Best Music to Listen When Studying
We all got to school and university at some point in our life. And we all have to study something. Unfortunately it’s not always fun or interesting. So we naturally look for something that would help us. Something that would make the studying process easier or at least more fun.
And music is the answer for many. Having something playing on the background while studying can make the whole process way more engaging. But what music is the best to listen? Is it rock, pop, lo-fi or hip hop? In short – it depends what kind of study you are doing and what your goals are.
If you are learning something, trying to memorize and understand new information, low tempo simplistic music without lyrics is the best. But if you are implementing the knowledge you already have, doing the practice – then the more upbeat, complex music may be better.
I’ll break down the different situations with clear examples.
Two Forms of Studying
Basically you can look at studding and break it into two forms:
- An actively learning phase of studying.
- A phase of applying the gained knowledge, or practicing.
The phase of actively learning requires maximum concentration and minimum distraction. Ideally nothing should distract you from processing and thinking about new information. Nothing should prevent you from concentrating on it, trying to understand and memorize it. That’s why music that is too loud or heavy is not a good choice to have on the background for this form of learning.
The phase of applying the acquired knowledge is different. You already received and hopefully understood new data, so now you are trying to apply it in practice. Think of doing the match exercises after you went through the theory. During this phase you can befit from a different type of music. More upbeat, energized tunes can actually help you.
Music for Active Learning Phase
So what is the best music to listen while learning something new? First of all you should remember that everyone is different and that music that works for others may not work for you. The best way is to experiment. Try different genres while studying and see what kind of tunes help you to stay focused and concentrated.
But in general it has been noticed that music with simplistic stricture gets the job done. Songs with chill, relaxed, slower tempo and without lyrics turns out to be a much better choice for studying, when it comes down to active learning phase.
Think about it. Your goal is to receive new information, process and get the understanding of a subject. This will require good concentration and focus. Genres like lo-fi, chill hop, mellow jazz, trip hop, classical and instrumental can help you stay focused and keep the attention on the process while also providing a nice background. This music background can serve as a shield that separates you from all other random distractive sounds. Plus it sets a tone, a cadence to the thinking process.
Here’s a couple of great examples of such music:
Just be sure to not set the music too loud. And also make breaks while studying. The key is to have something on the background that would not pull your attention away from your though process. You can even try playing a simple loop of rain sounds.
Music for Practicing and Applying Knowledge
When it comes to applying your knowledge and doing something that you are already familiar with. It can be writing essays, doing calculations, working on something repetitive and methodical, you may want to try a different kind of music.
Many tend to agree that more upbeat music is the best choice. Songs can have lyrics, the melodies can be more complex or heavy. Even the volume may be quite high. The key is to find music with energy that helps you not loose motivation and stay in a working mindset.
I recommend you experimenting with different genres. Try house music, rock, electro. Something with higher tempo. Here are a couple of examples:
Best Music Genres For Studying
As you can see the choice of genre depends on what exactly you are tying to achieve and what you are doing. In theory any genre will do, as long as you are not paying too much attention to the track playing at the moment. because in that case you are not paying enough attention to you study.
In general these genres are often the best to have on while you are busy:
- LoFi
- Classical
- Piano
- Trip Hop
- Chill Jazz
- Rock
I have a collection of playlists you can try and see which one works for you. Feel free to chesk them on YouTube and Spotify
To Sum it Up
If you want to study with music, plan your playlist beforehand. Choose at least an hour long one, so you don’t stop every 5 minutes to search for a new track.
Also if your studying process requires a lot of deep thinking and focus, choose minimalist sounding music. It will not distract you and it won’t interrupt your thoughts.
And if during your studying you need to simply keep your concentration and not get bored, try more upbeat music. Rock, pop, house genres can work great for that.
Music is a powerfull tool, you can use not only while studying. I have covered other areas where it’s proven to be helpful in this Article.
