Do you listen to music while you study? What kind of music? Many students in today's society listen to what is best known as Lo-Fi beats or Lo-Fi music. The term Lo-Fi stands for what's called “low fidelity.” Many students claim that this type of music has significantly helped them with study habits and other things that involve concentration, but does it really help? I mean, think about it: you are listening to something that is blasting in your ears and basically causes you to cancel out everything you are thinking about. Can Lo-Fi music really help or is it just distracting? What music is best for productivity? Are there any types of music that are beneficial for concentration?
Lo-Fi music has become very popular in the past year. Many people, especially students, have gone to various different music sources just to listen to this particular kind of music. They would listen for hours while they complete their work. As stated by Jessica Stillman, a contributor from inc.com, the fact that people generally listen to Lo-Fi beats on an endless loop can help create this relaxing effect and atmosphere. She continues to explain how Victor Szabo, a music professor who is writing a book about this genre, explained to Elemental that the repetition in the music makes it predictable, soothing the listeners further, making them more productive and concentrated without the listener realizing.
According to Brenden Lutes of the Hyde School blog, this type of sound recording contains technical flaws that make the recording sound different compared to the live sound being recorded; it has a distortion, hum, background noise, or limited frequency response. They then carry on to explain that with those technical flaws in the music, it somehow can trigger the cerebrum, which is located at the front of your brain and controls muscle functions. This can help a student focus on a test or at home working on an assignment.
Although we are not all the same, music is not for everyone. Music and concentration can be complicated for many. For some, music can improve your mood, motivate you, increase your focus, and help you memorize new information. For others, it can distract them from what they’re trying to do, lower reading comprehension, and can have a negative impact on their working memory. Paige Herschman, one of my peers at Middle Creek High School, does not listen to music, but she watches a show in the background. She continued to explain that she doesn't like to complete assignments in dead silence and she loves a little background noise while she completes her work.
According to Deep Patel of the website Entrepreneur, classical music is the best type of music for concentration. Classical music can be calming, relaxing and can help reduce stress. Listening to classical music has also proven to enhance brain activity and can improve health. He also goes on to say that natural sounds also help with productivity. He states that natural sounds such as ocean waves, rain, or wind rustling in the trees can improve moods and focus. Deep Patel explains how music in general with no words or lyrics is the most effective kind of music for productivity.
Deep Patel of the website best known as Entrepreneur, constructed a study and found that his own employees were more productive and had the most positive feelings when natural sounds with no lyrics were being played in the background. Also for students music without lyrics has been proven to help students study longer and retain more information. Patel continues to explain that by listening to natural sounds it can have a restorative effect on cognitive abilities, so it can help with long term memory, divided attention, selective attention, logic and reasoning, and so much more.
To conclude, certain types of music while you study can be very beneficial and can lead to success, but it really just depends on the type of person you are. If productivity and concentration is what you are looking for, then music with no lyrics such as Lo-Fi music, can be best.
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