RED BANK, New Jersey (Achieve3000, March 22, 2021). Final exams loom, and you've set up your study lair. You're getting ready to hit the books. Water bottle? Check. Headphones? Check. Playlist? Like a deejay seeking the exact track for the task, you thumb through your artists: Bach, Beatles, Beyoncé, Blake Shelton…you like all styles of music. So what is the perfect playlist for mental focus and harmony? Drumroll please…
It depends.
Students from grade school to grad school love listening to tunes while studying. And scientific research indicates music can have an impact on learning. But whether that impact helps or hinders comprehension may hinge on the type of music as well as the subject being studied. In short, there isn't one perfect playlist. So here's some of the science to help you pick the best songs for the right purpose.
Music psychology is the study of how music influences the brain and behavior. There's little surprise that most people love music. It's also clear that listening to a favorite song can boost mood. That's an important point when it comes to studying. Research shows that the more positive people feel, the better they learn. They also remember more of what they study.
Here's where the science gets more complicated. Loud music with lyrics that make you want to sing along interferes with the brain's "working memory." That's the mental system that turns whatever you're studying into knowledge you can recall when needed. While writing or digging into subjects that require a lot of memorization, the last thing we need are more words or loud noises competing for our brain's attention. For that reason, some scholars swear by the soothing sounds and relaxing rhythms of classical composers. Favorites include Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel. To every rule there are exceptions, though. Evidence suggests that school projects requiring creative thinking can benefit from high-energy tunes.
Of course, you might choose to stick to old-school habits and study in silence. You can jazz up this routine with periodic "music breaks" as a reward after a quiet block of study time. But peace and quiet is not always available for some students. Then, headphones playing gentle music or nature sounds can shield against constant distraction.
In the end, science says that determining the best music for our study needs requires some trial and error. The subject being studied is one factor to consider. Your personal learning style and individual taste are others. Enjoying the music you listen to definitely helps. Studies indicate learning is more difficult when people are made to listen to music they don't like.
You can even devise an experiment with friends. You might memorize lists of 15 unfamiliar words while listening to music of various genres. You can try it with songs of different speeds at different volumes. Afterward, you can test how many words you recall. You might compare your ability to learn and remember under the influence of classical jazz, pop, hip-hop, Spanish guitar, or heavy metal.
With a little investigation, you can reach your own conclusions. See what mix of books and beats primes your mind for better learning.
The Article states:
Loud music with lyrics that make you want to sing along interferes with the brain's "working memory." That's the mental system that turns whatever you're studying into knowledge you can recall when needed.
The author's purpose for writing this passage was to __________.
A. explore the types of music that are most helpful when studying for an exam
B. prove that memorizing information is harder in a music-free environment
C. explain how listening to music can sometimes hinder the learning process
D. describe the mental process used when turning information into knowledge