music

The Best Kind of Music to Listen to at Work

By in Learning Tags: , ,

Working_with_Music

Want to listen to music while you work AND be extremely productive? No problem! You just have to listen to the right kind of music.

According to productivity experts, certain types of music can help people focus and get their work done more effectively, while other types of music can be a distraction. Here are a few guidelines:

  • Don’t listen to music with words – Unless you’re doing some sort of mindless, repetitive work, you shouldn’t listen to music that has lyrics. The words will distract you from the work that you’re trying to do, and make it harder for you to read or process information efficiently.
  • Classical music is a good choice – Research has shown that classical music can stimulate brain activity. It can give you the mental boost you need to concentrate on a difficult task and get your work done efficiently and effectively.
  • Instrumental movie soundtracks are good too – Not a fan of classical music? That’s OK! An instrumental movie soundtrack is also an excellent option. The music will help you to focus and, as an added bonus, everything that you do will feel extremely epic.
  • Enjoy the sounds of nature – But what should you do if you don’t like classical music or movie soundtracks? Enjoy the sounds of nature! Listen to crashing ocean waves, a gurgling brook, or a lush rainforest, and you’ll be both productive and soothed.

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Bologna, C. (2020, October 19). The best kind of music to listen to while working. HuffPost. Retrieved from: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/best-music-while-working_l_5f8637a2c5b6e9e76fb84410

Should You Listen to Music While You Work?

By in Learning Tags: , , ,

Listening_to_Music

I know a lot of people who like to listen to music while they’re working. But is it a good idea – or an unnecessary distraction?

Research indicates that the answer to that question isn’t entirely clear cut. Whether or not you should listen to music depends on the type of work you’re doing, the type of music you’re listening to, and the type of person you are.

In a 2019 study, researchers asked three groups of students to complete a series of easy and challenging tasks. (The easy task required them to cross off the words on a list that started with the letter A. The challenging task required them to memorize and recall pairs of words.) The first group of students worked in silence. The second group listened to a simple musical composition while they worked. And the third group listened to a complex musical composition while they worked. Here’s what they found:

  • You shouldn’t listen to music when performing challenging tasks – Study participants who worked in silence did 4% better on the challenging task. So when you’re working on something difficult or demanding, it’s best to not have any distractions.
  • You should listen to music when performing easy, routine tasks – Study participants listening to complex music did 7% better on the easy task than the students who listened to simple music or no music. Researchers theorized that this was because the complex music helped to keep the students’ minds from wandering, and helped them to stay on task.
  • If you’re the kind of person who gets bored easily, you shouldn’t listen to music at all – Students who tended to get bored easily and were frequently looking for some sort of distraction (for instance, by checking their phones) did worse on both types of tasks when any type of music was playing. Researchers believed that this was because they got too involved in the music. So if you feel like you get bored easily and you’re the type of person who checks your social media a lot, it would probably be best to work in silence.

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Mitchell, H. (2021, March 22). Listen to music while working? It depends. The Wall Street Journal, R6.

Music: On Air

By in Learning, Living Well Tags: , ,

Enjoying_Music

A constant most of us have in our lives is music.

It’s on the radio we hear, the ringtone that sounds when someone calls, the commercials in between the TV shows we watch, and even the drumming of spoons on a table.

Truth be told, music can be made out of anything — your voice, the keyboard of the device you’re reading this off of, or even a cup.

Music can define who we are, and each culture often has their own style of music.

So I guess we can all agree that music is pretty great. But can it help you to work more effectively?

Studies show that music can absolutely make you more productive at work! Some general restrictions may apply, though.

For instance, unfamiliar music and music with lyrics are distracting. Both create curiosity in the brain, forcing listeners to shift their focus from the task at hand and focus more on what will come next or what the artist is saying.

But classical music (more specifically, Baroque) or ambient noise works rather well if you have more exacting work to do. There are no lyrics, so they work well when you’re just looking for something to fill the silence without it being too distracting.

Another good option is video game music. Just think about it. Video games require high amounts of concentration, and the designers want their music to enhance the players’ focus on the game without getting them too distracted. Video game music is designed for focus!

So, how does this work? How can music help us to work more effectively?

Here’s the science behind it:

When we listen to music, dopamine is produced all around the brain.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, and is most often known for creating a “feel-good” state. Some call it a “happiness chemical.” When it’s released, it’s that feeling you get when you receive a present you always wanted or when you eat a piece of cake you’ve been eyeing. It’s like getting a reward.

So, that happy mood you’re in when you’re listening to music? That’s why you’re able to work better. You can thank dopamine for that.

All in all, there is ultimately nothing wrong with listening to music during work. Just make sure to choose your music genre carefully!  

 

Ciotti, G. (2015, Aug. 27). How music affects your personality. Help Scout. Retrieved from helpscout.net/blog/music-productivity/

Cooper, B. B. (2013, Dec. 6). The surprising science behind what music does to our brains. Fast Company. Retrieved from fastcompany.com/3022942/the-surprising-science-behind-what-music-does-to-our-brains

Want People to Cooperate? Play Happy Music!

By in Communication Tags: , ,

Music

If you ever find yourself in a tense meeting in which clients and coworkers are finding it difficult to work together or come to an agreement, you might want to try this simple fix – play some happy music.

Researchers at Cornell University recently discovered that study participants were much more likely to cooperate and work together when there was happy music playing in the background. (The happy tunes that were played included things like “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison and “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles.) In contrast, participants were less likely to cooperate when angry music was playing (anything in the heavy metal genre). The heavy metal music tended to make them behave in a more selfish and stingy manner. Similarly, participants were less likely to cooperate when no music was playing at all.

I think it would be so interesting to see if this phenomenon would work outside of a research setting. If you played upbeat music during a tense team meeting, would it really make a noticeable difference? I would love to find out! So if you decide to give this a try, please share the results of your experiment in the Comments section below!

 

Wolper, J. (2016). Teamwork tunes. Talent Development, 70(12), 14.