With the return to school now only days away, it’s time for students to get back into studying mode. And for many, that means strapping on a set of headphones to drown out distractions before hitting the books.
But does music really help us concentrate? Many students would say it does, and is better than listening to annoying roommates -- or worse, the deafening sound of silence. So what does the research say? Does music distract or focus us?
Like so many things in science, the answer is: it depends.
Different research has offered different answers to these questions, depending on what kind of music we’re talking about and what kind of work we’re doing.
Some research has found that any kind of background music -- whether it’s fast or slow, loud or quiet, -- is more distracting compared to working in a silent environment.
Interestingly, one study found that music you already love is even more distracting than music you don’t recognize -- perhaps because you’re tempted to stop and listen to it rather than focus on your work.
But other studies have found music can be helpful and can even boost productivity -- especially when you need to do work that’s not very mentally taxing.
One study from the University of Windsor found that for IT professionals doing repetitive tasks such as data entry, listening to music appeared to increase productivity by putting them in a better mood. (For people just beginning to learn a new task, though, that same music can just be distracting.)
What about when we need to do more serious work, such as learning new concepts in textbooks or reading and memorizing? Research suggests our best bet might be easy background music. One study led by University of Toronto researcher Glenn Schellenberg found that listening to slow, easy music doesn’t hurt our ability to concentrate, but fast, up-tempo music might.
Their experiments found that music containing a large number of “auditory events” -- the kind of music that is suddenly loud and then goes back quiet again -- is the worst for concentration because it’s too distracting and “consumes more of listeners’ finite attentional resources.”
But that’s not to say that upbeat music is bad for getting work done. Another study by some of the members of the same Canadian research team found that people had better moods and performed better on IQ tests after they had listened to an up-tempo piece by Mozart called Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major.
But the key, they say, is to listen to the music before the task, not during it. Here’s a sample of that piece:
Can’t stand classical music?
The music experts at U.K. music station Classic FM recently compiled a list of classical pieces it says can help listeners “focus, relax and power through.”
They include this gentle, modern piece by Ludovico Einaudi called “I Giorni,” which they say is both “emotional and hypnotic.”
Still find piano music too distracting and prefer something more ambient?
Composer Brian Eno wrote entire albums of the stuff, including one album in 1978 he called “Music for Airports.”
The music was actually written for airports, to defuse the tension of travel. In fact, Eno himself said in the album’s liner notes that the music is meant to be "as ignorable as it is interesting.” Here’s a sample:
Want something a little more fresh? There are lots of new artists making music that’s easy on the ears without the sudden tempo shifts or distracting chord changes of many pop songs.
One of them is Iceland’s Sigur Ros, whose haunting music has been featured on the Game of Thrones soundtrack. Their pieces often include lyrics, but since they’re usually in Icelandic, they’re not likely to be too distracting to Canadian listeners. Here’s a sample.
