After taking the AP Chemistry exam and in the progress of studying for AP Physics 2, I realized how much music I listen to while studying compared to anytime else.
Most of the time I listen to music is while studying, as I am studying a lot of the time. Essentially, when studying for math and science I prefer songs with lyrics, but anytime anything has to do with words I immediately prefer songs without words. You can find my lyricless study playlist here.
I generally prefer more complex songs to simpler songs, which remains true while studying. I personally don’t find musically complex songs distracting, and they even help me to lock in. I also don’t like to listen to the stereotypical study music: Smooth Jazz, Classical, or LoFi. Those genres are just not as interesting to me, yet I often listen to songs which are heavily inspired by such genres. Check out my Songs of Last Week posts to learn more
Only you know what works for you, music is great for a lot of people and not so great for many others. Everyone should try and study with music, but if it doesn’t work, what can you do about it? A lot of people say studying with music helps, but no two people are the same. No trait is shared universally between people. If it is detrimental, don’t try and force yourself to listen to music.
I think music is great and studying with it makes the studying less tedious. I also use it as a form of multi-tasking, listening to new music while studying, as often I don’t have much time anytime else.
Some forms of studying make it impossible to listen to music. When watching and learning from videos, especially documentary style videos with soundtracks of their own, even lyricless, background study music can be distracting. Ultimately, studying is my first priority before listening to music, and I sometimes forego the music.
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