Listening (or Not Listening) to Music While You Study

By Francine Fluetsch on March 1, 2017

When we enter college, a lot of us figure out how to really study. Sure, you kind of had to do it in high school, but for the most part, you could skate by as long as you turned in all the homework packets and showed up to class.

College, on the other hand, doesn’t allow for any of this skating by business, so the sooner you can learn how to study in a way that works best for you, the better.

A lot of students and researchers debate over whether or not listening to music can be beneficial when studying. For some, it helps create a study flow that helps them concentrate, while for others, it causes distraction and doesn’t let them focus as well as a quiet room can. I

f you do opt for music, what should you be listening to? And if you don’t want distractions, is a completely quiet space your best fit? Let’s explore this.

pixabay.com

I think it’s important to keep in mind that everyone works differently and is therefore going to have different results depending on the type of music they listen to, how loud they listen to it, and during what type of studying they listen to or don’t listen to music.

I have a hard time concentrating if I am playing my own music since I then tend to space out from my reading and rock out to the song, but if I go to a coffee shop, I enjoy the light music playing in the background. Of course, being a creative writing student, a lot of my studying consists of reading and analyzing texts, so loud music is pretty much out for me.

My sister, on the other hand, is constantly blasting music as she studies, saying that it is the only way she can focus. Most of her homework consists of biology and math, and the only time she has to turn the music down is when she has a reading assignment.

According to Victoria Williamson, a music psychologist, the effect music can have on us is two-fold. If for example, a person is bored with a task at hand, listening to music in the background can help them focus. Too much music, however, can sometimes push you to being stressed, or put you in an overdrive mode that won’t let you focus.

When deciding if listening to music while studying is right for you, you should try out a variety of music, as well as experiment with different subjects as you listen.

Some students opt for classical music or music without words to give them that background noise without the distraction of the words. There are stations on Pandora or other music sites where you can specifically type in the genre of study music that you would like. If I’m going to listen to music while studying at home, wordless music is my tune of choice, though I still can’t read with it on.

My roommate from UC Santa Cruz, on the other hand, brought her headphones and classical playlist to the library when we went to study, so she could drown out the distractions of the people around her.

Classical music is a great starting point if you want to experiment with studying with music. But let’s say that classical or wordless music just isn’t doing it for you. Maybe you need something more upbeat to get you in the zone. You could try rock or electronic music, or even just have the radio on and see what plays. Depending on what you are studying, this could boost your mood and get you out of your boredom funk. If you find yourself drifting and thinking about the music more than what’s in front of you, that’s when you know you need to try a different genre.

My boyfriend is a big fan of the screamo genre, and he can easily study while listening to it, which always amazes me. If that type of music is playing, there is no way that I can concentrate on homework, because there is far too much going on for me to be able to process the work that I need to do and learn, but for him, it gives him the distraction he needs to focus on the task at hand.

So while there are studies that either confirm that listening to music makes you smarter and helps you retain things better or ones that say it’s bad for your memory and doesn’t help you get things done, the fact of the matter is that we all work differently, and we need to explore our best-suited learning environment.

I know, after years of figuring it out, that I really am just best suited to studying in a quiet environment where I won’t get distracted by my favorite song or a juicy conversation that can be overheard from the students next to me, but I know that for other students, music is the perfect amount of distraction to where they can get things done.

Before you bash either method, really give everything a go, from silence to screamo, and see what makes you the most motivated to work, what helps put you in a good state of mind, and what helps you remember what you are studying the best.

Even if you find that you can’t listen to music during your study time, it doesn’t mean you have to be bummed about it. Pop the tunes when you are driving, cleaning your room, cooking, or just taking a break from studying. Music does wonders for our mindset and our well-being, so whether you can study with it or not, make sure you get your daily dosage.

Want more on this topic? Check out this article by fellow Uloop writer, Elana Goodwin!

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format