Studying and music

[Gauche]

Well, I've been thinking about that we have two groups of people. First group need absolute silence when studying, while the second group enjoys having loud music during studying, and often can learn better with music.

I have a theory that it has something to do with auditory vs. visual thinking. You know, auditory thinker needs silence so his thoughts are not disrupted, while visual thinker is not disturbed by the noise.

What do you think? Do you need silence to concentrate or music is welcomed for you?

 

[BerberElla]

I like music on, but not loud, at a nice mellow volume so that it doesn't disturb me too much.

If it's too loud I lose focus, if it's not on at all I also lose focus.

 

[spirilis]

I need silence while studying, but I need steady music while *doing* -- e.g. at work, in the middle of a long complicated task, some familiar music helps block out distractions and calm every part of my mind except the part that needs to work on the task at hand.

 

[ragashree]

I'm apparantly a kinaesthetic/somewhat auditory learner who gets very low visual scores on the relevant test

To me, music is almost a necessity when trying to concentrate on anything, though I will admit that if it's something I particularly like it has a lot of potential to distract me too. I prefer to have it loud enough to hear the quietest bits without straining, but not so loud that I can't hear someone ringing the front doorbell *unless I'm expeting an unwanted visitor* . Birdsong is also very helpful if there's no actual music, and occasionally even better. Unmusical noises *that category includes people's horrid trashy pop* I'm more likely to find distracting, but often I mangage to simply ignore it unless it's right in my ear.

 

[Randomnity]

I prefer silence but I'll put quiet music on to mask background noise if needed.

I don't have a clear-cut learning style, it's mostly visual with help from kinesthetic, I think (I learn best by summarizing material into visual diagrams and then remembering those). Minimal audio unless I'm trying to remember words.

 

[FDG]

The easier the material, the more I need music in order not to distract myself. The more complex the material, the more I need complete silence to concentrate.

 

[NewEra]

When doing homework, I like listening to music. When studying, I generally tend to listen to more soothing music. Either way, I generally listen to music while doing work. It wouldn't be as fun without it.

 

[SuperServal]

It depends on what the subject is. If I'm reading or writing I need silence but if I'm doing math it feels helpful to have music playing.

 

[Valiant]

Silence is absolutely golden. I dislike noise in general. I think this is why I cannot seem to like music that involves disharmonies, growling or other things that cannot be considered tones. I have a strong dislike for drums, even.

Anyway! Studying and music... If it is light reading or such, then it can be OK to listen to mood music without song, or classical music at a low volume.

 

[garbage]

I always listen to music while studying and working. Today I've listening to thrash metal at full volume as I've been going over my notes.

 

[BlackCat]

I have to have music on to be able to focus on my studies and on my homework. Otherwise my mind will wander and I won't get anything done. It doesn't matter what kind of music it is, as long as I like it. It can be hardcore, or pretty soft.

 

[The Outsider]

I listen to music too. Otherwise I hear other noises that might distract me or if it's late, then the complete silence is weird and just ripe to be filled with totally irrelevant thoughts.

 

[Nonsensical]

I listen to music a lot..and I study/work a lot..and I usually do both at the same time

 

[blanclait]

need silence in serious work.

 

[laintpe]

I usually turn music and the tv on... not especially loud, though. If I can discern any words I can get distracted... by having both on it's just a bunch of noise, which i like. If it's silent while i'm working on homework i either get distracted or have short moments of really intense focus. What i dislike about that sort of focus is that when i finish, i feel like i just woke up and am surprised to see what time it is or have forgotten where i am (if it's outside of my home). Either way I'm frazzled and have to take a few minutes to figure out what i had been doing for the last few hours.

With work, I prefer lots and lots of noise, but not voices (again). Really fast, loud, instrumental music is the best and relieves most of my anxiety. When I used to play piano frequently, I would try to play the song as fast as possible.. obviously ruining the composer's intent, but I found it to be quite soothing... that is, until I couldn't keep up with how fast I wanted to play and threw the sheet music everywhere.

 

[Jaguar]

Classical music, preferably Bach. Listening to rock while reading can distract me.

 

[Yama]

I prefer working in silence, because it distracts me--I'd rather focus on the music than whatever it is I'm reading/working on.

 

[Hawthorne]

music. specifically instrumentals.

 

[Smilephantomhive]

I listen to this while writing, but I prefer to study and read in silence.

 

[HongDou]

I need music, but it can't be anything with intricate vocal runs or high-paced beats because that distracts me. I either like soothing sounds of a piano to help me focus or something smooth like Jhene Aiko's Souled Out album.

If I'm in silence I find it harder to focus.