBusters during the ‘Exploding House’ episode.
The Effect of Classical Music on Plant Growth
Overall, our experiment confirms yet again that classical music is the best music for plant growth. Even though there have been some ups and downs for some of the plants listening to classical music, their evolution has been the most consistent and noteworthy.
Nevertheless, it’s important to note that rock music is not as harmful as previously thought – in fact, in many cases, the plants listening to rock music did way better than the ones in the control group.
- The Bird’s nest fern listening to classical music is doing better than the one listening to rock music but doesn’t stand a chance to the one in the control group, which is simply thriving.
- The Fittonias prove that classical music is the best music for plant growth – the one in the fancy group grew 16 new leaves and 1.2 inches in height, while the one in the control group only popped up 4 new leaves and grew 1 inch in height.
- The Epipremnum listening to classical music grew 1.5 inches in height and popped up 4 new leaves. This doesn’t hold a chance when compared to the one in the rock music group but it’s still better than the one in the control group.
- Our Prayer Plants are giving us textbook results – the one listening to classical music popped up 6 new leaves and grew 1.5 inches in length over the last month, a bit better than the one in the rock music group and way better than the control plant.
- The Jade tree listening to classical music is doing a bit better than the one in the rock music group with 0.3 extra inches in height and 6 new leaves but still can’t compare to the one in the control group (0.5 extra inches and 8 new leaves).
- The cactus listening to classical music registered the same growth as the one in the rock music group; the one in the control group stagnated.
Major Takeaway
Classical music for plants is hands-down a much better music alternative for plants than rock music, as our small-scale experiment has shown. So, if you want bushier and happier houseplants Bach, Beethoven, or Schubert need to be your weapons of choice.
Best Music for Plants: Results and FAQs
Before we deliver the conclusion of our experiment, let’s see a short round-up of the results while answering some of the most frequently asked questions coming from our readers.
Do plants grow better with music?
Yes. As strange as it may seem, plants do thrive in the presence of music. As you have seen above, it depends on the types of plants you grow and the music you are offering, but as an overall result, sound waves and vibrations have an impact on plant growth.
What is the best music to play for plants?
Our experiment showed that some plants grow better with classical music, while others enjoy classical music. As other experiments and studies showed (we mentioned them already and we give you a bibliography at the end of the article for more references), the best music for plants revolves around string instruments. Research shows that jazz, heavy metal, ragas, and Indian classical music encourage plant growth, the yield of leaves and fruits, and more.
Is rock music bad for plants?
Despite myths, rock music is not bad for plants. As you have seen above, pothos is a true rock fan. It seems that some plants enjoy heavy metal and we would be very curious to learn about other plant experiments involving rock subgenres.
Does classical music for plants help them grow?
It seems so. Classical music appears to be the best music for plants to grow and thrive in your home. Now, keep in mind that classical music is not everybody’s cup of tea, so if you plan to listen to some masterpieces while watching your plants grow, make sure you choose something you also enjoy. As we said above, the preferred instruments are the string ones, but if you play piano music to your houseplants and you get significant results, we want to hear about them!
What other experiments for plant growth can you conduct?
If you ever wondered what affects plant growth and you want to perform some experiments on your houseplants (that are hard to kill, otherwise we don’t recommend any), check out our experiment on the influence of negative words on plant growth. It would mean using some swear words, but we believe you will get surprised by the results. You may learn, as we did, that negative discourse intended to instigate resentment and hostility affects plant growth rate so it would be better to refrain from this experiment if you love your plants and you don’t want to bully them into withering.
Conclusion
Even though both classical and rock music stimulates plant growth and health, the winner seems to be classical music due to the speedy growth it has promoted in most plants. Nevertheless, the plants listening to rock music had the smallest incidence of yellowing, browning, or dry leaves, which might mean that rock music offers a steadier and healthier, albeit slower growth than classical music does.
More Sources & Studies on Music and Plant Growth
- Advances in Effects of Sound Waves on Plants, Reda HE Hassanien, Tian-Zhen HOU, Yu-Feng LI, Bao-Ming LI, Science Direct
- Effect of Different Types of Music on Rosa Chinensis Plants, Vidya Chivukula and Shivaraman Ramaswamy, Semantic Scholar
- Does Music Affect Plant Growth? Explore the Untold Truth, Medha Godbole, Gardenerdy
- Studies Regarding the Influence of Music on the Wheat Plants Growth, Mihai Adrian Rachieru, Irina Iacob, Maria Cristea, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest
- The Effect of Music on Plant Growth and Pests, Sanjay Sharma, Owlcation
- Effects of Musical Sound on the Germination of Seeds, Katherine Creath, University of Arizona
- The Myth of Absolute Science, Linda Chalker-Scott, Washington State University
- The Effect of Music on Plant Growth, Mazlan, DenGarden
- Music And Plant Growth: Learn The Effects Of Music On Plant Growth, Mary H. Dyer, Gardening Know How
- Influence of Music on Plants, D. Kroeze, Canna Gardening
- The Story of How Jagdish Chandra Bose Proved Plants Have Life, Sanchari Pal, The Better India
- Effect of Music on Plants – An Overview, Anindita Roy Chowdhury and Anshu Gupta, Research Gate
- The Pseudoscientific World of Plant Music, author unlisted, Duke University
You Had Me at Gardening
Read Our Week-by-Week Music for Plants Experiment Progress
Hi Florina (I’m sure I’m not the first to say “what a great name for a plant person”)!
I saw something like this on Nova (PBS program) in the 70s. Always fascinated with it. May I post this to Facebook? I don’t see a link.
Thanks, and happy new year.
I’m amazed, I have to admit. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and engaging, and let me tell you, you have
hit the nail on the head. The problem is an issue that not enough people are speaking intelligently about.
Now i’m very happy I found this in my hunt for something relating to this.
Hello. I’m not doubting that sound actually does affect plants. But I’m curious about the controls implemented in your test. Did you give a measure amount of water each time to each of the same plants at the same time? Were all the plants the same age? Did they listen to music at the same time as the other group? Did you move them to a separate room to play the music? Did you use the same volume each time and position the plants in the same spot and distance from the speakers? Ideally, it would be neat to see the effect of a solitary note played over a period of time to a handful of the same plants. Then a different note, or more than one note, play to another group? Then a melody of the same note with rests here and there….all of these at the same volume. Then another group with the same single note held at a greater volume……etc etc etc….as, I have a hunch it’s not the genre at all. But if it is the genre, what is it about the genre? I’m very curious to hear a reply back regarding the control measures that I started off with asking about. Thanks a bunch! Neat experiment! Oh also, it might also be worthwhile to start plants from seed with music, so we know that any reaction (positive or negative) isn’t due to anything experienced by the plant before the test began.
Your search is good.
I think that mix (classic and other)music is not best for plant growth.
Relativity of temperature and classic music and humidity is remarkable
I will check it.