With the drastic and seemingly overnight advances in technology that made music more accessible at an instant, it is not often when a student is found without headphones or earbuds. Students who choose to listen to music while studying will more than likely listen to their preferred genre, and this may or may not impact their studying. Attention and the effects of listening to music while studying have been intensely researched over recent years. Researchers and psychologists have conducted several studies to determine whether listening to music while studying had a negative or positive effect on students’ cognitive performances. The various genres affect the brain in different ways, which also depends on the person’s preferences. In order
…show more content…
Sara Bottiroli, who works for the Brain and Connectivity Center at the University of Pavia cited E. Glenn Schellengerg, psychology professor at the University of Toronto, in her article on the cognitive effects of listening to music, stating that “performance should improve while listening to the fast tempo and major background music compared to a slow tempo and minor mode background music” (Bottiroli et al 2014). Although this may be true in some circumstances, it was found through this particular experiment that fast paced music, with the inclusion of lyrics, worsened the performance compared to slow tempo music, such as classical. Vocal music is clearly more disruptive during the learning process than non-vocal or classical is. The results from these types of experiments, however, can often be ambiguous due to the varying musical preferences between …show more content…
Through the classical music test, comprehension was hindered a little bit, but not to the extent that it was during the lyrical music tests. Lyrical music, whether it be songs one enjoys or dislikes, serves as a distraction to the learning process and did not appear to improve comprehension in any way. Various academic experiments conducted in the past further prove the idea of background music being a distraction which negatively effects cognitive ability. In accordance with these studies, if students are looking for an adequate method for studying and increasing comprehension, they should do so in a noise free location or utilize the Mozart effect and listen to calm classical music. Cognitive ability is drastically decreased by the listening of any lyrical music, which deems it ineffective in improving comprehension and should not be listened to during study sessions. These results, however, are not necessarily conclusive for everyone, as classical music may even prove to be a distraction for some. The choice to study in silence or with classical music in the background all comes down to the individual person’s preferences. People who perform poorly in school should
Sara Bottiroli, who works for the Brain and Connectivity Center at the University of Pavia cited E. Glenn Schellengerg, psychology professor at the University of Toronto, in her article on the cognitive effects of listening to music, stating that “performance should improve while listening to the fast tempo and major background music compared to a slow tempo and minor mode background music” (Bottiroli et al 2014). Although this may be true in some circumstances, it was found through this particular experiment that fast paced music, with the inclusion of lyrics, worsened the performance compared to slow tempo music, such as classical. Vocal music is clearly more disruptive during the learning process than non-vocal or classical is. The results from these types of experiments, however, can often be ambiguous due to the varying musical preferences between …show more content…
Through the classical music test, comprehension was hindered a little bit, but not to the extent that it was during the lyrical music tests. Lyrical music, whether it be songs one enjoys or dislikes, serves as a distraction to the learning process and did not appear to improve comprehension in any way. Various academic experiments conducted in the past further prove the idea of background music being a distraction which negatively effects cognitive ability. In accordance with these studies, if students are looking for an adequate method for studying and increasing comprehension, they should do so in a noise free location or utilize the Mozart effect and listen to calm classical music. Cognitive ability is drastically decreased by the listening of any lyrical music, which deems it ineffective in improving comprehension and should not be listened to during study sessions. These results, however, are not necessarily conclusive for everyone, as classical music may even prove to be a distraction for some. The choice to study in silence or with classical music in the background all comes down to the individual person’s preferences. People who perform poorly in school should