Study Music 101: Fast paced music and meditative music

Studying is maybe one of the most difficult activities that every kid, teenager and adult must pull through on school. There are no correct methods to make us study (everyone must find their own method), but there are some common grounds.

Our concentration usually peaks at 30 minutes on a study session and then we slowly lose focus. So we need to take breaks, but at the same time we feel the need to keep going so we can study all. We need something to stimulate us to get us to focus quicker and longer. How do we do that?

Many solutions can help you, like a good environment and studying with friends who help you focus. But this might not be enough. Many people, use music as an asset to study.

And the correlation between Music and productivity isn´t that farfetched. The use of coxswains on boats is a good example how music is used to keep the working pace.

Studying can be productive in silence (and even recommended), but that doesn’t mean you should discard the option of using sound.

So the question is: What genre of music is most helpful on a study session?

From my researches there are 4 types: fast paced music, meditation music, classical and lo-fi. In this first article we´re just going to focus on the first two types of genre.

FAST PACED SONGS

Many people find rock, hard rock and metal as good genres to accompany on a study session. The advantage of fast paced songs is the harsh rhythms that wake and motivate us to do our tasks. Punching drums have the same effect of the coxswain on productivity – keep the pace.

But at the same time, Rock is pretty distracting. They are made to seek the audience attention with their harshness and not to help you focus on your tasks. Your motivation mind is on, but your focus on books is off, which makes them the worst asset when studying.

MEDITATION MUSIC

If you seek study playlists on Youtube, you are likely to find meditation music. Most of these use many smooth instruments along with nature sound like the rain or the waves. Some of these instruments are synths and choirs.

This type of music is known for having an atmospheric vibe, full of reverb that makes sound non-distracting. At some level it can help you focus without seeking the attention of the listener. The sounds appear and dissipates slowly without the listener noticing.

I left some meditation music here, that you can listen to:

A side from this, you can listen to my take on the Vangelis composition:

Meditation can be helpful to give you company while you study, but at the same time it can make you too sleepy. That is the bad thing about studying with such a relaxing music: It might not keep you motivated to do your tasks, but rather rest.

So we have two opposing genres that have benefits on one hand and disruptive on the other. The study music must be a fine middle between both of these – Music that doesn´t distract, but also motivates you to keep studying for longer.