QUEZON City, Philippines (February 27) – At first, I doubt that it’s possible for someone to hate music. But believe it or not, there are some people who genuinely hate any kind of music. The condition is known as anhedonia, where a person does not find any music pleasurable. Which is just sad.
Music is one of the most beautiful things that existed here on Earth but sadly, some can’t appreciate it. Music is like our home. It has become a fundamental part of our lives. You might agree that it’s a nice feeling for us every time we hear our favorite music, right? It’s because it gives us the sense of relaxation and somehow makes us comfortable. From there, we can easily process its flow of rhythm and hear its beautiful melody. Sometimes, when we are depressed and when we listen to music, everything will be okay. We find it is as the reliever of our stress.
In short, music is great and music is an integral part of our lives. But the question is: when it comes to studying, should we do it music or not?
Some studies show that there are just specific kinds of music that are helpful when studying. According to UNC Charlotte and University City, there are many types of music that have been shown to put your mind in study mode. Here are a few of the most mentioned.
- Baroque classical music is said to have mind-boosting effects. Productivity writer David Allen of “Getting Things Done” fame has said he prefers music like Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #3, and other Baroque tunes.
- Others say that music at 60 beats-per-minute is required to put the brain in a “bright and breezy” frame of mind. In this state your thinking and creativity are said to be easier. Concertos for Recorder – Telemann & Vivaldi is recommended.
- Since classical music may not be your thing there are other types of music that have been shown to increase your concentration levels. Ambient music or sound is designed to keep your brain engaged at a lower, subconscious level. Waterfalls, rain, seashore, whatever your taste.
- More modern electronic “Chill out” music genres such as Trip-hop, Nu jazz, Ambient House, Ambient Trance, New Age and other sub-genres of Down tempo are designed to relax the mind and allow it to roam.
- Eno’s “Music for Airports” has been noted as being useful for serious studying and deep concentration. This music was designed to relax stressed out travelers at the airport and put them at ease.
Researcher says that the most cited study is the “Mozart effect” a set of research results that indicate that listening to Mozart’s music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as “spatial-temporal reasoning” which is the ability to think long-term, more abstract solutions to logical problems that arise.
Of course, it is really up to the one who is studying if music helps them or not. There are those that really can’t study well when there is music playing and there are those that need to hear music to be able to concentrate better. At the end of the day, it’s all about your personal preference!
(written by Jasmin Monte, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin)