Around 60% of students in high school study with music to make the long hours of homework more enjoyable. Some say the music helps them power through assignments, while others claim it is a distraction.
Music can engage the brain to pay better attention to events and make predictions about what might happen during repetitive tasks. “I have many hours of homework to complete each day. I don’t think I could do it without music. Music helps me zone out all distractions and focus on the task at hand and it definitely speeds up my working process,” junior Vrayas Pila expressed.
While music helps students focus, it does not help with all tasks. Music with lyrics generally decreases working memory, which causes reading comprehension to decrease significantly. “I’ve noticed that the music helps me more during tasks that I can just turn my brain off for,” Pila added. “I’ve tried reading with music on, and I can’t go more than a page without being completely distracted. It’s impossible for me to listen to music with lyrics and read words on a page.”
It’s proven that music with lyrics are usually distracting, but one genre of music has shown the opposite: classical music.
Most instrumental music is great for studying, especially classical music. They recommend listening to Mozart while working. Senior Reetham Gubba recently began using this method. “Previously I listened to regular music while working, and I often got distracted. After seeing studies of classical music helping I gave it a try. I was shocked by how much it helped,” Gubba said. “Because the music didn’t have any lyrics, I wasn’t processing the words while reading and writing.” Gubba voiced.
As high school students balance busy schedules and prepare for their futures, finding an effective study method can make a significant difference as it fosters time management skills. Music is a tool that can help students find their optimal study method. Whether that’s listening to classical music or any other lyric-free instrumentals, it’s up to the student to decide what’s best for them. The debate over music and studying proves there are varied methods to achieving academic success.
