By Grace G.
In a college library, headphones seem to appear everywhere as students attempt to isolate themselves from conversations around them by listening to music while studying. Listening to music while studying can be either helpful or harmful to you. The type of music you listen to while studying or doing homework should be different from the type of music you would listen to while running or lifting weights. Most students find that music makes studying more enjoyable. In any case, music is better than Facebook and Twitter, and some students find music helps keep them focused while studying. If you are the type of student that wants some music ideas for studying, then read on for my personal suggestions. Many of these playlists come from my favorite free music playlist site, www.songza.com, with hundreds of playlists that fit your activity or mood.
Overall, you should try to pick music that is not too energetic or aggressive (heavy metal, hair metal, death metal, or any type of music with the word “metal” is not a good choice). Aggressive music will have growled vocals and distorted instrumentation, making it hard to focus on studying. I tend to lean towards pop/soft pop, classical, jazz, light dubstep, instrumentals, or alternative music for most of my studying.
Lyrics vs. No Lyrics
Music with lyrics is likely to have a problematic effect when you are working on something that requires a higher level of concentration. Music with lyrics probably has a lesser effect on math, since you’re not using the language part of your brain. This is up to your personal preference. I personally find that I can do readings for my humanities courses and write lab reports while listening to music with lyrics, but then I have to switch to no lyrics (classical, jazz, instrumentals) when I’m tackling a harder chemistry problem that I’m not familiar with.
Pop Music
This is the type of music that you usually hear on the car radio. That type of music would fall under “Top Pop Hits”. Some other pop choices include:
Soft pop: http://songza.com/discover/activities/working_studying_with_lyrics/soft-pop-songza/
Cram Session Pop Rock: http://songza.com/listen/cram-session-pop-rock-songza/
Singer/Songwriter: http://songza.com/listen/today-s-male-singer-songwriters-songza/
This type of music is what first comes to people’s minds when they hear “relaxing music”. Classical music isn’t always soft and slow, but the mixture of melody, harmony, and tempo usually isn’t distracting.
Classical for Studying: http://songza.com/discover/genres/classical/classical-for-studying-songza/
Clear and concise solo piano: http://songza.com/discover/genres/classical/mellow-solo-piano-songza/
Mellow Cello: http://songza.com/discover/genres/classical/mellow-cello-songza/
Jazz
There are many types of jazz that evoke different musical feelings. Jazz usually has light instrumentals, medium tempos, and have a cool feeling that will relax you.
Mellow Jazz: http://songza.com/discover/genres/jazz/mellow-jazz-songza/
Jazz for Working: http://songza.com/discover/genres/jazz/jazz-for-working-TacticCo/
Jazz for Reading: http://songza.com/discover/genres/jazz/jazz-for-reading-songza/
Dubstep and Instrumentals
I’m not talking about the dubstep you hear in mixers and other dance parties. The type I’m talking about is the perfect soundtrack to studying or working. This is for the student that is seeking a more contemporary and cool sound.
Instrumentals: http://songza.com/discover/activities/working_studying_without_lyrics/downtempo-instrumentals-songza/
Dubstep: http://songza.com/discover/activities/working_studying_without_lyrics/electronic-study-dubstep-songza/
Film scores: http://songza.com/discover/activities/working_studying_without_lyrics/a-list-film-scores-ggunn-1/
Obviously, you have a lot of choices. My final suggestion is for you to try each type of music with a type of homework. For example, you may find that you prefer listening to classical while doing chemistry, but listening to pop while writing a humanities paper. Start experimenting, and then you can be prepared for any studying situation!