How to Choose the Best Music for Studying and Concentration
Listening to Mozart can make babies smarter. Has anyone ever told you that? This hasn’t been completely proven by science, but some studies point to it being true. Classical music can assist in getting better sleep, developing your brain, improving creativity, and even strengthening emotional intelligence. However, classical music isn’t the only music genre that offers benefits. All music genres have their perks. One of the prime benefits is better focus and concentration when studying. Students tend to ask, “is music good for studying and for when I do my homework?” If it is, what is the best music to listen to while studying? Listening to music can help you study and learn. It can even help you remember things better than usual. In fact, a proven method of memorization involves listening to certain songs or sounds while reading or focusing on a piece of information. Later, you will likely find that recalling that information is easier thanks to your association between it and a piece of music or sound. The effectiveness of the benefits of listening to music depends on a few things, such as the genre of music, how loud it plays, how fast it is, and how repetitive it is. But what works for one person may not work for another. In this article, we’ll go over 10 songs, genres, or podcasts you can listen to during study sessions to make them more enjoyable and, of course, productive. Let’s get started!
Have your study music playlists been ineffective? Are your study sessions slow, inefficient, and in dire need of a change? To take your efficiency from 0 to 100, the solution may be changing the music you listen to while working. Whether you’ve never studied with music before or you have dozens of study music playlists already, finding new music can help boost your motivation and concentration. Need some music to study to recommendations? Read through the following list of study songs. There is a wide variety of audio options you can choose from, but let’s look at a few of the most effective.
1. “Clair de Lune,” Debussy
You can’t discuss the best classical music for studying without mentioning Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” The title, in English, is “Moonlight,” and after listening to this piano piece you’ll understand why. When you close your eyes, this piece creates images of rays of light, reflections rippling in the water, and other calming imagery. The peaceful mood created by this music can relieve some of the stress of studying. Many people listen to this piece to relieve stress and anxiety, fall asleep faster, and, of course, as background music when studying or doing homework. While some classical music can be very distracting, this French composition is known for its calming effect, keeping your brain engaged but not overwhelmed while trying to work. Debussy’s music, however, is known for its airy, delicate qualities. Like many other Romantic Era French composers, his music is very melodic, but also introspective and meditative, making it great study music!
2. “liftoff,” ornaut
“liftoff,” by ornaut is a popular lo-fi song that combines strong hip-hop style beats with calm, airy melodies that never seem to end. The constancy of the sound provides the perfect background noise for studying. Unlike more mainstream music, ornaut’s music and other lo-fi songs help you focus on your work without being distracted. Lo-fi music is very popular as study music, and that’s because of its hypnotic, calming sound. It’s perfect for long study sessions when you need to maintain deep focus and reduce stress, or for when you need to complete a quick task and get in the zone right away. Because lo-fi music often does not have any words and does not require much attention to enjoy, you can listen to it while reading, completing math problems, writing a paper, or studying for an upcoming exam.
3. “4:00 A.M.,” Taeko Ohnuki
A classic of Japanese City Pop, “4:00 A.M.,” by Taeko Ohnuki is loved for its melancholic yet dramatic and powerful sound. City Pop has made a big comeback in recent years thanks to platforms like YouTube and TikTok which make discovering and sharing music so easy. City Pop is a genre of music that started in Japan in the mid-1970s and 80s. It gained popularity very fast due to new technologies in music distribution that made buying and selling music easier than ever before. City Pop is a type of pop music that combines disco, funk, rock, R&B, pop, and much more to form an aesthetic, unique blend. As a genre that formed in the East, the music has an East Asian sound while taking much of its inspiration from American music styles. Many young people have fallen in love with the genre and take advantage of its aesthetic sound to improve focus while studying.
4. “Fire at Will,” The Amorettes
When looking for music homework help, most people don’t think of rock and roll. However, for those who like the genre, having it playing in the background can greatly improve their focus and patience when it comes to studying or completing assignments for school. This song, “Fire at Will,” is one of the most well-known songs from this Scottish hard rock band. Its dramatic vocals and intense drumming style can help you stay awake during those long study sessions. Taking their inspiration from bands like AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and Thin Lizzy, this band impressively revives classic rock while adding their own modern twist. If you’re into rock music, listening to this song can improve your mood while studying, boost your motivation, and aid in relaxation. It can also improve your ability to focus and concentrate due to its steady beat and repetitive structure. Like with any study music, you’ll want to keep the volume low to prevent it from being distracting.
5. “Spiegel im Spiegel,” Arvo Pärt
Written by the 20th-century composer Arvo Pärt in 1978, this piece is a beautiful example of the culmination of the modern impressionism movement in classical music. This piece features a piano and violin—often replaced with a viola or cello—that play very simple “circular” melodies over diatonic scales. The German title means “mirror in the mirror” when translated into English, conveying the idea of reflection, parallel views, and the infinity of images. As if the music was written in a mirror, the melody moves back and forth, up and down the scale, very slowly and precisely. Its minimalistic sound is perfect for when you need to focus on something complex and don’t want to be distracted. Whether you’re studying trigonometry, language arts, or need nursing homework help, the simplicity and stunning beauty of this piece make it perfect for any and every study session.
6. “Weightless,” Marconi Union
This extremely popular song by musician Marconi Union falls into the genre of ambient music as it features a steady, slow-changing sound and little variation throughout its 8-minute run time. Starting with low, barely audible tones and gradually moving up to higher frequencies, this song does have a clear goal, but its transitions are so seamless that they go unnoticed, making this perhaps the best music for concentration and focus. With over 122 million views on YouTube and even more on other streaming platforms, it’s clear that this song has struck a chord with modern listeners. You can purchase this song on vinyl to avoid any distracting ads while trying to listen. Listeners describe Marconi Union’s music as “peaceful” and “calm” and believe that it has the ability to relieve stress. So, if you’re feeling stressed over a big exam coming up, turn this on and take a few deep breaths.
7. Ambient Music
Ambient music is a genre that has become extremely popular among students. Why? Because of how calming and meditative it is. Characterized by its lack of a beat and its atmospheric sound, ambient music is the perfect background music. It provides a constant level of noise that calms the mind and helps many people focus on difficult tasks. Ambient music is extremely helpful during study sessions and may even be the best music for studying. Ambient music can be completely original, but a very popular branch of ambient music is music based on well-known places, experiences, and media. For instance, do you like sitting on the beach? Well, there is such a thing as beach ambient music. Do you like the idea of studying in a magical castle? There are thousands of fantasy-themed ambient songs available online! A quick search can lead you to countless ambient songs that greatly improve the studying experience.
8. White Noise and Binaural Beats
The most straightforward way to improve your concentration and focus when studying is to listen to something that isn’t music at all—white noise or binaural beats. White noise is a sound that combines all audio frequencies and plays them at equal volume. Think of an old TV when it loses its signal. That “fuzzy” sound is an example of white noise. Many people listen to white noise to fall asleep, calm down in stressful situations, or, of course, focus on their work. If you want to drown out distractions when trying to focus on the tasks at hand, you can listen to white noise through earbuds or headphones. Binaural beats are like white noise, but instead of one constant sound, they are multiple different frequencies that play at different volumes and different times. To your brain, these frequencies come together to create one unique tone. Both white noise and binaural beats are known to promote relaxation, improve concentration, and even enhance creativity.
9. Sean Carroll’s “Mindscape Podcast”
Can you really listen to podcasts while doing work? Won’t that be too distracting? Well, it depends on what you’re working on! Following along with a conversation can be nearly impossible when reading or trying to memorize something else. However, if you’re ever doing “busy work” like making flashcards, formatting an essay, or making citations, give the “Mindscape Podcast” a try. This podcast is a source of intellectual knowledge for anyone interested in physics, neuroscience, philosophy, society, culture, art, and much, much more. Sean Carroll, an American theoretical physicist and philosopher, interviews a different expert in each episode to explore a new and interesting topic. Past episodes have covered topics such as the biology of death and aging, animal sentience, and mysteries of reality and infinity. With this podcast playing in the background, you may find that you leave your study session learning more than you expected!
10. The Focus@Will App
If you’re tired of searching for good music for studying and don’t have it in you to make any more playlists, why not get an expert to do that for you? Focus@Will is like always having an expert studier in your pocket. Its main purpose is to improve your concentration and productivity when studying or doing work. You can use it to find various audio tracks that cater to your interests and needs. No matter what you listen to on the app, you can rest assured that it has been scientifically tested to improve focus. According to their website, the app was created based on seven years of data, research, and science and was built by a world-class team of scientists, musicologists, and producers with you and your work in mind. Do you easily get distracted and feel frustrated that your study sessions never last longer than 20 or 30 minutes? Well, Focus@Will claims they can help you focus for up to 100 minutes at a time!
Music to Listen to While Studying
The best music for studying really depends on who you are. Whatever genre you love, there is plenty of music for you to listen to that will make your study sessions more enjoyable. While the list above offers some specific suggestions, what works for one person may not work for another. Your tastes in music will affect what you should listen to while working. If you haven’t found the right study music yet, and your study sessions make you say, “I wish I could pay someone to do my homework,” don’t give up! Try something different next time you study. If you usually listen to classical music, why not try out a City Pop playlist when you study for your next exam? If you usually listen to binaural beats, give a podcast a try! Figuring out what makes you focus best can take some trial and error, but hopefully, this list inspires you and leads you to better concentration, improved focus, and, ultimately, higher grades.