With midterm exams approaching quickly at OLHS, scheduled to begin on Wednesday, December 14, many students have begun to review all of this semester’s content. While many students have varying study methods, students disagree on whether or not listening to music is effective while studying. And if it is, what type of music is the most conducive to learning? 

According to a study conducted by the Center for First-Generation Student Success, nearly 75% of students listen to music while studying and, on average, students listen to music for four hours a day. I am part of the 75% that listen to music. In fact, according to Spotify, I spent over 750 hours listening to music this year, and I would estimate that the majority of that time was spent while studying.

However, while students are drawn to music to make the studying process more enjoyable, this study habit will only be more distracting than beneficial. Cognitive psychologist Brian Anderson argues that listening to music while studying is a form of multitasking; because attention is a “limited resource”, dividing your attention between two tasks results in a cost to the amount of information retained in both activities.

Although listening to music can be detrimental to productivity and efficient studying, this is largely dependent on the type of music that is playing. According to Study International, music with lyrics should be avoided while engaging in tasks that require high concentration; this includes “feel good” music like pop and rap. Meanwhile, music without lyrics, including instrumental, classical, and natural sounds, can enhance attention-span and focus. In fact, a study published in Learning and Individual Differences found that students who listened to classical music while studying received higher grades than those that didn’t. This correlation, coined the “Mozart effect” , explains the better academic performance of students that listen to classical music while studying through music’s effects on the brain. In essence, exposure to classical music during high-focus tasks improves brain activity and function.

The type of music listened to while studying determines the positive or negative impacts of music on academic performance. So this midterms season, stay away from your Taylor Swift playlist and play some Beethoven or white noise. Your grades will thank you for it.