The authors investigated music as a method to reduce ambulatory surgery patients' preoperative anxiety. They assigned 42 patients to either an experimental or a control group and compared the patients' vital signs and self-reports of anxiety, which were measured using the state portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The study results indicate that music can be more beneficial than preoperative instruction alone in reducing ambulatory surgery patients' anxiety. Patients who listened to their choice of music before surgery in addition to receiving preoperative instruction had significantly lower heart rates than patients in the control group who received only preoperative instruction. Differences in experimental and control group patients' blood pressure measurements and respiratory rates approached significance. The authors suggest that perioperative nurses offer music as a viable option to reduce anxiety in ambulatory surgery patients who believe music is a method of relaxation.