The Sweet Sounds of Studying to Music
Illustration by Noelle Mitcham
Article by Lea Olivares Raudes
NEWBERG Ore. – When I sit down to study, the first thing I do is turn on my noise-cancelling headphones and put on the playlist of the day. I do this so often that now it feels unnatural to study without music. Whether it be the library, my dorm room, the Bon or Lyrics Cafe, I feel that in order to efficiently engage in my work, I have to drown out the world.
Some days, this works great. On others, I find myself glued to my phone, thinking about the time wasted. This has led me to a challenging question: how much does listening to music while studying actually help?
Through personal insight, interviewing peers and looking at studies, I’m led to think that there is in fact a positive correlation between academic performance and music listening.
I do almost all daily tasks with some sort of music, and studying is not exempt. I find classical music and jazz genres to be the best for reading and intensive studying but allow fluidity within my music choice for writing essays or less demanding tasks.
In their article, “Students who listen to music while studying have a higher GPA," the New York Post stated “A recent survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of online university CSU Global…found that those who listen to music were more likely to have a GPA above 3.2. Half of the 2,000 respondents recalled listening to music regularly while studying (49%), and 60% said they studied better with sound in the background rather than in complete silence.”
It seems that the draw of music while studying is about routine and keeping your mind occupied. Ava Mounts, a freshman at George Fox University (GFU) finds herself in this category.
“It's more to have something so my brain does not wander,” said Mounts.” I feel like it's a damper for that, because otherwise I will start…getting distracted.”
A common theme amongst students is to utilize instrumental songs as a form of grounding, like engaging in a subconscious meditative state. These ideas are evidenced by a study from Mind Lab Pro in which they found out that people could academically perform better after listening to Mozart.
The “Mozart Effect” was defined by Mind Lab Pro as “a theory that suggests people can improve cognition simply by listening to Mozart’s music.” Their study proved how powerful picking the right genre of music can be, especially when doing secondary tasks.
Fast-tempo electronic music can enhance energy for repetitive tasks, such as consistent pieces of homework, while ambient music may reduce stress and aid concentration during long study sessions.
“If I want to focus and feel like learning, I'll listen to classical music,” said Mounts. “There's studies that say [this genre] is supposed to help with everything and isn't a distraction, especially if there's no words.”
Mounts and I alike find classical and instrumental music keep us grounded in our schoolwork. I decided to apply The Mozart Effect to my own studies in a way that aligned with my music taste.
The album “One Wayne G” by Mac Demarco is a piece I consider to be universal. I can listen to it while doing nearly anything but it serves me best during memorization or extended reading sessions. With 199 songs in the album, all sampled pieces by DeMarco, it provides a wide range of music that my mind cannot adapt to, which keeps me engaged.
With intentional use, background music can immerse you in your studies. The deciding factor in music’s success or failure is how the individual utilizes it. Through my studies, I now have discipline over my music listening and know what is best for me on what occasions. The freedom that comes along with this idea of intentional music listening is dangerous yet beautiful.
