music is often used to ameliorate the monotony of an activity , as a stimulus when 
 performing exercises , or simply as background music1 , 
 2 .
music can affect physical activity by 
 producing psychological effects that influence mood , emotion , affect ( i.e. , feeling of 
 pleasure or displeasure ) , cognition , and behavior as well as psychophysiological effects 
 associated with subjective perceived exertion and fatigue2,3,4 . although music can increase motivation and affective components associated with high levels 
 of effort , its effects on low- to moderate - intensity activities such as walking are more 
 pronounced5 .
many sedentary individuals 
 with little experience in physical activities , especially women , have adopted walking as an 
 exercise to initiate regular physical activity6 .
walking is a popular form of exercise that is easy and has a low 
 risk of injury ; besides promoting physical fitness , walking can aid the loss and maintenance 
 of body weight7 .
the effect of music on walking is attributed to psychophysiological and ergogenic changes 
 that mainly affect the final performance of the exercise and perceptual responses8 .
many attempts have been made to provide 
 greater psychological effects to help beginners adhere to an exercise program9,10,11 .
self - selected intensity may provide a 
 tolerable , motivating , and effective exercise intensity for the development and maintenance 
 of physical aptitude in individuals with low fitness levels10 .
moreover , music can help beginners during self - selected walking by 
 maximizing motivation and affect as well as acting as a distractor from non - pleasurable 
 stimuli12 , 13 .
although music and self - selected walking can help individuals follow a regular physical 
 exercise regime , few studies have evaluated the effect of musical stimulation on 
 self - selected walking pace exercise .
therefore , this study assessed the effects of musical 
 tempo on physiological , affective , and perceptual responses as well as the performance of 
 self - selected walking pace .
the purpose and procedure of the 
 study were explained to each subject , who then voluntarily signed an informed consent 
 agreement before participating in the experiment .
all subjects were classified as having a 
 sedentary lifestyle , i.e. , performing less than 30  min of moderate physical activity three 
 or more days a week .
the inclusion criteria were as follows : ( a ) 2951  years of age ; ( b ) 
 ability to participate in regular physical exercise ; ( c ) negative responses to all questions 
 in the physical activity readiness questionnaire ( par - q ) ; ( d ) body mass index ( bmi ) from 
 18.527  kgm ; and ( e ) a personal statement of not having smoked in the last 
 12 months .
meanwhile , the exclusion criteria were the presence of cardiovascular , metabolic , 
 or orthopedic disease or any other contraindications as determined by medical history in the 
 preceding 12 months .
this study was approved by the research ethics committee of the 
 department of health sciences at the federal university of parana ( ufpr ) in curitiba , 
 brazil .
the subjects were divided into three treatment groups : the control 
 group , which was not subjected to musical stimulation , musical stimulation at 90 beats per 
 minute ( bpm ) , and musical stimulation at 140 bpm .
the genre of music used was pop , and the 
 songs were listened to through headphones .
the music volume was adjusted to a level 
 considered pleasurable by the subject before the start of the walk .
all subjects completed three exercise sessions : ( 1 ) sample screening and familiarization , 
 ( 2 ) an incremental test to exhaustion to determine physiological variables , and ( 3 ) a 30-min 
 walk on the treadmill at a self - selected pace .
all experiments were conducted in the morning 
 ( between 08:00 and 12:00 h ) under similar environmental conditions ( 21  c and 55% relative 
 humidity ) .
the subjects were advised not to consume alcohol , caffeine , or perform vigorous 
 physical activity 24  h prior to each test .
physiological responses , rating of perceived exertion ( rpe ) , and affective responses were 
 recorded during walking at a self - selected pace .
thus , the independent variable was musical 
 stimulus ( i.e. , control , or musical stimulation at 90 or 140 bpm ) , whereas the dependent 
 variables were physiological responses , rpe , affective responses , and performance at a 
 self - selected walking pace . to facilitate understanding of the experimental procedures ,
the subjects performed a 
 familiarization session , during which they were taught to correctly use the scales and 
 resources required to perform the test procedures .
the incremental test to exhaustion on a treadmill was conducted using the standard protocol 
 proposed by bruce15 , with 3-min stages 
 for the evaluation of vo2 max .
the subjects were verbally encouraged to continue 
 the exercise to the point of exhaustion .
the criteria required to achieve vo2 
 max were as follows : ( a ) a plateau of vo2 ( changes 

< 150  mlmin ) , ( b ) respiratory exchange ratio  1.10 , and ( c ) heart rate 
 ( hr ) within 10 bpm of the maximum level expected for the subject s age16 .
hr ( bpm ) was measured every 5  s using a polar monitoring 
 system ( polar electro , oy , finland ) . a metabolic open - circuit breathing system ( true max 
 2400 , parvo medics , salt lake city , ut , usa ) was used to measure vo2 , carbon 
 dioxide produced ( vco2 ) , and pulmonary ventilation ( ve ) every 15  s throughout 
 the test .
each time prior to the determination of vo2 max , the gas analyzer was 
 calibrated with known concentrations of gases .
oxygen consumption at the ventilatory threshold ( vo2lv ) was determined as 
 described by caiozzo et al17 . 

vo2lv was identified as the point at which the ratio of minute ventilation 
 plotting of oxygen consumption ( ve / vo2 ) versus the ratio of minute ventilation 
 co2 production ( ve / vco2 ) deviates from normalcy .
we initially conducted a 5-min warm - up at 1.11 m / s without inclination .
the subjects were 
 subsequently instructed to self - select a walking pace for the next 30  min as described by 
 pintar et al10 .
adjustments were made 
 during the first minute of walking and then at 5 , 10 , 15 , 20 , and 25  min .
the 
 physiological variables were evaluated using the same instruments and procedures used in the 
 incremental treadmill test ; however , only values obtained at 10 , 15 , 20 , 25 , and 30  min18 were considered .
the data recorded during 
 last 2  min in 15-s intervals of the respective stages were averaged , and the overall 
 averages were subsequently calculated using these values to represent the physiological 
 responses during the 30-min walk . perceived exertion was determined using the rpe omni - res scale19 .
this instrument basically consists of a 10-point likert 
 scale in which 0 indicates  extremely easy  and 10 indicates  extremely difficult . 
subjects 
 were instructed how to use the scale and perform docking procedures before the tests as 
 described by utter et al19 .
the 
 instrument was administered during the last 15  s of each stage in a minute and during the 
 30-min walk test .
the values obtained at 10 , 15 , 20 , 25 and 30  min were used in the 
 analysis .
affective responses were determined according to the feeling scale proposed by hardy and 
 rejeski20 .
this instrument basically 
 consists of an 11-point scale with single bipolar items ranging from + 5 (  very good  ) to 5 
 (  very bad  ) with 0 indicating neutral .
the scale was used during the last 15  s of each 
 stage of 3  min , the maximal incremental test , and 30-min walk test at a self - selected pace . 

the values obtained at 10 , 15 , 20 , 25 , and 30  min were analyzed .
the subjects were asked to 
 indicate their feelings of pleasure or displeasure at the abovementioned time points . 

standardized definitions of affection were presented before the maximal incremental test and 
 30-min walk test at a self - selected pace .
one - way anova was used 
 to analyze the physiological anthropometric variables ( i.e. , maximal test ) and final 
 results of the 30-min walk test . meanwhile ,
multivariate analysis was used to verify the 
 physiological , positive perceptual , and affective responses during the 30-min walk test at 
 a self - selected pace .
all data were analyzed using 
 spss for windows version 17.0 ( spss inc . , chicago , il , usa ) .
one - way anova was used 
 to analyze the physiological anthropometric variables ( i.e. , maximal test ) and final 
 results of the 30-min walk test .
meanwhile , multivariate analysis was used to verify the 
 physiological , positive perceptual , and affective responses during the 30-min walk test at 
 a self - selected pace .
all data were analyzed using 
 spss for windows version 17.0 ( spss inc . , chicago , il , usa ) .
physiological and anthropometric measurements with respect to age are shown in table 1table 1.anthropometric and physiological characteristics of the subjectsvariables90 bpm140 bpmcontroln1099age ( y)42.4  4.542.7  6.641.7  5.0weight ( kg)61.1  8.959.9  4.662.7  11.6height ( cm)1.57  0.041.58  0.051.58  0.05bmi ( kgm)24.5  2.724.0  2.025.1  4.0body fat ( % ) 26.8  4.725.1  3.325.8  6.4hrmax ( bpm)176.1  9.0182.8  8.9174.9  13.8hrvt ( bpm)143.0  14.2154.8  10.3139.6  20.4vo2max ( mlkg 
 min)29.7  6.129.2  4.327.2  4.6vo2vt 
 ( mlkgmin)24.2  3.223.9  1.721.4  4.0bmi : body mass index ;
vo2max : maximal oxygen 
 consumption ; vo2vt : oxygen consumption in ventilatory 
 threshold ; hrvt : heart rate in ventilatory threshold ; 
 hrmax : maximal heart rate ; bpm : beats per 
 minute .
data are expressed as mean  sd .. no significant differences were observed among groups .
bmi : body mass index ; vo2max : maximal oxygen 
 consumption ; vo2vt : oxygen consumption in ventilatory 
 threshold ; hrvt : heart rate in ventilatory threshold ; 
 hrmax : maximal heart rate ; bpm : beats per 
 minute .
data are expressed as mean  sd . the physiological , perceptual and affective responses of the groups obtained during the 
 30-min walk test at a self - selected pace are shown in table 2table 2.physiological , perceptual , and affective responses to 30 minutes of walking at a 
 self - selected paceaffect ( 5 to + 5)10  min15  min20  min25  min30  min90 bpm3.2  1.13.2  1.42.6  1.81.6  2.01.6  1.3140 bpm2.9  2.02.2  2.01.9  2.31.7  2.41.5  2.3control3.7  0.93.2  1.13.3  0.73.1  0.82.4  1.0% hrmax10  min15  min20  min25  min30  min90 bpm57.9  7.360.3  6.962.4  7.863.9  5.865.9  6.6140 bpm66.6  9.468.7  1070.3  10.171.0  10.473.5  10control62.0  9.864.6  10.967.0  11.567.7 
13.070.3  14.4% vo2max10  min15  min20  min25  min30  min90 bpm39.8  8.840.5  10.741.4  13.642.1  12.542.9  11.8140 bpm45.4  13.147.1  13.150.0  13.751.7  13.252.9  14.3control39.9  12.141.2  12.243.0  14.246.1  13.248.3  13.2rpe ( 010)10  min15  min20  min25 
min30  min90 bpm2.2  0.62.8  1.13.5  1.44.3  1.54.2  1.5140 bpm3.6  1.9 * 4.3  1.7 * 5.2  1.3 * 5.7  1.0 * 6.1  1.5*control2.0  1.02.3  1.12.6  1.02.9  0.93.0  1.1 * significant differences between 140 bpm group and control group ( p 
 < 0.00 ) .  
bpm , beats per minute .. there were no significant differences among groups with respect to % hr or % 
 vo2 max .
although no significant differences in the affective response were 
 noted , the rpe of the groups determined at 10  min ( f(2 , 25 ) = 
 4.092 , p = 0.029 , np = 0.247 ) , 15  min 
 ( f(2 , 25 ) = 5.435 , p = 0.011 , 
 np = 0.303 ) , 20  min ( f(2 , 
 25 ) = 10.233 , p = 0.001 , np = 0.450 ) , 25  min 
 ( f(2 , 25 ) = 12.406 , p = 0.000 , 
 np = 0.498 ) , and 30  min 
 ( f(2 , 25 ) = 10.985 , p = 0.000 , 
 np = 0.468 ) exhibited significant differences . 

however , there was no difference in the rpe ( f(2 , 25 ) = 10.377 , 
 p = 0.001 ) between the control group and the group exposed to musical stimulation at 90 
 bpm .
* significant differences between 140 bpm group and control group ( p 
 < 0.00 ) .  
the average walking performance after 30  min of self - selected walking is shown in table 3table 3.average speed during 30 minutes of walking at a self - selected pacetreadmill speed 
 ( mmh)90 bpm140 bpmcontrol81.6  8.391.6  8.3 * 80.0  6.6 * significant differences between 140 bpm group and control group ( p 
 < 0.029 ) .  
bpm , beats per minute .. there were significant differences in the average walking speed among the 
 groups ( f ( 2 , 25 ) = 3.897 , p = 0.034 ) . * significant differences between 140 bpm group and control group ( p 
 < 0.029 ) .  
in the present study , different musical conditions did not promote sufficient stimuli to 
 change exercise intensity ; in particular , there were no significant differences in 
 physiological responses ( i.e. , hr and vo2 ) during 30  min of self - selected 
 walking .
these findings are similar to those reported by brownley et al.12 , who investigated the effect of music on 
 trained and untrained subjects .
likewise , other studies also found no effect of music on hr 
 or vo213 , 21,22,23 .
because of a lack of methodological standards , some studies indicate the effects of music 
 on the rpe are inconclusive13 , 24 ; however , a previous study identified that different 
 musical stimuli can influence perceptual responses during exercise25 , 26 .
potteiger et 
 al.21 observed that subjects who 
 exercised listening to fast , classical , or self - selected music exhibited lower rpe than 
 those who exercised without music .
nakamura et al.23 found that subjects who exercised while listening to music of their 
 choice covered more distance and exhibited lower perceptual responses than those who 
 exercised while listening to non - preferred songs . in the present study , music
improved fatigue tolerance ( i.e. , increased rpe ) during walking 
 at a self - selected pace , and fast music ( 140 bpm ) promoted greater performance at the end of 
 the walk . according to karageorghis et al.2 , rpe tends to decrease during low - intensity exercise but not 
 moderate - intensity exercise . during self - selected activity
the association between self - selected walking and fast 
 music can have allowed the subjects to dissociate exertional perceptions from walking 
 performance27 . regarding walking performance , the present results are consistent with the literature , 
 affirming that music can induce an ergogenic effect and improve exercise performance , 
 especially in low- to moderate - intensity activity2 , 
 8 , 13 .
this phenomenon may be related to the potential role of music in 
 motivating and distracting people in monotonous and/or unpleasant situations2 , 5 . 

however , few studies have reported the effects of music on exercise - related affective 
 responses ; although these investigations were not based on self - selected exercise , their 
 results are consistent with those of the present study , showing no significant differences 
 in music - related affective responses to exercise12 , 
 13 .
more importantly , in the present study , even though the rpe was higher with musical 
 stimuli , no affective changes were observed among the three groups examined .
karageorghis et 
 al.28 and harmon and kravitz29 suggest this is because fast music can 
 capture the attention and temporarily distract the subject from sensations related to 
 fatigue .
intervention studies should be conducted to observe the long - term effects of 
 listening to music during exercise on perceptual , physiological , and affective 
 responses . in conclusion ,
fast music ( 140 bpm ) increases rpe and performance in walking pace without 
 significantly altering hr , vo2 , or affective responses .
hence , listening to fast 
 music during self - selected walking could help sedentary people or novices perform regular 
 exercise , distract them from tiredness and fatigue , and create a better sense of wellbeing 
 while performing the activity .
 [ purpose ] this study investigated the effects of musical tempo on physiological , 
 affective , and perceptual responses as well as the performance of self - selected walking 
 pace . [ subjects ] the study included 28 adult women between 29 and 51  years old . [ methods ] 
 the subjects were divided into three groups : no musical stimulation group ( control ) , and 
 90 and 140 beats per minute musical tempo groups . 
 each subject underwent three 
 experimental sessions : involved familiarization with the equipment , an incremental test to 
 exhaustion , and a 30-min walk on a treadmill at a self - selected pace , respectively . during 
 the self - selected walking session , 
 physiological , perceptual , and affective variables were 
 evaluated , and walking performance was evaluated at the end . [ results ] there were no 
 significant differences in physiological variables or affective response among groups . 
 
 however , there were significant differences in perceptual response and walking performance 
 among groups . 
 [ conclusion ] fast music ( 140 beats per minute ) promotes a higher rating of 
 perceived exertion and greater performance in self - selected walking pace without 
 significantly altering physiological variables or affective response . 
INTRODUCTION
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Statistical analysis
RESULTS
DISCUSSION