Pencil and eraser, check. Textbook, check. Computer, check. Earbuds, check. Playlist, check, and begin. In this era of rapid technological growth enveloping societal systems and institutions right down to ourselves, we are living quite complex lives: constantly multitasking, physically and mentally shifting focus around the clock. This is no exception for students when studying or doing homework. In fact, over half of the teenage student population aged 12-17 engage in at least one other activity while studying. Of this portion, 87% listen to music as their other activity. Music can be extremely powerful in infinite ways, but does the power of music benefit or exploit students’ concentration and achievement when it comes to studying, and how can students create a perfect harmony between two typically opposing forces (work and distraction)?
Greek philosopher Plato once said, “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” I believe that something is missing from this quote. I would suggest Plato to add on one more statement: music can only do so if we allow it to. The scale of control between us and music is intricate and can tip to one side or the other at any time. The key to creating that perfect harmony lies in the realization that as much as music holds power over our emotions and our being, we are the ones that are behind this phenomenon, by oftentimes instinctively pushing in our earbuds and hitting the play button. Being able to recognize when the scale is tipping over in favour of music and adjust your environment and habits accordingly in favour of yourself is the first step to creating that perfect harmony, and also the foundation of all other steps.
There are two key factors that students should consider when listening to music while studying: the student themself and the music they’re listening to. Before students begin to study, they should first evaluate their degree of involvement with music and their studying routine. Students who are very active/knowledgeable in the field of music and students who get easily distracted should avoid listening to complex music with provocative rhythms and melodies as well as songs with lyrics. Lyrics activate language-processing centres in the brain, and studies at the University of Phoenix have shown that this can be distracting especially when students are studying subjects of the humanities. Instead, listening to these types of music would be most beneficial when students are taking a break from studying to boost motivation and set the right mood. Instrumental, soothing music would be most ideal to listen to during a study session. This is a strategy that I often use, and it definitely helps cool down my brain and perpetuate a productive mindset to continue studying. It can take a while to experiment with different music and different routines to create that perfect harmony, but in the long-run you will have found the best settings for studying effectively, and also established a balanced relationship with music, the soul of the universe.
With that being said, along the road of your journey with music and studying, you will come across awe-inspiring sites and ideal weather, but also traffic jams and plenty of storms. The truth is that the perfect harmony between studying and music isn’t 100% perfect. Music can be a powerful tool for achieving a better, more focused and less stressful mindset before important exams. Listening to the same music over and over again while studying can make it much easier to recall information, because being in the same environment activates more of our memories from that environment. Music can even improve cognitive functions, since it’s one of the only forces that can light up almost all parts of our brain at the same time. However, music can significantly decrease reading comprehension abilities, especially for music with lyrics. Obviously, music can also distract students and turn their study session into a pure relaxation/entertainment session, especially with familiar music. Listening to music while studying can end up in hurtful arguments with parents and teachers. Once again, all of these points tie back to the fact that we completely control how music influences our studying and academic performance.
At the end of the day, if you simply love music for what it is like Plato did and like I do, and you’re looking for better music to listen to while studying or if you now want to give music a shot at what it can improve in your studying, here are some resources that I recommend using:
YouTube: Lofi Girl, Soul of Wind, and Quit Quest - Study Music. These channels provide instrumental, soft music for studying.
Spotify: there are millions of quality tracks to access and compile into your own playlist. Doing so can help with consistency in your study routine.
Soundcloud: the advantage is that you can download tracks to listen offline for free, perfect for on-the-go studying.
Harmonies can only be created with more than one note, separated by carefully planned out intervals. There are billions of different harmonies you can create both separately and simultaneously. The harmony between studying and music is both simple and difficult to achieve, and can constantly shift everyday. Be mindful, experiment, and the perfect harmony that you create might just give a soul to your universe.
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Resources
Thompson, V. (2017, November 21). Does Listening to Music While Doing Homework Affect Your Grade in School? Retrieved May 29, 2021, from https://education.seattlepi.com/listening-music-doing-homework-affect-grade-school-1365.html
Does music help study? (2018, July 16). Retrieved May 29, 2021, from
Gorvett, Z. (2018, March 18). Does music help us work better? It depends. Retrieved May 29, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200317-does-music-help-us-work-it-depends